Summary
A wide range of experts and marketers suggest that landing in the inbox isn't always the ultimate goal. The Gmail promotions tab serves a specific purpose for organizing commercial emails, and some users actively prefer this separation. Successful email marketing hinges on engagement, delivering value, and meeting customer expectations, rather than solely focusing on bypassing the promotions tab. Factors like audience segmentation, content relevance, and robust email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) play critical roles in overall deliverability and campaign effectiveness. Many find obsession with avoiding the promotions tab suggests a lack of confidence in the messaging and the content offered, while a long term view of building relationships with customers that find genuine value is more important. Metrics like engagement rates, conversion rates, and ROI are essential indicators of success, regardless of inbox placement.
Key findings
- Inbox Not Always Ideal: Landing in the primary inbox isn't universally superior; the promotions tab can be effective for engaged audiences seeking deals.
- User Intent Matters: Many users prefer commercial emails in the promotions tab for better inbox organization and a targeted shopping experience.
- Engagement Over Placement: Email engagement (opens, clicks, conversions) is more crucial than simply landing in the inbox.
- Value-Driven Content: Providing valuable, relevant content is key to engaging recipients regardless of inbox placement.
- Technical Foundations: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial for deliverability and establishing sender trustworthiness.
Key considerations
- Audience Understanding: Deeply understand your audience's preferences and tailor your email strategy accordingly.
- Content Relevance: Create highly relevant and engaging content that resonates with your audience's interests.
- Authentication Implementation: Ensure proper implementation of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve email deliverability.
- Performance Tracking: Continuously track email performance metrics (engagement, conversions, ROI) to optimize your campaigns.
- A/B Testing: Utilize A/B testing to experiment with different email strategies and determine what works best for your audience.
What email marketers say
10 marketer opinions
The consensus is that it's not always better for marketing emails to land in the inbox instead of the promotions tab. While the inbox offers higher visibility, the promotions tab can be effective for users actively seeking deals and offers. Success depends on the audience, content, and overall email marketing strategy, with engagement and value being crucial factors. Some users actively move marketing emails out of their primary inbox, indicating a preference for keeping promotional content separate. Metrics such as engagement rate, conversion rate, and ROI are essential for gauging the effectiveness of email placement, regardless of the tab.
Key opinions
- Audience Matters: The best placement depends heavily on your target audience and their preferences. Some actively check the promotions tab for deals.
- Engagement is Key: Engagement rate, not just inbox placement, determines the success of an email campaign.
- Value is Paramount: Creating valuable, relevant content is crucial, regardless of whether it lands in the inbox or promotions tab.
- Promotions Tab Intent: Some users prefer the promotions tab for marketing emails and actively manage their inbox to keep promotional content separate.
- Not Always Better: It's not always better to be in the inbox. The promotions tab can be the better place for expected marketing emails from a healthy and engaged list.
Key considerations
- Audience Segmentation: Segment your audience based on their preferences and behavior to optimize email placement.
- Content Strategy: Tailor your content to provide genuine value and encourage engagement, regardless of the tab it lands in.
- Testing and Tracking: Continuously test and track deliverability rates, engagement metrics, and ROI to refine your email strategy.
- Brand Perception: Consider how inbox vs. promotions tab placement affects your brand's perception among subscribers.
- Personalization: Personalize emails for individual customers, ensuring relevant content and preferred communication channels.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor Blog adds that its important to understand your audience. You will need to test and track deliverability rates, and overall ROI from the channel. Use A/B testing to validate the best route.
5 Nov 2021 - Campaign Monitor Blog
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit states that it depends on the audience and the email's purpose. A personal email to a customer should be in the inbox. An email that is part of a sequence of marketing emails that are expected is fine in the promotions tab. The key is not to annoy the user.
18 May 2024 - Reddit
What the experts say
5 expert opinions
Experts generally agree that inbox placement isn't the sole determinant of email marketing success. The promotions tab can be the appropriate place for commercial emails that meet customer expectations. Focusing on engagement, providing value, and building relationships are more important than obsessing over getting out of the promotions tab. Some believe that targeting people in the inbox is for bad email marketers. Deliverability is about more than just inbox placement; it's about whether messages are read and acted upon.
Key opinions
- Promotions Tab Expectation: Subscribers often expect commercial emails to land in the promotions tab, and it aligns with their expectations.
- Engagement Over Placement: Focus on whether emails are being read and engaged with, rather than solely on inbox placement.
- Relationship Building: The ultimate goal should be to maintain a long-term relationship with recipients, making them excited to see your mail.
- Not a Sign of Failure: Landing in the promotions tab isn't necessarily a sign of failure, as some subscribers actively seek deals there.
- Bad Marketer Obsession: Obsessing over avoiding the promotions tab can be a sign of not believing in the compelling nature of one's message.
Key considerations
- Customer Expectations: Ensure your commercial emails meet customer expectations and deliver on promises made during signup.
- Content Value: Prioritize providing value in your emails to increase engagement and encourage recipients to act upon them.
- Relationship Marketing: Shift your focus from short-term gains to building long-term relationships with subscribers.
- Metrics Beyond Inbox: Track metrics beyond inbox placement to assess the overall effectiveness of your email campaigns.
- Email Goals: Define clear email marketing goals that focus on building relationships, not just mechanical filter evasion.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise responds that "If the customer experience you're providing with your commercial email meets consumer expectations and the promises you made when you signed them up, you should probably be in the promotions tab. That's where people expect you to be."
12 May 2022 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that if people wanted promotions in their primary tab, they’d turn off the promotion tab.
8 Nov 2022 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Technical documentation outlines that landing in the inbox versus the promotions tab (or even the junk folder) is a multifaceted issue related to email deliverability. Gmail's tabbed inbox inherently separates promotional content, indicating it's designed for organization, not necessarily a negative placement. Email authentication methods like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are crucial in establishing sender legitimacy and improving deliverability. Successfully managing IP reputation, content filtering, and user interaction alongside proper authentication determines where emails land, and ensuring your domain implements DMARC is helpful to avoid landing in spam folders.
Key findings
- Gmail Tab Design: Gmail's tabbed inbox is intentionally designed to separate promotional content from personal communications.
- Multifaceted Deliverability: Email deliverability depends on a combination of factors, including IP reputation, content filtering, and user engagement.
- Authentication Importance: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are essential email authentication methods for establishing sender legitimacy and improving deliverability.
- User Interaction Effect: User interaction with your emails can influence where future emails land.
Key considerations
- Implement Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to authenticate your emails and improve deliverability.
- Manage IP Reputation: Maintain a good IP reputation by following best practices for sending email.
- Content Filtering: Avoid using spam trigger words and ensure your content is relevant and engaging.
- Encourage User Interaction: Encourage recipients to engage with your emails by clicking on links, replying, and marking them as important.
- Regular Monitoring: Regularly monitor your email deliverability rates and adjust your strategy as needed.
Technical article
Documentation from RFC explains the technicalities of DMARC and its role in allowing domain owners to specify how email receivers should handle messages that fail authentication checks. Proper implementation of DMARC is crucial for improving email deliverability and ensuring that legitimate emails reach the inbox (or at least avoid the spam folder).
3 May 2025 - RFC
Technical article
Documentation from the IETF details that Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is a crucial email authentication method. Implementing SPF correctly helps email servers verify that the sender is authorized to send emails on behalf of the domain, which improves deliverability and reduces the likelihood of being marked as spam.
27 Nov 2023 - ietf.org
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