Spam

Landing in spam is an authentication problem before it is anything else, so SPF, DKIM and DMARC are the first thing to check. Reputation, blocklists and the content itself come after those, in that order.

Instructions

1. Work out which sender domain and send integration are affected, and whether every recipient is affected or only one email provider (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.).
2. Check authentication first: navigate to Sender Domains > click the affected domain > verify SPF, DKIM, and DMARC all show Success (green). If any show Failed or Pending, fix DNS records before investigating further. Misaligned authentication is the #1 cause of spam placement.
3. Check sender reputation: open your ESP's reputation dashboard, such as SendGrid Reputation or Postmark Activity. Check Google Postmaster Tools too if you send to Gmail.
4. Check for blocklisting: use MxToolbox or similar tools to check if the sending IP or domain is on any blocklists. If blocklisted, follow the blocklist's removal process.
5. Review email content for common spam triggers:
   • Excessive use of ALL CAPS, exclamation marks, or spam trigger words ("free", "act now", "limited time")
   • Missing or hidden unsubscribe link — ensure {EEUnsubscribeLink} is visible in the email
   • Image-to-text ratio too high — emails that are mostly images with little text are flagged
   • Missing plain text version — always include both HTML and plain text
   • Shortened URLs (bit.ly, etc.) — some filters flag these
6. Check list hygiene: high bounce rates and complaint rates damage reputation. Navigate to Delivery Events > filter by HardBounced and Complained to check recent rates. Complaint rate should be under 0.1%.
7. Check warm-up status: if the sender domain or IP is new, it may not have enough reputation. Suggest using the Warm-up feature in Schedule to gradually increase sending volume.
8. Check Volume Caps: sending too much too fast from a new domain triggers spam filters. Ensure Volume Caps are configured on the Send Integration.
9. If it is still happening after all of these, contact support.

Related pages

• Spam Diagnostic Checklist — covers Step 1: Authentication, Step 2: Sender Reputation, Step 3: Email Content, Step 4: List Hygiene