Why Does My Email Go to Everyone's Spam Folder?

Avoid having emails end up in everyone's spam folder.

Spam, or junk mail, refers to any email that a reader doesn't care to read. Generally speaking, spam comes from unknown senders who have, through one outlet or another, acquired mass amounts of email addresses. These companies or individuals send out spam emails in an attempt to sell a product or sometimes even scam the recipient into giving them money. Unfortunately, there are times when a legitimate email, from a non-spamming individual, ends up in the spam folder. There are several reasons why this happens, and a few quick ways to make sure it doesn't.

Generic Email Addresses

Spam is usually sent from generic email addresses.

Typically, spam emails come from free email hosting sites such as Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail. If your email address is from a generic company, your emails are more likely to go to everyone's spam folder.

Not in Address Book or Safe List

Most individuals keep their email security on high to avoid spam.

Most Internet-savvy individuals keep their email security on high, which means the only emails that will cross the threshold to their inbox are those that have been placed either in their contacts or on their safe list. If your email address is not on one of those two lists, it will almost always end up in the spam folder. Ask your email recipients to add your email address to their safe list or contacts to avoid your emails ending up in the spam folder.

Over-Use of Capitalization and Punctuation

Excessive capitalization and punctuation can flag your email as spam.

$&SPAM EMAILS **GENERALLY @#LOOK LIKE THIS!!! If your email contains excessive capitalization, punctuation and symbols, it may trigger the recipient's email host that the incoming message is spam and send your email straight to the spam folder.

Images Without Text

Emails that contain only an image can be flagged as spam.

An email may go to the spam folder if the only thing included in the body of the email is an image. To avoid this, include a typed message along with the image.

Getting Emails to Inbox Instead of Spam Folder

Get emails to inbox instead of spam folder.

There are several ways to ensure an email goes to the inbox instead of the spam folder. First, ask that individuals put your email address on their safe list or their list of contacts. If you are a company sending out mass emails such as a newsletter, ask that subscribers opt-in to your email list. Creating an email account with a non-generic email host is another great option. Avoiding over-use of symbols, capitalization and image-only messages will also help to ensure your email goes to the inbox of your recipients and not their spam folder.

References

• AWeber: Why Does My Email Go to Everyone's Spam Folder?