If you use HubSpot for email marketing, it can be frustrating to find that your emails are ending up in people’s spam folders instead of their inboxes.
Understanding why this happens and taking the necessary steps to prevent it can greatly improve your email deliverability rates.
In this article, we will explore the issue of HubSpot emails and spam, how to set up your HubSpot email correctly, best practices for email content and design, maintaining a healthy email list, and monitoring your email deliverability rate.
Understanding the Issue: HubSpot Emails and Spam
When it comes to email deliverability, there are several factors at play.
Two important factors to consider are the role of email service providers and how spam filters work.
The Role of Email Service Providers
Email service providers (ESPs) play a crucial role in the delivery of your emails.
They act as intermediaries between your email marketing platform, like HubSpot, and the recipients’ email servers.
ESPs have spam filters in place to protect their users from unwanted or malicious emails.
These filters analyze various aspects of your emails to determine whether they should be delivered to the inbox or marked as spam.
ESPs have dedicated teams that constantly monitor and update their spam filters to ensure the highest level of email deliverability.
These teams work tirelessly to stay ahead of spammers and adapt to new spamming techniques.
They use advanced machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence to identify patterns and characteristics of spam emails.
When you send an email through HubSpot, it goes through a series of checks and evaluations by the ESP’s spam filters.
These filters assess the sender’s reputation, the email’s content, formatting, and user engagement metrics to determine its legitimacy.
If the email passes these checks, it is more likely to be delivered to the recipient’s inbox.
How Spam Filters Work
Spam filters use complex algorithms to evaluate emails based on various factors.
These factors can include sender reputation, content quality, formatting, and user engagement.
If an email is flagged as potential spam, it is more likely to end up in the recipient’s spam folder.
Sender reputation plays a significant role in spam filtering.
ESPs maintain a database of sender reputations, which is constantly updated based on the sender’s email sending practices.
If a sender has a good reputation, their emails are more likely to bypass the spam filters and reach the recipient’s inbox.
On the other hand, if a sender has a poor reputation, their emails may be automatically marked as spam.
Content quality and formatting also impact the deliverability of your emails.
Spam filters analyze the text and HTML code of your emails to identify any suspicious or spam-like content.
They look for common spam keywords, excessive use of capital letters, misleading subject lines, and other indicators of spam.
By crafting well-written, relevant, and engaging content, you can increase the chances of your emails reaching the inbox instead of the spam folder.
User engagement is another important factor considered by spam filters.
If recipients consistently mark your emails as spam or delete them without opening, it sends a signal to the spam filters that your emails may not be wanted.
On the other hand, if recipients regularly open, click, and reply to your emails, it indicates a positive user engagement and improves the deliverability of your future emails.
To prevent your HubSpot emails from being marked as spam, it is important to understand and adhere to best practices for email setup and content creation.
This includes maintaining a good sender reputation, avoiding spam-like content, using proper formatting, and engaging your audience effectively.
By following these guidelines, you can improve the deliverability of your emails and ensure that they reach the intended recipients.
Setting Up Your HubSpot Email Correctly
Properly configuring your HubSpot email settings can significantly improve your deliverability rates.
Two crucial aspects of email setup are ensuring you have verified sending domains and configuring your email settings correctly.
Importance of Verified Sending Domains
Having a verified sending domain helps establish your email sender reputation.
When you send emails from a domain that has been verified, ESPs (Email Service Providers) are more likely to trust your emails and deliver them to the inbox instead of the spam folder.
This is because verified sending domains provide a level of authenticity and credibility to your email communications.
Verifying your sending domains is a straightforward process that involves following HubSpot’s guidelines.
By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your sending domains are properly authenticated and recognized by ESPs, which ultimately leads to higher deliverability rates.
Furthermore, verified sending domains also allow you to maintain consistent branding in your email communications.
When recipients see emails coming from a verified domain, they are more likely to recognize and trust the sender, increasing the chances of engagement and conversions.
Configuring Your Email Settings
HubSpot provides various email configuration options to improve deliverability and enhance your email authentication and credibility.
By taking advantage of these features, you can optimize your email settings for better inbox placement and engagement.
One essential feature to consider is custom email authentication.
This allows you to add your own domain-specific DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) signature, further enhancing the authenticity and deliverability of your emails.
By configuring custom email authentication, you are providing additional proof to ESPs that your emails are legitimate and not spoofed or forged.
Another important aspect of email configuration is implementing the Sender Policy Framework (SPF).
SPF is an email validation system that helps prevent email spoofing and ensures that only authorized servers can send emails on behalf of your domain.
By correctly configuring SPF, you can protect your domain reputation and reduce the chances of your emails being marked as spam.
Additionally, HubSpot also supports DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), which adds an encrypted signature to your emails, further verifying their authenticity.
By enabling DKIM, you can increase the trustworthiness of your emails and improve deliverability rates.
It is crucial to follow HubSpot’s email deliverability recommendations when configuring your email settings.
These recommendations include guidelines on email frequency, list hygiene, and content optimization.
By adhering to these best practices, you can ensure that your emails are well-received by recipients and have a higher chance of reaching the inbox.
In conclusion, properly setting up your HubSpot email involves verifying your sending domains and configuring your email settings correctly.
By doing so, you can establish a strong sender reputation, enhance email authentication, and improve deliverability rates.
Remember to follow HubSpot’s guidelines and recommendations to maximize the effectiveness of your email communications.
Best Practices for Email Content and Design
The content and design of your emails play a crucial role in preventing them from being flagged as spam.
Paying attention to writing effective subject lines and avoiding spam trigger words can greatly improve your email deliverability rates.
Writing Effective Subject Lines
Your email subject lines should be concise, engaging, and relevant to the content inside. Avoid using excessive capitalization, unnecessary punctuation, and words commonly associated with spam.
Personalization and A/B testing can help you find subject lines that resonate with your audience without triggering spam filters.
Avoiding Spam Trigger Words
Spam trigger words are terms that are commonly used in spam emails. They can include phrases like “free,” “limited time offer,” or “urgent.”
While legitimate marketing emails may sometimes use these words, excessive or inappropriate use of spam trigger words can lead to your emails being flagged as spam.
Be mindful of the words you choose to use in your email content and try to maintain a balance.
Maintaining a Healthy Email List
A healthy email list is essential for maintaining good email deliverability rates.
Regularly cleaning your email list and encouraging subscriber engagement can help ensure that your emails are reaching your intended audience.
Importance of Regular List Cleaning
Over time, email lists can accumulate invalid or inactive email addresses.
These addresses can negatively impact your deliverability rates and increase the chances of your emails being marked as spam.
Regularly clean your email list by removing bounced addresses, unsubscribed subscribers, and inactive contacts.
HubSpot provides tools to help you manage and clean your email list effectively.
Encouraging Subscriber Engagement
Engaged subscribers are more likely to interact with your emails, improving your sender reputation.
Encourage subscribers to open, read, and interact with your emails through captivating content, clear call-to-actions, and personalized messaging.
Consider implementing re-engagement campaigns for inactive subscribers to rekindle their interest.
Monitoring Your Email Deliverability Rate
Monitoring your email deliverability rate is crucial for assessing the success of your email marketing efforts and taking corrective actions if needed.
Understanding email bounce rates and tracking email open rates can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your email campaigns.
Understanding Email Bounce Rates
Email bounce rates measure the percentage of emails that were not delivered to the recipient’s inbox.
Bounces can be classified as hard bounces or soft bounces.
Hard bounces occur when an email is permanently undeliverable, often due to an invalid or non-existent address.
Soft bounces are temporary delivery failures, commonly caused by full mailboxes or temporary server issues.
By monitoring your bounce rates, you can identify and address any underlying issues that may be affecting your deliverability.
Tracking Email Open Rates
Tracking email open rates provides insights into how engaged your audience is with your emails.
Low open rates may indicate that your subject lines are not compelling or that your email content needs optimization.
Experiment with different subject lines, content formats, and personalization techniques to improve email open rates and increase the chances of your emails reaching the intended recipients.
By understanding the factors that contribute to email deliverability issues and implementing best practices, you can significantly reduce the chances of HubSpot emails ending up in spam folders.
Take the necessary steps to set up your HubSpot email correctly, create engaging and relevant content, maintain a healthy email list, and monitor your email deliverability rate.
With these strategies in place, you can ensure that your emails reach your audience’s inboxes and maximize the impact of your email marketing efforts.
