Deliverability vs spam filters

“Marketo and some other ESPs send all your emails to spam.” Don't they? Your ESP does impact deliverability; but not in the way most marketers think. Inbox providers don’t hate Marketo. They distrust bad senders. Marketo, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, all host thousands of senders. If you’re on a shared IP with shady neighbors, inbox providers might punish you too. Let’s be honest: some ESPs are just plain bad. 1. They let anyone send, no vetting, no compliance, no limits. 2. Their IP ranges show up repeatedly on blocklists. 3. Their support shrugs off your inboxing issues with generic answers. Red flag: If your ESP doesn't care who sends what, you’re sharing reputation with spammers. Dedicated IPs help, but they’re not magic. A dedicated IP in a “bad neighborhood” still inherits risk. Without proper warmup, domain alignment, and consistent volume, you're still a stranger to mailbox providers. Think of it like buying a premium car but driving through a toxic zone, you're not protected. The real issue isn’t always the platform, it’s the sending. Switching ESPs won’t fix your deliverability if your: 1. Domain reputation is weak 2. Lists are stale or purchased 3. Content is clickbait 4. Engagement is low These follow you wherever you go. That said, some ESPs are stuck in the past. If your platform doesn’t offer: 1. Custom Return-Path 2. ARC header support 3. Reliable bounce categorization 4. Fast IP warm-up tools 5. Responsive deliverability support Then yes, that’s a reason to leave. So what does drive inbox placement? Focus on these fundamentals: 1. Domain-level reputation and alignment (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) 2. Strong engagement signals (opens, clicks, replies) 3. Clean, opt-in-only lists 4. Consistent volume and sending patterns 5. Fast bounce/suppression handling 6. Relevant, non-spammy content Blaming your ESP is easy. But sometimes, they do deserve it. If your setup is right, but inboxing still fails, ask: 1. Who else is sending from this subnet? 2. Is the ESP proactive with abuse management? 3. Are they helping or just blaming Gmail? If your ESP doesn’t protect your reputation, you need to protect yourself, by leaving. Bottom line: The ESP is your infrastructure. Your deliverability is your responsibility, but if the infrastructure is broken, no amount of sender best practices can fix it. Have you dealt with shady ESPs or deliverability disasters? Let’s talk. #emailmarketing #deliverability #ESP #marketo #inboxstrategy #emailtruths #email

I burned through $15K perfecting cold email copy. Here's what I learned when I focused on deliverability instead. While I was obsessing over subject lines and CTAs, most of my emails were landing in spam folders. I had killer copy that nobody ever saw. But here's what happened when I fixed the infrastructure piece first… I went from ignored emails to 800,000+ monthly sends at ColdIQ. If your cold emails aren't working, deliverability beats copy every single time. WHY DELIVERABILITY IS EVERYTHING: 1. Perfect copy means nothing in spam. You can have killer targeting, perfect messaging, incredible offers... but if your email lands in spam? Game over. 2. It compounds everything else. Once your domain reputation is down, even your transactional emails start getting flagged and won't get delivered anymore. So how do you make your email in the primary? 1. Protect your main domain. Never send cold emails from your primary domain. We use 70+ secondary domains to keep our brand safe and our main inbox clean. 2. Distribute volume across multiple mailboxes. Set up 140+ mailboxes across those domains. Keep it under 50 sends per day per domain. High volume too early = instant red flag. 3. Get your technical foundation bulletproof. Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication. Without proper technical set-up, you're flagged as suspicious by default. 4. Warm up. Send nothing for 2 weeks. Use premium warm-up tools to build trust gradually with ESPs. Ramp slowly to avoid triggering their spam filters. Patience here pays dividends later. 5. Natural variation. Use Spintax or tools like Twain to introduce variations in your messaging. Even small variations help you avoid the repetition triggers that scream "mass email blast" to spam filters. Remember, list quality plus message still matter most. Even with perfect infrastructure, if your list is off and your message is weak, you'll still land in spam. Deliverability gets you to the inbox, but the relevance keeps you there. Monitor everything rigorously. Use tools to track your sender reputation across all ESPs. We check deliverability rates daily (it's that critical). Infrastructure gets you to the inbox, but your targeting plus messaging determines what happens next. I've put together a 7-day GTM crash course that includes our exact setup, authentication templates, and the monitoring systems we use to protect the campaigns of our 70 clients. Reply with "SETUP" if you want access before your next campaign goes live.

SPF, DKIM, DMARC… The alphabet soup of landing your emails in the inbox. Most business owners don’t think about these acronyms. - They focus on writing better emails - Crafting the perfect subject line - Tweaking their calls to action But here’s the problem… It doesn’t matter how good your emails are if they never make it to the inbox. 📌 SPF, DKIM, and DMARC aren’t just tech jargon—they’re the gatekeepers of email deliverability 📌 If you don’t set them up, email providers treat your messages as suspicious (hello, spam folder) 📌 And if you ignore them for too long? Your emails might not even send anymore and you ruin your sender and domain reputation Think of these settings as your email’s passport—without them, email providers don’t know if they should let your messages through. If your emails aren’t landing in the inbox, it’s not your subject line. It’s not your content. It’s your setup. If you’re not sure whether your email is set up correctly, now’s the time to check. Because the best emails don’t just get written. They get delivered.

Emails going to Spam? Here’s how to fix it If your email open rates are below 25%, your emails are consistently getting filtered into spam and email providers don’t trust you. But here’s the good news: you can fix it. *The 4-Step Framework to Diagnose & Fix Email Deliverability Issues* → Step 1: Check your Sender Reputation Your sender reputation is like your credit score. It determines how trustworthy your emails appear to inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook. ▸ Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools or SenderScore to check your email reputation. ▸ If your reputation is low, it’s often due to high bounce rates, low engagement, or spam complaints. How to Fix it: Clean your email list regularly. Remove inactive subscribers who haven’t engaged in 90+ days and AVOID sending to purchased lists. → Step 2: Authenticate Your Emails Email providers block or filter out emails that seem suspicious. Authentication proves your emails are legitimate. ▸ SPF: Confirms your email is coming from an authorized sender (also blocks UV rays). ▸ DKIM: Ensures the email hasn’t been altered after being sent. ▸ DMARC: Prevents phishing attacks using your domain. How to Fix it: Ask your email provider or IT team to set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Without them, your emails will always be at risk. → Step 3: Optimize your Email Content to avoid Spam Triggers Spam filters scan for certain words, formats, and practices that make emails look untrustworthy. ▸ Avoid excessive capitalization and punctuation (🔥 LIMITED TIME OFFER!!!). ▸ Use a branded sender name instead of a generic one (“Ryan from [Dispensary Name]” instead of “info@[dispensary].com”). How to Fix it: Keep your emails natural, balanced, and engaging. If an email looks or feels spammy, it probably is. → Step 4: Improve Engagement Metrics Email providers prioritize senders who get high engagement (opens and clicks) and penalize those who get ignored. ▸ Start with engaged customers. Send emails to your most active list segment first before emailing everyone else. ▸ Monitor your open rates. If it’s consistently under 25%, your emails are likely being flagged. How to Fix it: Segment your audience, remove unengaged contacts, and write subject lines that actually make people want to open. → Test It: Want to see if you have a problem? Send a test email to multiple inbox types (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) and check where it lands. It can take 3-4 weeks to go from a low reputation to medium in Google Postmaster, so be patient. If more people get your emails in their main inbox it will lead to 💵 💵 💵 If you’re seeing issues, or just want to guarantee your emails reach more customers—we can help. Tact Firm specializes in cannabis email marketing that actually gets delivered. Let’s fix this together.