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Spam email, often called email spam, junk email, or spam, refers to unsolicited messages sent out in bulk to a large list of recipients who didn’t sign up to join that particular mailing list.
It’s easy for small businesses to have their emails end up in spam if they’re not familiar and diligent with email best practices.
For example, an unsolicited email from a small business that obtained the email address by scrapping or other illegal means can lead to an email winding up in the spam folder.
Here’s an example of a spam email sent by a business with “good intentions”:
So, not all spam emails are harmful. Sometimes they are poorly executed email marketing campaigns that die before they’ve even had a chance to yield anything.
There are other types of spam emails you should keep in mind as well. Let’s go over them.
Some spam emails can lure recipients into giving up critical personal information or taking some action that puts them at risk.
Here are four of these types of emails:
Google defines a phishing email as an attempt to steal personal information or break into online accounts via deceptive messages, ads, or sites that look similar to sites you already use.
An example of a phishing email is a message that looks like it’s from your bank that requests personal details to “resolve an issue”:
A spoofed email is one where the sender pretends to be a popular brand, asking recipients to provide sensitive data like credit card information, etc. Like this one:
Notice how the branding in the email appears like it’s the real deal, but the email address used gives it away. Recipients sometimes fall prey to this spam type because they fail to verify the senders’ email address and details of the email. The subject line and message compel the reader to take the needed action.
Similar to email spoofs, baiting involves the use of fake, attractive promises or fear of missing out (FOMO) tactics to make readers give up sensitive info like login details.
An example of email baiting is an “urgent” message from your bank asking you to take action or risk losing access to your account.
Malware is usually a malicious document or link attached to an email. The goal is to infect the recipient’s device and gain control.
This image from Computer Generated solutions is an example of a malicious email:
While email spam is unwanted, unsolicited messages, promotional emails are solicited messages that position a product or service as the go-to solution for subscribers in a fun, educational, and engaging manner.
The goal of a spam email is to trick users into taking an action that could potentially harm them.
Promotional email, on the other hand, offers genuine, relevant information about a product or service to encourage a reader to take an action that will surely benefit them. Such actions include clicking on a link that leads them to purchase a product at a discounted price, downloading a free resource, etc.
To break it down further, here are four key differences between email spam and promotional emails.
8 Ways Small Businesses Can Stop Emails From Going to Spam
If you want to stop your emails from ending up in prospects’ spam folders, you need to build an email list.
An email list is the legal and most authentic way to get prospects’ attention.
It is a collection of email addresses and relevant contact information that you have received through one or multiple lead generation efforts.
People are most eager to hear from those they choose to have a relationship with, and they ignore those who try to force a relationship with them.
The image below shows seven ways you can make prospects eager to hear from you and join your mailing list:
You should avoid buying email addresses from unauthorized third parties, scraping or using robots to gather emails, or sharing a list with a partner business.
The only way to guarantee engagement is to build your email list organically or use paid efforts to attract the right prospects for your business. Also, segment your email database properly so subscribers get messages that are relevant to their needs.
Using double opt-in for your email marketing efforts ensures subscribers are truly consenting to receiving emails from your business.
You can do this by sending an automated email or welcome email with a confirmation link/button that verifies their choice to join your mailing list. Once they confirm their choice, they are now a part of your mailing list.
Here’s an example of a double opt-in from TL;DR Marketing:
When a subscriber confirms their choice, they’ll be redirected to a page that shows they have been subscribed:
When you let recipients confirm their interest in receiving emails from you, you keep your efforts from ending up in the spam folder, and you stand a better chance of building a stronger relationship with these subscribers.
A subject line is the first thing a reader sees before the design or content of your email.
A catchy subject line increases the chances of your emails getting opened, while a subject line that seems fishy or spammy can get you kicked into the spam folder.
47% of recipients open an email based on its subject line, and 69% report email as spam based on its subject line. So, if you do want readers to open your email every time it comes through, go for words that inspire curiosity and drive them to click to read.
You can prevent recipients from reporting your email as spam by utilizing these email subject line best practices:
Another critical part of an email marketing campaign is the content of the email.
The body of your email must deliver on the promise you made in your email subject line. That’s why you must be intentional about crafting content that helps readers understand/solve their problems. Anything short of valuable would result in your messages tagged as spam.
Before you send out an email, ask yourself and your team the following questions:
The answers to these questions will help you determine whether to hit the send button, refine the message more, or delete and create another instead.
It’s also important to send out these emails frequently—monthly, bi-weekly, weekly, or whatever works for your industry. Avoid overwhelming your subscribers with too many emails.
Whatever cadence you choose, it’s important you stay consistent. Set the right expectation and anticipation from the get-go so that your audience knows when to expect a new email from you. That’s an effective way to build rapport with subscribers and get them to see you as a trusted guide.
You can also stop your emails from ending up in the spam folder by letting email providers know that your identity is real. Email providers trust messages from authenticated email addresses, and these messages are more likely to end up in the recipient’s inbox.
As a small business, you improve deliverability of emails, enhance engagement, and increase conversions when you verify your email. iContact integrates with Kickbox to help small businesses avoid the spam folder and improve delivery rates.
Leverage Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) to ensure your brand gets better visibility in a recipient’s inbox, protect your sending domain, and gain the trust of spam filters. This email authentication standard makes sure your logo shows at the profile picture area to verify your identity.
You can also use Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) to prevent email spoofing. You can learn how to set this up here.
Most small businesses leave their email lists unattended for many months and even years, perhaps because they are overwhelmed with other business activities.
Cleaning up your email list is a great way to improve the quality of your list.
It’s natural for people to no longer want to hear from you. Some might unsubscribe, while others will leave your messages unread or tag them as spam.
To prevent getting a bad reputation based on the actions of others, you should trim the fat from your email list. You want a smaller list of engaged readers, not a large list of unengaged subscribers.
Check for bounced and unopened emails, and delete those subscribers from your list. It’s important for you to proactively and consistently search for unengaged subscribers and set them free. This will improve the chances of your messages reaching more engaged prospects.
The unsubscribe button has a way of making subscribers feel like they have the power to walk away for whatever reason. The reason is usually weak subject lines, irrelevant content, or too many emails. There are other reasons as well, but these are the main three.
You can make it easy for subscribers to undo their actions by placing the unsubscribe CTA at the end of the email or at the top like this one:
Checking to see how well subscribers are engaging with your content is a great way to measure the progress of your email marketing efforts.
You can track and elevate your email marketing engagement with a CRM.
iContact ‘s integration with Salesforce CRM can help you achieve this goal. With the integration, you can create and send personalized, relevant email to new leads and existing contacts, as well as track and nurture your email marketing campaigns.
You can also learn how your recipients behaved—who opened your emails, who didn’t open them, and who didn’t receive them at all:
If you notice a negative trend with these metrics, it’s important you analyze why this is happening and take immediate action.
Check out your subject line and content. Do they resonate well with users? Check your email frequency. Are you bombarding recipients with too many emails? These elements often impact your engagement metrics. That’s where you want to start analyzing the problem.
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