How does a real estate company reduce high spam complaints after email warmup with engaged users?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 19 May 2025
Updated 16 Aug 2025
8 min read
Dealing with high spam complaints after a successful email warmup can be incredibly frustrating. You've put in the effort, seen good engagement rates, and built a positive domain and IP reputation, yet those dreaded spam reports persist. This scenario is particularly common in the real estate industry, where long sales cycles and varying levels of interest among contacts can lead to disengagement over time. It's a critical issue because continued high complaint rates, even with engaged users, can severely damage your sender reputation and impact future deliverability, potentially leading to your emails landing in the spam folder or even getting blocklisted (or blacklisted).
The challenge lies in understanding why recipients, who might otherwise be considered engaged, are still marking your emails as spam. This isn't just about the initial warmup segment, but often reflects broader issues within your entire email list and how you manage subscriber expectations and preferences.
The paradox of post-warmup spam complaints
It’s a common misconception that once email warmup is complete, deliverability issues vanish. While warmup builds initial trust, sustained low spam complaints depend on ongoing list hygiene and content relevance. Even with a 12% open rate and 10% click-to-open rate, a 1.5% spam complaint rate is concerning. This indicates that a segment of your audience, despite showing some positive signals, still perceives your emails as unwanted.
One key factor to consider is Google’s (Gmail’s) approach to spam rate calculation. They typically report the number of folks who hit the spam button divided by the number of people who saw the message in their inbox. This calculation can sometimes make the rate appear higher than expected, especially if a small but vocal group of recipients consistently mark your emails as spam. However, regardless of the calculation method, a 1.5% rate is above the generally accepted threshold (ideally below 0.1%), and it will undoubtedly affect your sender reputation.
The key risk is that mailbox providers, like Google and Microsoft, interpret these complaints as a signal that your emails are unwelcome. This can lead to increased filtering, even for your highly engaged subscribers, causing your email campaigns to underperform significantly. This degradation of reputation won't necessarily happen overnight, but it will erode steadily, making future email efforts much harder.
The impact of high spam complaints
Even after a successful warmup, high spam complaints indicate underlying issues. Mailbox providers (ISPs) use these complaints as a strong negative signal against your domain and IP reputation. This can lead to increased email rejections, messages being sent directly to the spam folder, or even your domain being added to a blocklist (blacklist). It effectively undoes the positive work of the warmup process.
Identifying the source of complaints
One of the most effective ways to reduce spam complaints is to segment your email list meticulously. For a real estate company, this means going beyond just engaged users and understanding the different stages of your client journey. An engaged user who inquired about a property six months ago might not want daily updates on new listings, but perhaps a monthly market report or tips for first-time homebuyers.
Consider implementing a clear segmentation strategy based on factors like: lead source, engagement level (recency and frequency of opens/clicks), property interests (e.g., residential, commercial, rentals), and client status (e.g., active buyer, past client, investor). This approach ensures that your communications are highly relevant to each group, significantly reducing the likelihood of recipients marking them as spam because they find the content irrelevant or overwhelming. Remember, irrelevant content is a primary driver of spam complaints.
Another crucial area is managing inactive subscribers. While you might have a broad definition of engaged users, those who haven't opened or clicked in 6-12 months are likely contributing to your spam complaint rate. Sending to these unengaged contacts carries a higher risk. Instead of continuing to send them regular marketing emails, you should consider a re-engagement campaign or removing them from your active sending list altogether.
High risk sending habits
Broad segmentation: Sending the same content to all subscribers, regardless of their specific interests or stage in the real estate journey.
Ignoring inactivity: Continuing to email subscribers who haven't opened or clicked in several months, increasing the chance of spam complaints (or blocklisting).
Hidden unsubscribe: Making it difficult for recipients to opt out, leading them to use the report spam button instead.
Best practices for real estate emails
Granular segmentation: Tailor content to specific interests, recent activity, and historical engagement. Real estate involves diverse motivations, so tailor accordingly.
Re-engagement campaigns: Attempt to re-engage dormant subscribers with targeted campaigns. If unsuccessful, remove them to clean your list and improve deliverability. Read more about strategies to reduce email spam complaints.
Prominent unsubscribe: Make it very easy to unsubscribe. A clear unsubscribe link (e.g., at the top of the email) is always preferable to a spam complaint. See Klaviyo's guide for more.
Proactive strategies to reduce complaints
To actively reduce your spam complaint rate, implement several proactive strategies. First, ensure that your unsubscribe process is straightforward and clearly visible. Make it easy for recipients to opt out if they no longer wish to receive your emails. This is far better for your sender reputation than them marking your messages as spam. Consider adding an unsubscribe link at the very top of your emails, near the view in browser link.
Example of prominent unsubscribe link in email headerhtml
<a href="YOUR_UNSUBSCRIBE_LINK_HERE">Unsubscribe</a> | <a href="YOUR_VIEW_IN_BROWSER_LINK_HERE">View in Browser</a>
Second, actively clean your email list. Identify and remove or suppress subscribers who have consistently shown no engagement (no opens or clicks) over a significant period. While it might seem counterintuitive to remove contacts, a smaller, highly engaged list will yield better deliverability and ultimately more conversions than a large list plagued by unengaged users and spam complaints. This also helps you avoid spam traps.
Third, continuously monitor your email engagement metrics. Pay close attention to open rates, click-through rates, and especially, your spam complaint rate. Tools like Google Postmaster Tools can provide valuable insights into your domain and IP reputation, as well as spam complaint data. This ongoing monitoring allows you to identify trends and make immediate adjustments to your sending practices or content strategy. Additionally, ensure your email authentication records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are correctly configured and remain valid. Proper authentication is fundamental to building and maintaining sender trust.
Maintaining long-term sender health
Maintaining low spam complaints and strong deliverability is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix. Even after successfully warming up your domain, it's crucial to adopt a philosophy of continuous improvement. This includes regular list hygiene, adapting your content based on audience feedback and engagement, and segmenting your list with precision.
For a real estate company, the sales cycle can be extensive. A client who was highly engaged six months ago might naturally become less engaged if they've found a property, or if their needs have changed. This means your definition of engaged needs to be dynamic. Consider creating segments for past clients who might be interested in referral programs or homeownership tips, distinct from active buyers or sellers who need frequent updates. Always prioritize sending to actively interested segments.
Finally, integrating Postmaster Tools into your routine is non-negotiable. While there can be a lag in reporting, consistent monitoring helps you spot declining trends early. If you see your spam rates staying high, it's a clear signal that the underlying content or list quality issues haven't been resolved, and continuing to ramp up volume on a new domain/IP pair with the same practices will likely lead to similar problems down the line.
Engagement Level
Real Estate Client Example
Recommended Email Frequency
High engagement
Actively viewing properties, attending open houses, responding to inquiries.
Frequent (2-3 times/week): New listings, price changes, local market updates.
Medium engagement
Opened some emails in last 3-6 months, general interest in real estate news.
Moderate (1 time/week to bi-weekly): Market insights, community spotlights, educational content.
Low engagement
No opens/clicks in over 6 months, past clients, or general contact list.
Infrequent (monthly or quarterly): Newsletters, referral requests, re-engagement campaigns. Consider removal if no response.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Implement granular segmentation based on subscriber behavior, interests, and their stage in the real estate journey.
Make unsubscribe links prominent and easy to find, ideally at the top of your emails, to encourage opting out over spam complaints.
Regularly clean your email list by identifying and suppressing inactive subscribers who show no engagement over time to improve overall deliverability.
Monitor your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and address any negative trends proactively.
Common pitfalls
Relying solely on high open/click rates as a sign of perfect deliverability; high spam complaints can still signal underlying issues.
Not segmenting email lists thoroughly enough, leading to irrelevant content being sent to some recipients.
Continuing to send to unengaged or inactive subscribers, which inflates spam complaint rates and harms sender reputation.
Ignoring the delay in spam complaint reporting from tools like Google Postmaster Tools, delaying corrective actions.
Expert tips
Prioritize list quality over quantity, as a smaller, highly engaged list will yield better results and protect your sender reputation.
If warming up a new domain/IP, avoid using the same email content that previously generated high spam complaints.
For real estate, tailor email frequency and content to the specific phase of the client relationship, from active searching to post-transaction follow-up.
Shift your mindset from preventing unsubscribes to preventing spam complaints, as unsubscribes are less damaging to your sender reputation.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says that if you at least stop sending to those who complained, the spam rate will slowly but surely drop, provided new sign-ups are legitimate and high-quality. If the spam rate remains high, check if you are re-sending to unhappy recipients. If there is a correlation between complainers and a certain segment, consider adding a prominent unsubscribe link at the top of the email for that group, as unsubscribing is preferable to complaining.
2021-05-25 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that Gmail reports the spam rate as the number of people who marked the email as spam divided by the number of people who saw the message in their inbox, and whether this is considered 'bloated' depends on your definition.
2021-05-26 - Email Geeks
Driving long-term email success
Reducing high spam complaints for a real estate company after email warmup, even with engaged users, requires a comprehensive and continuous effort. It's not enough to simply warm up an IP or domain, as ongoing list quality, content relevance, and subscriber management are paramount.
By actively segmenting your audience, making unsubscribing easy, consistently cleaning your list of inactive contacts, and paying close attention to your sender metrics, you can ensure your emails consistently reach the inbox. Prioritizing these practices will protect your sender reputation, maximize your email marketing ROI, and ultimately drive better results for your real estate business.
