How to Keep Your Emails Out of the Spam Folder and Get Seen Every Time

Creating and sending the perfect email that lands in your desired inbox is not easy – and if anyone says it is – they’re wrong.

So let’s say you know how to write and design the perfect email and you just spent an hour (maybe more) putting one together. Killer subject line? Check. Fire design? Check. Call-to-action so smooth it should win an award? Double check.

You hit “send” feeling like a boss… and then? Nothing. Like, literal ghost town vibes.

Not because people didn’t like it – they just never even saw it.

That’s the crazy part about email marketing now. If your emails don’t actually make it into people’s inboxes, it’s like you never sent them at all. Your “perfect email” just became, well… NOTHING!

Deliverability (aka the behind-the-scenes magic that gets your email where it’s supposed to go) is really the whole game when it comes to email marketing. Everyone talks about the copy, the design, the timing… but while they’re important. Deliverability is the most important concern you and your business has to solve if you’re looking to make that email marketing moola!

And it’s not just about spelling things right or making your emails pretty. Big companies like Gmail and Yahoo have new AI spam filters that are super picky now, and if you don’t play by their rules? Your emails are toast.

I mean look at the stats… Validity’s 2023 Email Deliverability Benchmark Report says about 1 out of every 5 emails gets lost before it even reaches the inbox. That’s 20% of your work straight up disappearing into spam folders… or just getting blocked altogether.

Now, if you’re thinking “Well, that 20% is the shady business getting hit” then we’ve got bad news for you.

Even totally legit businesses, side hustlers, and creators like you and me are getting caught up because once you miss one tiny setup step or still do things the old-school way, you’re getting sent to spam. Welcome to 2025 and AI Spam Filters.

In this guide, we’re giving you a comprehensive breakdown of:

• Why even good emails get flagged sometimes
• Common mistakes that tank your deliverability
• How to set up your email sender settings – SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (without pulling your hair out)
• Easy ways to build a strong sender rep over time
• How to double-check your emails before you blast them out

Because if people never see your email, it doesn’t matter how funny, smart, or beautiful it is. The first step to email marketing profits is showing up in your target audience’s inbox.

You know that feeling when you send out a fire email and it…just…vanishes into the spam wormhole? Yeah, we’re not letting that happen to you. So with that said, let’s get into it.

Why Do Good Emails Get Flagged By Spam Filters

We mentioned earlier that the bad news is it’s not just bad emails from shady businesses getting flagged – the good emails and good guys are getting burned too.

To understand why this is happening, we have to understand that every email has to pass through a bunch of checkpoints before it gets to you aka Spam Filters. These filters are trained to spot shady stuff – whether it’s weird subject lines, sketchy links, or just bad vibes (okay, not vibes exactly, but you get me).

When you send an email, the filter checks it against a list of “bad email behaviors” it’s learned over time so spam filters aren’t just guessing; they use a multi-layered system to weigh a bunch of factors at once, like:

• Header Analysis: They scan the technical bits (like sender IP, timestamps, and routing) to see if anything looks off.
• Content Review: They actually read your email, looking for certain words, phrasing patterns, or structures that scream “spam!”
• Authentication Checks: They check if the email really came from who it says it did, using methods like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (don’t worry, we’ll break that down in a bit).
• Behavioral Signals: Filters even examine how past recipients interacted with emails from your address – Are recipients opening it, replying, or immediately hitting “Report Spam”?

At the end of all that, the email either slides into the inbox… or gets thrown into spam jail. Behind the scenes, some filters even use machine learning. That means they learn from what millions of users mark as spam every day, getting smarter over time. So even old-school “spam tricks” that worked a few years ago might flop today.

Now that you know what spam filters do, here are some reasons why you may be a good legit business trying to reach your customers and still get flagged:

1. Spammy Words and Phrases
Words like “FREE,” “GUARANTEED,” “RISK-FREE,” “Urgent deal,” or “Get rich today!” and even too many dollar signs ($$$) will set off alarm bells. To get around this, write like you would text a friend, not like you’re screaming through a late-night infomercial.

2. Too Many Links, Bad Links or Attachments
If your email is packed with links or sketchy-looking attachments, you’re practically begging the spam filter to block you. If you’re linking to sketchy websites or even good sites that look sketchy your whole email could get flagged. One bad link can ruin your whole effort. So stick to a few clean, relevant links and avoid attachments unless absolutely necessary.

3. Crazy Formatting
Mixing five fonts, throwing in ALL CAPS, neon colors, or giant photos with almost no words? Spam filters hate that. Keep it clean and easy to read, like a normal text from a friend..

4. Misleading Subject Lines
If your subject line says “Your package has arrived” but you’re selling a webinar or you’re hyping your subject line like “YOU WON A MILLION DOLLARS” and then talking about socks inside the email… not only will people hate you, but the filters will catch on fast.. Be real and relevant.

5. Missing Authentication
If you don’t have SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) set up, your email is like a stranger showing up at someone’s door – no ID, no entry.

6. Sending to Bad Email Lists & A Bad Reputation
Using bought or scraped email lists filled with dead or fake addresses crushes your sender reputation. Always build your list organically with people who actually want to hear from you because even if the emails go through to someone who doesn’t want to hear from you, you’ll most likely get blocked or reported. If your email address (like you@yourbrand.com) has a history of getting blocked or reported… Filters remember and this hurts your sender reputation. There’s even a real score out there (0–100) for how “trustworthy” you seem. It’s called a Sender Score. High score = filters trust you. Low score = good luck getting through.

Now earlier we talked about Authentication Checks where we said “don’t worry, we’ll break that down in a bit” its break it down time… haha!

Let’s talk about SPF, DKIM, and DMARC – what are they and why must you set them up. We’ll also discuss how to set up a Custom Domain and authenticate it properly as well as the importance of a Dedicated Sending IP (for high-volume senders).

What the Heck Are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC – and Why Should You Care?

Think of the process of sending and receiving emails like the postal system. You put a return address on the envelope (that’s SPF), you sign the letter with a personal stamp (that’s DKIM), and the post office checks both before handing it to someone’s mailbox (that’s DMARC).

Now, in simple terms:

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework) tells mail servers which IP addresses are allowed to send emails on behalf of your domain. If someone that’s not on the permitted addresses list tries to send an email claiming to be you, SPF says, “Not today!”. If you don’t set this up spammers can fake your domain, send messages on your behalf and damage your reputation.
  
  
• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) DKIM adds a digital signature like a tamper-proof seal to your emails. It uses cryptographic keys to “sign” your emails so recipients know it came from the real you and wasn’t changed during transit. It’s your way of saying, “Yes, I am sending this message.”
  
  
• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): This is the rulebook. DMARC provides instructions to receiving servers as to what they should do in the event that an email does not pass SPF or DKIM checks. Should they quarantine it? Reject it? DMARC lays down the law and also provides reports so you can monitor any shady activity.

According to Google Postmaster Tools and Cisco Talos, roughly 85-90% of all email traffic on the internet is spam. That means inbox providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo are brutal about filtering anything that might be suspicious. If your emails don’t pass these technical tests, they’re getting tossed into the spam folder – or worse, blocked entirely.

In a 2023 Validity study, emails sent from domains without SPF/DKIM/DMARC saw average inbox placement rates as low as 49%, while fully authenticated senders reached inboxes at a rate of 93% or more.

So if you care about getting your emails seen, not just sent, setting up SPF, DKIM and DMARC are non-negotiable.

How to Set Up a Custom Domain and Authenticate It Properly

Okay, now let’s say you’ve got your business name and a shiny new website. Great! But if you’re still sending emails from yourcompany@gmail.com, you’re asking people (and inbox filters) not to take you seriously. So here’s what you want to do…

Step 1: Buy a Domain: Pick a domain from a place like Google Domains, GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Cloudflare. Let’s say you get freshbrewnews.com.

Step 2: Set Up Email Hosting: You’ll need a host for your email. If you’re using a platform like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, they’ll handle a lot of the setup. But if you’re using a platform like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or ConvertKit, you’re usually asked to add some DNS records to your domain registrar.

Step 3: Add DNS Records for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC: Here’s the kicker – every domain registrar looks a little different, but the concept is the same. You’ll log in to your domain registrar (like GoDaddy or Namecheap) and navigate to the DNS management section. and add the following:

• SPF: Add a TXT record like this: v=spf1 include:sendgrid.net ~all (Replace sendgrid.net with your actual email service provider.)
  
  
• DKIM: Generate a DKIM key pair usually provided by your ESP. You’ll paste in a TXT record that looks like a long string of code. This validates your email signature.
  
  
• DMARC: Start with a record like this: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com . Later, you can change p=none to p=quarantine or p=reject once you’re confident things are set up properly.

To check if your settings are working use tools like MxToolbox, Google Admin Toolbox, or DMARC Analyzer . These tools will tell you if your domain is fully authenticated or still looking sketchy to inbox filters.

Why Big Senders Need a Dedicated IP – And What Happens If You Don’t Have One

If you’re sending a significant volume of emails – think newsletters, promotions, or transactional emails – a dedicated IP address can be a game-changer. When you send email, it’s not just your domain that gets noticed – the IP address (usually provided by your ESP) doing the sending also builds a reputation over time.

Think of a dedicated IP like your own lane on the freeway. If you’re on a shared IP (the default for most free or entry-level email plans), you’re riding with hundreds or thousands of other businesses. If one of them is reckless (i.e. sends spam), your emails get punished too. When you have a dedicated IP, your reputation as a sender is completely in your hands. You’re not affected by other senders’ behaviors, which can be the case with shared IPs

When You Need a Dedicated IP

When you have a good sending reputation, your emails are more likely to be delivered, opened and acted upon instead of going straight to spam. You don’t need a dedicated IP to achieve this if you send fewer than 50,000 emails per month. You’ll be just fine on a shared plan with good hygiene and authentication.

But if you’re regularly sending more than 100,000 emails per month, or if email is your main sales channel (e.g., for an ecommerce business), then a dedicated IP gives you control over your sender reputation. High-volume senders also benefit from establishing consistent sending patterns, which ISPs favor – and a dedicated IP allows for this consistency.

One thing to note is you have to warm up a dedicated IP by slowly increasing your sending volume over a few weeks to let inboxes get used to seeing your emails. If you jump from zero to 100k overnight, then your emails will be filtered or blocked. According to SendGrid, senders with properly warmed-up dedicated IPs see 15-20% higher deliverability rates compared to those stuck on crowded shared ones — especially during seasonal peaks like Black Friday, when everyone’s inbox is on fire.

How To Build A Strong Sender Reputation

When you meet someone new, you don’t just bombard them with information all at once, right? The same goes for email marketing. When you’re using a new domain or IP address, it’s important that you ease into sending emails to build trust with Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

This process, known as “warming up,” and it is essentially just gradually increasing your email sending volume over time. Let’s go through this process and some of the best ways to build and maintain a strong sender reputation.

Warming Up a New Domain/IP Address

The best way to warm up a new domain/IP address, is to focus on sending emails to your subscribers who are most likely to open and interact with your emails – and then gradually increase the volume over a period of 4-8 weeks. For example, start with 500 emails per day, then double the amount every few days, monitoring engagement metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates closely. High engagement and low bounce rates indicate a healthy sender reputation. This method shows email providers that you’re a trusted sender, not someone blasting out junk mail to random recipients.

Sending Emails At The Right Frequency

Sending emails too often can annoy your subscribers, while sending them too infrequently can make them forget about you. So, how often should you hit that “send” button?

Research suggests that sending 1-3 emails per month is a good starting point and then they can slowly ramp up over time to 1-3 emails per week. You’re showing up often enough to be remembered, but not so much that it feels pushy. You don’t want to ghost your subscribers… but also don’t want to be that person constantly showing up in their inbox.

So here’s what you should do;

• Set expectations early: Tell people how often you’ll be emailing when they first sign up. Don’t surprise them with daily emails if you said “monthly updates.”
  
  
• General rule of thumb: While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, most brands do well with 1–3 emails a week. Not too clingy, not too distant.
  
  
• Check your stats: If people are opening your emails and not unsubscribing, you’re probably on the right track. If opens are down and unsubscribes are up? Pull back a bit.
  
  
• Go with the flow: If it’s holiday season or you’ve got a sale, it’s okay to email more – just make sure you’re actually saying something worth reading.

Maintaining a Consistent Sending Schedule

Consistency in your email sending schedule helps build trust with both subscribers and ISPs. On the other hand, irregular sending patterns can raise red flags and negatively impact deliverability. So what this means for your business is if you go weeks without emailing and then suddenly send five in a row, your subscribers and email platforms will both be like, “What’s going on?

So here’s the smart thing to do;

• Pick your days: Look at when your audience is most active and use that to determine the best days and times to send emails. Maybe Wednesdays at 10am are gold for your business. Your analytics dashboard has the answers.
  
  
• No sudden blasts: If you need to increase volume, ease into it. Don’t just double your list overnight.
  
  
• Plan ahead: Use a simple calendar or reminder to plan campaigns in advance so you’re not scrambling last minute and you have a steady flow of content. (Google Sheets or Notion work great.)

Segmenting Your List

Different folks, different needs. Your audience is not thousands of clones of the same person so why send the same message to everyone? Imagine getting baby product emails when you don’t even have a kid. When you don’t segment your list, you send messages that seem and are usually out of touch with your audience.

Segmenting your email list means dividing subscribers into smaller groups based on specific criteria, whether it’s a segment for new subscribers, another for loyal customers, and another for those who haven’t engaged in a while, frequency of opens or by products purchased, links clicked etc. allowing for more personalized and relevant content to reach each subscriber.

There are a plethora of ways to segment a list. Got people who haven’t opened in 3 months? Create a segment and send them a “Hey, you still there?” type of email. People pay attention when the email actually feels meant for them – and attention is money. More engagement means more sales, period.

So now you know what Spam Filters are looking out for and how to avoid getting caught in the spam folder by setting up your custom domain and authenticating it properly. You know what words to avoid so you already have or are able to create the perfect email but there is one final step before you hit “SEND” – Testing!

How to Test Email Deliverability Before Sending

Before launching an email campaign, we recommend you assess how your emails will perform. Pre-send testing helps identify potential issues that could land your emails in spam folders or prevent them from reaching recipients altogether.​ Think about it as preparing for a presentation and checking if your slides work before you actually do the presentation.

The cool thing is there are several tools that can help evaluate your email’s likelihood of reaching the inbox:

• MailTester: This tool evaluates your email’s spam score, checking for issues like missing authentication records or problematic content.​
• GlockApps: Provides insights into inbox placement, spam folder delivery, and authentication status across various email providers.​
• MXToolbox: Offers a comprehensive deliverability report, analyzing factors like blacklisting, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
• SenderScore: Assigns a reputation score to your IP address, indicating how trustworthy your emails appear to ISPs
• Lemwarm: Simulates real-world sending scenarios to assess how your emails perform in terms of deliverability.​

When you’re trying to figure out if your emails are actually making it to inboxes or getting lost somewhere in cyberspace, there are a few clear warning signs to look out for. One of the first clues is a sudden drop in open rates, which could mean your emails are quietly being pushed into spam folders rather than inboxes.

If you also notice bounce rates creeping up, that’s another red flag – it usually points to problems with the quality of your list or damage to your sender reputation. At the same time, an uptick in spam complaints from recipients can seriously impact how mailbox providers view your messages, chipping away at your sender trust score.

And then like we mentioned earlier missing or incorrectly setting up SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records can trigger filters and block delivery entirely. If it gets really bad, you might even find yourself blacklisted, which is basically the email equivalent of being ghosted by the internet.

That’s why keeping an eye on these metrics and acting quickly when things look off is the ONLY way to fix your deliverability issues. And if you do find yourself blacklisted, the next step is understanding how to get delisted and repair the damage.

Here at Abervin Digital, we do not leave our clients or readers hanging so naturally we’ll get into how to request delisting if you are blacklisted as well as when and how to change your domain or IP.

How to Get Delisted and Know When It’s Time to Switch Domains or IPs

Blacklists are essentially databases that track IP addresses or domains that have been flagged for sending what’s perceived as spam. Getting listed can seriously mess with your email reach. What this means is no matter how beautiful or how carefully written, your messages might never make it to the inbox.

If you find out that your IP or domain has been blacklisted, the first step is identifying exactly which blacklist you’re on. As we mentioned earlier tools like MXToolbox and Clearout make this process pretty straightforward, scanning your sender information across dozens of known blacklists. Once you’ve identified where you’re listed, the next step is understanding why. More often than not, it’s because of spam complaints, sending emails to invalid or outdated addresses, or even security lapses like compromised email servers.

Once you have a report that shows you what the issue is, you need to fix it – and this could mean anything from cleaning your email list, tightening your sending practices, or setting up proper authentication records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Once everything’s fixed, you’re ready to file a request to be delisted.

Each blacklist has its own process, but most will ask for some kind of evidence that the issue has been addressed. For example, Microsoft’s delisting portal requires a detailed explanation and a commitment to better practices. From there, it’s a bit of a waiting game. The time it takes to get delisted depends on the specific blacklist and how convincing your appeal is. In the meantime, staying proactive with monitoring tools and list hygiene goes a long way in keeping you off those lists for good.

But what happens when your efforts hit a wall and you just can’t shake a bad sender reputation? That’s when you might need to consider a more dramatic move – like changing your domain or IP altogether. If you’re not sure if you’re already at this point or you’re sure you are at this point but don’t know what to do from here on out, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered…

Let’s get into when and how to change your domain or IP.

Switch Domains and IPs Without Tanking Your Deliverability

Switching your sending domain or IP address is never something to rush into. Think of it as more of a “break-glass-in-case-of-emergency” move. Technically, you only get to this point when your deliverability issues are so persistent that even after trying everything like cleaning up your list, fixing your content, and requesting delisting, you’re still stuck in the spam section.

For example, if your current domain or IP has been blacklisted and remains blocked no matter what you do, or if you’re going through a major rebrand that calls for a fresh domain identity, or even if you’re switching email service providers and they assign you a different IP address, these are all valid reasons to consider making the jump. But even then, the transition isn’t just about flipping a switch.

You have to “warm up” the new domain or IP, which means slowly increasing the number of emails you send so inbox providers can start associating your new sending identity with good behavior. It’s like introducing yourself to a new crowd… you don’t barge in shouting, you ease into it. That also means setting up proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) so your emails look legit and trustworthy.

Throughout the process, you’ll need to keep a close eye on performance metrics – open rates, bounces, spam complaints – so you can catch and fix issues early. And here’s the thing: changing your domain or IP doesn’t wipe your slate clean if you keep repeating bad practices. Inbox providers are smart, and they track patterns over time, not just names and numbers. So if you’re going to make the switch, treat it like a reboot, not a reset – because your reputation still follows you.

The truth is, landing in the inbox isn’t just luck – it’s strategy. If you want your emails to be seen, read, and acted on in 2025, you need more than just a catchy subject line. You need the right systems, habits, and tools to stay out of spam and top of mind. That’s where we come in.

At Abervin Digital, we help businesses like yours turn email into one of your highest-performing marketing channels – clean lists, deliverability optimization, compelling content, the whole package.

If you’re ready to finally get seen in every inbox or just want to make sure you’re on the right track, then reach out to us at +1 307-271-5184 or check out our pricing and packages at Abervin Digital. Let’s get your emails the attention they deserve.