Summary
Welcome emails often land in spam, even for known subscribers, due to a combination of factors related to sender reputation, email content, authentication, and subscriber engagement. New senders or IPs lack a positive reputation, and welcome emails, being the initial contact, are heavily scrutinized. These emails often contain different content, such as increased promotional offers or image-to-text ratios, which trigger spam filters. Technical issues like misconfigured SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records, or the use of shared IPs with poor sending practices, can also lead to deliverability problems. Furthermore, poor list hygiene, low sending volume, lack of recent subscriber engagement, and delays in updating safe sender lists contribute to welcome emails being flagged as spam.
Key findings
- Sender Reputation: New senders or IPs lack established reputation, causing initial scrutiny.
- Content Differences: Welcome emails contain different content that can trigger spam filters (e.g., promotional offers).
- Authentication Issues: Misconfigured SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records impact deliverability.
- List Hygiene & Engagement: Poor list hygiene and low subscriber engagement contribute to spam filtering.
- Shared IP Risks: Using shared IPs with poor sending practices increases spam placement.
- Volume and Consistency: Low send volume reduces probability of good placement.
- Stream Differences: Welcome emails are perceived as a separate stream, impacting treatment.
Key considerations
- Build Reputation: Implement IP warming and consistent sending practices to build a positive sender reputation.
- Optimize Content: Balance promotional content with valuable information to avoid triggering spam filters.
- Authentication Setup: Properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to authenticate sending sources.
- Manage List Hygiene: Regularly clean email lists to remove inactive or invalid addresses.
- Increase Sending Volume: Gradually increase sending volume to establish a consistent pattern.
- Monitor Engagement: Track subscriber engagement to identify and address deliverability issues.
- Consider Dedicated IP: Consider using a dedicated IP for greater control over sender reputation.
- Implement best practices: Implement SPF, DKIM and DMARC configurations.
What email marketers say
9 marketer opinions
Welcome emails often land in spam even for known subscribers due to several factors. These include generic or promotional content triggering spam filters, new or un-warmed IP addresses lacking sender reputation, and improperly configured email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Poor list hygiene, use of spam trigger words, low sending volume, subscriber inactivity, and sending from a shared IP with poor practices can also contribute to deliverability issues. All these factors can influence mailbox providers to treat welcome emails with suspicion, leading to spam folder placement regardless of prior subscriber engagement.
Key opinions
- Content Triggers: Welcome emails frequently contain generic or promotional content that triggers spam filters.
- IP Reputation: New or un-warmed IP addresses lack a sender reputation, increasing the likelihood of spam filtering.
- Authentication Issues: Improperly configured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records can lead to deliverability problems.
- List Hygiene: Poor list hygiene practices damage sender reputation and increase spam placement.
- Sending Volume: Low sending volume, especially for new campaigns, can cause deliverability issues.
- Subscriber Engagement: Subscriber inactivity can lead mailbox providers to treat welcome emails with suspicion.
- Shared IP Risks: Sending from a shared IP with poor practices increases the risk of spam placement.
Key considerations
- Content Optimization: Refine welcome email content to avoid generic or overly promotional language.
- IP Warming: Implement a proper IP warming strategy to establish a positive sender reputation.
- Authentication Setup: Ensure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly configured and validated.
- List Management: Maintain good list hygiene by removing inactive or invalid email addresses.
- Volume Scaling: Gradually increase sending volume to build a consistent sending reputation.
- Engagement Monitoring: Monitor subscriber engagement and adjust sending practices accordingly.
- Dedicated IP: Consider using a dedicated IP address to have more control over sender reputation.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Litmus shares that poor list hygiene (e.g., sending to old or inactive email addresses) can damage your sending reputation, causing even welcome emails to known subscribers to land in the spam folder.
28 Jan 2023 - Litmus
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit explains that low sending volume, especially when starting a new campaign, can cause welcome emails to be flagged until the sender builds a consistent and positive reputation.
25 Aug 2022 - Reddit
What the experts say
5 expert opinions
Welcome emails can end up in spam even for known subscribers due to various reasons. Experts highlight that welcome emails represent a different mail stream compared to regular emails, with less frequent interaction, potentially leading to different treatment by spam filters. Deliverability is statistical, making individual email outcomes difficult to predict. Lack of recent subscriber engagement and the presence of more promotional content or incentives in welcome emails can also increase the likelihood of spam classification.
Key opinions
- Different Mail Stream: Welcome emails are treated as a distinct mail stream compared to regular communications.
- Statistical Deliverability: Deliverability outcomes are largely statistical and don't guarantee inbox placement for individual emails.
- Lack of Engagement: Recent inactivity from the subscriber can negatively impact how welcome emails are received.
- Promotional Content: Increased promotional content in welcome emails triggers spam filters.
Key considerations
- Engagement Focus: Prioritize re-engaging inactive subscribers before sending a welcome email to improve deliverability.
- Content Balance: Carefully balance promotional content with valuable information in welcome emails.
- Email Stream Differentiation: Be mindful of how welcome emails are perceived differently and adjust sending practices accordingly.
- Deliverability Monitoring: Monitor deliverability metrics closely to identify and address potential issues.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that welcome emails often contain more promotional content or incentives than regular emails, which can trigger spam filters due to perceived aggressiveness or pushiness.
10 Nov 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that deliverability is about statistics, and it can't tell you much about an individual email or recipient beyond broad generalizations.
23 Jan 2022 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Welcome emails often face deliverability issues, even for known subscribers, due to several technical factors. New senders lack established reputations and are heavily scrutinized by mailbox providers during initial interactions like welcome emails. Email clients may not immediately update safe sender lists, causing initial emails to be caught by filters. Improperly configured SPF records can lead to emails being flagged as phishing attempts, and strict DMARC policies can result in rejections or spam placement if authentication checks fail, regardless of recipient engagement.
Key findings
- New Sender Reputation: New senders lack established reputations and face scrutiny with welcome emails.
- Delayed Safe Sender Updates: Email clients may not immediately update safe sender lists.
- SPF Configuration: Improper SPF records can flag emails as phishing attempts.
- DMARC Policy: Strict DMARC policies can cause email rejection or spam placement upon authentication failure.
Key considerations
- Establish Reputation: Implement IP Warming and consistent sending practices.
- Communicate Clearly: Instruct new subscribers to add the sender to their safe sender list promptly.
- Validate SPF: Ensure SPF records are correctly configured to authorize sending servers.
- Review DMARC Policy: Adjust DMARC policy based on authentication results and sender reputation.
Technical article
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that new senders often experience deliverability challenges because they haven't established a positive reputation with mailbox providers. Welcome emails, being the first interaction, are heavily scrutinized.
3 Jun 2023 - Google Postmaster Tools
Technical article
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that if a domain has a strict DMARC policy (e.g., p=reject), welcome emails failing authentication checks will be rejected or sent to spam, regardless of the recipient's prior engagement.
9 May 2023 - DMARC.org
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