7 Tips to Keep Subscribers From Marking Your Emails as Spam
A customer signs up to get email promotions from your company but then marks your email as spam. Here are reasons why consumers hit the “Report spam” button, as well as some handy tips to prevent it from happening to your next email campaign.
Why Do Subscribers Mark Email as Spam?
Why do consumers who have subscribed to receive emails from a company mark those emails as spam? To help answer that question, Litmus and Fluent surveyed more than 1,300 adult consumers in the United States. They set out to determine the “new definition of spam” and the factors that influence a consumer’s decision to end a relationship with a company. Here are highlights from the report:
How Often Do Consumers Mark Promotional Emails as Spam?
- 43% of consumers either often or very frequently mark promotional emails as spam, or move them to their spam folders, whereas only 20% said that they never mark emails as spam.
- 48% of consumers said that they very frequently or often check their spam folders, whereas 18% reported that they never check their spam folders.
- 46% of consumers said that they very frequently or often move promotional emails from brands out of their spam folders or mark them as “not spam,” whereas 25% said that they never move emails from their spam folders.
How Easy Is It to Unsubscribe From Email Lists?
- Many consumers (39%) find it rather difficult or very difficult to unsubscribe from getting a brand’s promotional emails.
- 50% of consumers said that they marked promotional emails as spam because they couldn’t easily unsubscribe.
- Most consumers (71%), however, find it very easy or rather easy to subscribe for promotional emails from a company.
What Are the Top Reasons Why Consumers Mark Emails as Spam?
- A company sent too many or irrelevant emails (57%)
- Consumers were no longer interested in the brand (53%)
- Consumers didn’t knowingly or willingly sign up to a company’s email list (51%)
- Consumers couldn’t easily figure out how to unsubscribe (50%)
- Consumers had a bad customer-service experience with the company (45%)
- A company’s emails didn’t display or work well on the consumer’s smartphone (43%)
What Are the Top Reasons Why Consumers Unsubscribe From Receiving a Company’s Promotional Emails?
- A company sent too many or irrelevant emails (67%)
- Consumers were no longer interested in the brand (65%)
- A company’s emails didn’t display or work well on consumers’ smartphones (51%)
- Consumers had a bad customer-service experience with the company (41%)
- A company’s mobile app didn’t work well (40%)
7 Tips to Keep Your Emails Out of the Spam Folder
How can you keep your subscribers happy and prevent them from unsubscribing or marking your emails as spam? Here are some tips for doing just that:
- Send email messages that are relevant. “Too many irrelevant emails” was the No. 1 reason why subscribers both marked a company’s email as spam and unsubscribed. Segmenting your email list and personalizing your emails are 2 important ways to help ensure that your email content is relevant to your target audience.
- Get explicit permission from new subscribers. Make it clear to your prospects during the email opt-in process that they’re subscribing to your email list. Then, set expectations with a confirmation page and welcome email series that tells new subscribers what information they’ll be getting in your emails (coupons, sales announcements, etc.) and how often they’ll be receiving those emails. Click here for best practices for creating opt-in forms that not only convert, but also build an email list of loyal and engaged subscribers.
- Be sure your emails are clearly branded. Let your subscribers know right from the start that your emails are from the company with which they signed up. Include a clear sender address with your company’s name, for example, rather than the name of a person who they may not know. And be sure a prominent logo of your brand is featured in the masthead of your email.
- Make it easy to unsubscribe. In the survey cited above, 50% of consumers said that they marked an email as spam because they couldn’t easily figure out how to unsubscribe. That’s why it’s imperative to include a prominent unsubscribe link in the footer of all your promotional emails. In addition, be sure to process unsubscribe requests promptly so that people who unsubscribe don’t get annoyed by continuing to receive emails from your company.
- Use responsive design for your emails. Emails that don’t render well on a recipient’s smartphone is a top reason why consumers both mark an email as spam and unsubscribe from receiving a company’s emails. To ensure a good mobile user experience for your subscribers, use responsive design for your email campaigns and website landing pages, too. For more information on mobile-friendly design, check out a previous NewsLever article: “How to Use Responsive Email Design to Optimize Your ROI.”
- Craft subject lines that are clear, customer-centric, and express the value of the email. The subject line is where it all begins with each email. That’s why it’s so important to spend the time creating and optimizing your email subject lines. Click here for a cheat sheet that includes 10 of our top tips for grabbing subscribers’ attention and driving opens.
- Optimize for frequency and cadence. Finding your send frequency sweet spot is essential to keeping subscribers engaged and happy. On the other hand, sending too many emails can result in your subscribers ignoring your emails, unsubscribing, or even marking your emails as spam. Check out the following links for more tips about optimizing your email frequency and cadence:
How are your email deliverability rates? And how many subscribers either mark your emails as spam or unsubscribe each month? If you think that there’s room for improvement, FulcrumTech can help. We specialize in getting our clients’ emails delivered! We’ll help you uncover your issues and find solutions for your problems. Contact us today to learn more.