Avoid Email Marketing Becoming Spam

How To Avoid Your Email Marketing Becoming Spam

For businesses in all niches, having a great product or service is only part of the battle. Even the most revolutionary ideas will only get you so far if you’re unable to market them successfully. And, in this increasingly digital age, the importance of online marketing cannot be overstated. 

Of course, there are many different components that make up a digital marketing strategy – search engine optimisation is one such example, as is web design, pay-per-click advertising and social media promotion. And then there is email marketing.

There are challenges involved with email marketing automation, however, not least ensuring your content gets seen by your customers and doesn’t end up in their spam folder. That’s easier said than done, so it’s important to understand why that might happen and what steps you can take to try and prevent it.

What are some of the benefits of email marketing?

There are plenty of advantages to implementing email marketing campaigns. For example, they offer you a direct route of communication with your audience and provides the chance to create personalised content more likely to resonate than a blanket approach. Email marketing enables you to send out surveys and collate feedback from your audience, while it can also prove a time-saving and cost-efficient method of reaching out to your customers.

Why might some emails end up as spam?

There are several reasons why your emails may not end up where you want them to. For example, it could be you don’t have the right addresses within your contact list. They may also land in spam folders if you have not sought permission to contact via an opt-in form. 

A misleading subject title can count against you, as can incorrect details regarding your identity as the sender. Some overly commercial or promotional terms such as ‘free’ may trigger spam filters, while you could even be penalised if your IP address has been associated with spam in the past.

There’s an awful lot to consider here, which is why you need to take all the necessary steps to ensure your content gets seen by the relevant people.

How can you avoid emails falling into spam folders?

Thankfully, there are a few tactics you can employ to give your emails the best chance of reaching their intended destination:

• Sending regular communications to your subscribers – as long as those emails are still of value – will ensure they remember who you are and makes them less likely to mark you as spam.
• Removing inactive addresses from your mailing lists will also help, as spam filters will take into account the percentage of active accounts when you contact large groups.
• Ensure your emails are carefully edited and proofread. Poor spelling, formatting or grammatical mistakes are often a sign of spam.
• Ask your subscribers to whitelist your emails by adding your ‘from’ address to their list of contacts. Email providers are unlikely to treat a message as spam if they see it has been sent from a contact.
• Avoid using spammy email subject lined that overtly promote discounts, offers and money-making schemes.

How will a strong email marketing strategy benefit your business?

Hopefully, more of your emails will arrive safely in your customers’ inboxes and you’ll begin to reap the rewards because, if orchestrated well, an email marketing campaign can offer plenty of benefit.

Your audience will engage more readily with personalised content, which means they are more likely to make a purchase and then return to offer you repeat business. On top of that, their positive experience could lead to a recommendation to a friend or family member, which in turn will help to drive greater revenue.