Mailgun Emails Going to Spam – How to Improve Deliverability

1. Track Your Engagement Metrics via Mailgun Control Panel

We could have an endless discussion about the most important parts of an optimized email and examples of great email marketing. However, at the end of the day, what matters most is to see the results of your efforts.

And what better way to measure the effectiveness of email marketing than knowing the engagement metrics? Peter Drucker may not have been thinking about email marketing, but one of the most fundamental quotes in business, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it,” applies aptly here in our first tip.

These are pieces of information that tell you who your active subscribers are, which links they clicked on, what messages they enjoy, and so much more.

Each piece of data will guide you to avoid the spam folder.

2. Improve your list quality with Mailgun’s COIL opt-in

A vital part of inbox delivery is making sure that all contacts opt-in to receive promotional and marketing content from you.

Double opt-in may be a high bar to consider for some marketers. If you don’t want to build your list based on this gold standard, Mailgun’s Confirmed-Opt-In-Lite (COIL) is an interesting option. 

This sending option allows your recipient to automatically flow into the promotional content only after positively engaging with the initial transactional emails. In this way, your recipient did not have to validate through a specific opt-in link.

You can read all about this feature here.

3. Always Have an Unsubscribe Link In Your Emails

An unsubscribe link allows users to cancel their subscription, but this is better than getting spam complaints.

So, to prevent your Mailgun emails from landing in the spam folder, always have an unsubscribe link in all your campaigns.

The unsubscribe link should be visible and not in ultra-fine print.

In the Mailgun platform, there’s also a “List-Unsubscribe” header line that you can use to make the unsubscribe link stand out on any email delivery platform company that supports it.

4. Focus on Your Content

Any marketing email is meant to deliver key messages or promote certain behaviors from your recipients.

Let’s say an abandoned cart email encourages customers to return to your website and buy what they left in their basket.

In such a case, it is better to write an email that directs your recipient to return to their shopping cart. Focusing on your email content itself will help you avoid the spam filter as it draws attention and interaction.

Also, because the email is relevant, your audience is less likely to report your message as spam because it’s personalized.

Avoid sending content to provide a friendly reminder that you exist or to say hello. Most likely, your subscribers don’t care about such. Instead, your emails should be relevant.

Making sure that there’s a physical address and privacy links on your email content is important, especially if you’re in the United States, as these requirements are a part of the CAN-SPAM Act.

Once you get past those hurdles, ensure your email is properly coded. An email source code will contain the header information and often includes the HTML code to style the message.

You may even use a free HTML code email tester to know what could be affecting your emails’ reputation before you send them.

You never know; all it takes could be one bad image or one broken link to damage your brand, drive down the performance of your campaign, or impact customer experience.

5. Use an Email Spam Checker

Spam check your emails to not only prevent your Mailgun emails from going to spam but also boost your open and conversion rates.

An email spam checker will shed light on your campaign’s weak points, like poor email content or lame authentication (DKIM records, DMARC, and SPF).

Having your email checked before actually sending your message shows you other ways to earn a place in your subscribers’ inboxes more efficiently.

You can search for an email spam checker that analyzes the email text (whether there are spammy words if the email size is appropriate, etc), verifies any blacklist mentions of your email domain or IP address, and checks whether your DMARC, SPF, and DKIM are property set-up.

6. Build Your Reputation

The last tip to prevent Mailgun emails from going to spam is to build your reputation. The way to think about it is like your credit score.

When you have not sent an email yet, it means you don’t have a bad reputation. Yet, you also don’t have a good reputation. No Email Service Provider (ESP) will allow you to send bulk emails from their IPs right out of the gate.

This only means that you have to build a history of performance to build a reputation.

Some factors to help you build a good reputation are to pay attention to the ESP’s feedback (whether to stop sending for a certain period or slow down), limit email bounces, and provide unsubscribe links the same way you create sign-up forms.

See what you can accomplish with the world’s best email delivery platform for developers today using Mailgun.