Comprehensive Guide to Overcoming Spam Filters for Email Success

“Spam” is the most annoying term that comes with the smoothest type of communication i.e., electronic mail. Indeed, this isn’t a new term that we are getting familiar with; instead, it’s the one we always look to avoid. It’s not at all surprising that many inboxes encounter hundreds of spam messages in a day. Don’t you think it’s too troublesome? 

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Undoubtedly, the only concern people face while using this mail communication is emails landing in spam folders, which none of us would like if it happened. There are many reasons that can lead to mail spamming, and we will learn all about them in this article. Let us know how to overcome these spamming filters.

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What is Spam Email? 

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Spam email refers to unwanted commercial messages sent to customers in bulk. They often advertise their products and services, and sometimes they can also contain fraudulent offers and incentives. According to the statistics after research, it is proven that 41.5% of the whole email traffic in just one month is spam messages.

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As per simple research, about 17.2 million emails are sent every day all over the globe.

If we follow the spamming laws, we can divide these spam messages into:

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• 33% of messages are irrelevant advertisements.
• 26.5% of messages are just financial thefts.
• 2.5% of messages are frauds or scams.
• And 73% of messages are links to phishing pages or some identity theft.

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And as per the above calculation, it has been proven that spammers receive one reply for every 15,650,000 emails sent.

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So, it is really important that one should be aware of email spamming and its prevention.

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Example of Spam Email

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Now that you know what spam mail is, let us look into an example. Attackers will typically send you attractive or mouth-watering incentives or offer like "how can you make money online?" or "this is an unbelievable discount" on any clothing, accessories, or electronics. You do not have to get engaged in any such kind of message. These emails are never too good to be true. 

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Types of Spam Email

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Spam messages are like a creative way of cheating some innocent people. But the most common motive of these spammers is to spread malware and viruses among people so that they can easily steal our personal information, like our account details, credit card details, personal contact details, and much more.

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Whenever you go and check your spam or junk mailbox, you will see lots of different kinds of messages there. The most common ones that land in our spam folders are:

Irrelevant Advertisements

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Irrelevant ads are the most common form of spamming. These messages are just like normal ones. They are just going to ask you for some opt-in with your mail address and contact details.

For example, if you buy any merchandise from Mantra, then as per your purchase and style, they will keep sending you irrelevant emails asking you to look into it. So this is the first sign when you realize that your email has gone into the hands of spammers.

Money Scams

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These emails, as the name implies, are about winning lotteries or Money. Such messages contain details about schemes that can make you earn lots of money in just a few days or a few clicks. There may also be money scams where they ask you to donate money for things like cancer patients, orphanages, distorting recovery, etc.

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Malware Warnings

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These are just not standard emails. Whenever you share your email address over the internet, there are chances that you might get these kinds of emails. These contain some compressed files that ask you to follow some steps and then just add malware or viruses to your systems.

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Email Spoofing

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In simple words, these are the kinds of emails that showcase in a way that looks legit. The body of these messages will be informative way, and the steps or the links involved in it will benefit you in some form. And once you follow those links, it's like you are gone, and your system and data are hacked.

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How to Find Junk Mail Folders?

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The two most commonly used email communication tools are Gmail and Outlook because Gmail is the one being used for personal communication and Outlook is used for professional communication. So this is how and where you can check the spam folder in these tools on the desktop and on the mobile app.

Examining the spam folder in Gmail on the desktop

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1. First, open Google mail in any internet browser on your laptop or desktop.
2. On the left sidebar, you can see all your folders. So scroll down there and select "More."
3. Once that opens, then you can see the spam folder. Click on it. For Gmail, this folder will be labeled as an exclamation mark set inside an octagon shape.
4. Then you can view your spam messages here. And any messages that are currently here will be automatically deleted within 30 days.

Using the Gmail mobile app to check the spam folder

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1. Open the Gmail app on your phone.
2. Select the three lines icon present on the top left corner to open up the main menu.
3. Then, Scroll down till you see the spam folder.
4. Here you will be able to view your spam messages.

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Examining the spam folder in Outlook on the desktop

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1. Start the Outlook application on your laptop or desktop.
2. In the navigation pane that is on the left side, scroll down to the email address account that you are interested in.
3. Find and click on the junk mailbox folder there.

Using the Outlook mobile app to check the spam folder

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1. Start the Outlook app on your mobile phone.
2. Tap on the account icon that is on the top left side of the screen.
3. Then in the pop-menu on the left side, tap on the account that you are interested in.
4. Once you click on the account, you will be able to view the spam email folder.

Why are my Emails Going to "SPAM"?

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Above, we spoke about the kinds of spam emails we receive and where they land. Now let us move ahead and learn from the senders' perspective; if we are sending any email and it is landing in the recipients' junk mailbox, can we prevent it, and why is it happening? So below are some common mistakes that we make and that make our legitimate emails look spammy or irrelevant:

You Have Not Done Proper Authentication

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The biggest issue in mail spamming is the lack of proper email authentication. Just like example, if you are getting a phone call,

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• You will immediately answer the phone if the caller is from your contact list.
• And if the caller is not from your contact list, you will avoid that call.

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So the same happens with emails too. There are tools and technologies on the market that you can utilize to authenticate your emails. This will make your emails look more authentic and trustworthy. So some of the main tactics used are:

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• SPF (sender policy framework)
• DKIM (domain-key identified mail)
• DMARC: This requires you to perform the above strategies to authenticate your mail.

The Bad Reputation of Your Mail Domain

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Just like the senders' IP address, the senders' mail domain also has a history. And spam filters these days are weighing more on the domain reputation while marking out the mail. If you keep changing IP addresses or email service providers, the domain is likely to get confused, leading to a bad reputation for the sender's domain. So, to avoid such situations, you can do the following:

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1. You can check your mail domain's reputation on this website. And just like this, other Gmail postmaster tools can be used to check the domain reputation score.
2. Check out if your domain is on some block lists or not.

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Your Recipients Have Marked Your Emails as Scams

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Such situations arise if you keep sending bulk emails to clients or customers. Then there are chances they will mark your email as a scam. And once they mark them as scams, that negatively affects the sender's reputation, and all the future mail goes directly into the junk folder.

You are Adding Suspicious Links and Attachments

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Suspicious links and attachments are among the most significant reasons for spamming because spammers love such things. Because in attachments and links, they have set up unique malware setups that, once clicked upon, can disrupt the recipient's laptop or desktop.

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How to Stop Your Mail From Going Into Junk Mail?

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Even prominent marketers sometimes face such email delivery issues because it can happen to anyone at anytime. So let us know how to stop the mail from going into the junk mailbox. With the help of these tips, you will be able to increase the direct delivery rate of your emails, but still, if you need more help, you can refer to SmartLead AI tips, the most significant email software on the market now.

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• Give a double opt-in to the customers.
• Build and clean your mailing list.
• Authenticate your mail.
• Monitor your domain's reputation.
• Maintain the mail engagement metrics.
• Send only relevant content to the recipients.
• Utilize spam checkers.

Give a Double Opt-in to the Customers

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Verifying the recipients' registration and asking them to do double opt-in helps build a healthy and sustainable email list. Below is an example, which are asking for recipients' confirmation: 

Build and Clean Your Mailing List

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You should create your email list on your own so that you are well aware of your recipients and their interests. You should do a regular cleanup on your email list after monitoring who is opening and responding to your emails and who is not.

Authenticate Your Mail

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Authentication is a tricky part but an essential one to be done to make your emails look legitimate. So the three main methods that you can use for your authentication process are:

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• SPF (sender policy framework)
• DKIM (domain-key identified mail)
• DMARC: This requires you to perform the above strategies to authenticate your mail.

Monitor Your Domain's Reputation

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Even if you are sending the most cautious messages, there are situations where the senders end up landing in the junk mail. So below are some basic practices you can implement that can improve your domain reputation:

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• Always use double opt-in to ensure who your engaged customers are.
• Implement the sunset policy to remove the unengaged customers.
• Use real-time email address validation to minimize the risk of false emails.

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Keep a close eye on the delivery rate of your emails. Check out SmartLead AI's unique mail bounce-back tips if you're getting bounce-backs.

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Maintain the Mail Engagement Metrics

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Regularly checking the metrics or the mail performance is a great idea. So below are the critical performance areas that you should monitor:

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• Open rates
• Spam complaints
• Delivery rates
• "Click-through rates

Send Only Relevant Content to the Recipients

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To run a successful email program, the main commitment is that you should always send relevant content to your clients or recipients. You should never use irrelevant links, unnecessary images, or text in your emails. Just draft simple and easy-to-read emails that will resonate with the exact reason for your message.

Utilize Spam Checkers

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Spam checkers are effective online tools that allow you to check and test your emails to see if they indicate spam or not. There are many such checkers available online that you can refer to.

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Conclusion

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There is indeed no magic formula that can help you not land in the junk mailbox. But there are options that you can try to avoid such situations. So, after going through the above guide, you will now be aware of what spam filters are and how you can stay away from them.

Because your email is good only if your reputation is good, follow the tips to keep your reputation healthy and directly land in the recipient's inbox.

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