What are common things that trigger spam filters?
The best way to avoid spam filters is to understand how they work. Below we cover the definition of a spam message, the various types of spam, spam filters, spam laws, and more.
What is Spam?
Email spam refers to unsolicited commercial messages sent to a recipient without their prior consent. These messages, also known as junk email, are typically sent in bulk and are designed to promote products or services. Any unsolicited email is considered spam.
It is important to note that if you operate a business or use email services for business purposes, you must ensure that your email marketing practices are compliant with all applicable laws. This includes, but is not limited to, laws regulating unsolicited commercial emails, such as the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States.
Any email that is sent without the recipient's consent is considered spam, regardless of the content or purpose of the message. This is why it is essential for businesses to obtain explicit consent from their subscribers before sending them any commercial emails. This can be done through opt-in forms or by allowing subscribers to explicitly sign up for email communications.
Email spam is a major issue for both individuals and businesses alike. To protect your reputation and avoid legal repercussions, it is important to be mindful of the laws regulating unsolicited commercial emails and to obtain explicit consent from your subscribers before sending them any commercial messages.
What about a list I have purchased or received from a business partner?
The contacts contained in purchased lists or even a business partner may seem like a great set of prospective clients, but because they didn't give you explicit permission to contact them any email you send would be considered spam.
Emailing a purchased list is not recommended for several reasons. Firstly, sending emails to individuals who have not explicitly given their consent to receive emails from you is a violation of privacy laws, such as the CAN-SPAM Act in the US, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU.
Secondly, sending emails to a purchased list can result in a high number of bounced emails and low engagement rates. This can cause your emails to be flagged as spam by email filters and ISPs, which can negatively impact your sender reputation.
A purchased list often contains outdated or inaccurate information, which can result in a high number of invalid email addresses. This can result in your emails being blocked or rejected by email filters, which can further damage your sender reputation.
Furthermore, individuals on a purchased list are unlikely to be interested in your content, which can result in a high number of unsubscribes and low engagement rates. This can lead to your emails being marked as spam by email filters and ISPs, which can further impact your deliverability rates.
It is not recommended to email a purchased list as it can result in legal violations, damage your sender reputation, and result in low engagement rates. Instead, it is recommended to only email individuals who have given their explicit consent to receive emails from you and to focus on building a targeted and engaged email list.
Spam Laws
Cloze is required to enforce the spam laws in each country for several reasons, but beyond the legal requirements, spam also negatively impacts your email delivery rates. To protect our community and ensure you receive the best email marketing experience we have strict rules that are enforced to prevent spam.
United States: CAN-SPAM Act
We highly recommend reviewing the full details of the CAN-SPAM Act Compliance Guide provided by the Federal Trade Commission. It's also important to note that the law extends beyond email to all commercial messages, which the law defines as “any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service”. This means unsolicited text messages are also covered (please note that unsolicited text messages or automated "robotext" messages or "robocalls" are also covered by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA).
Here are the key details to consider from the above guide:
- Don’t use false or misleading header information. Your “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.
- Tip: Cloze will automatically set your own email address to make this clear to the recipient
- Don’t use deceptive subject lines. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
- Tip: We recommend short, descriptive subject lines.
- Identify the message as an ad. The law gives you a lot of leeway in how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that your message is an advertisement.
- Tip: Similar to subject lines, we recommend clear and concise copy. Generally the shorter the better with the key points in the first few sentences of the email. Remember most email is read on a mobile device and readers will often not scroll down the full length of an email.
- Tell recipients where you’re located. Your message must include your valid physical postal address.
- Tip: We recommend including your postal address in your email signature or in your legal terms footer.
- Tell recipients how to opt-out of receiving future email from you. Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting an email from you in the future.
- Honor opt-out requests promptly. Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your message. You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days.
- Tip: When a recipient opts out using a Cloze built-in unsubscribe link (see Smart Links) the contact is immediately updated in Cloze so they will no longer receive your mass email communications.
Canada: Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
CASL is very similar to the United States CAN-SPAM law but also includes all electronic messages. Click here for more details.
Like the GDPR and CAN-SPAM Act, CASL also covers any message that are commercial in nature including text messages. This means, like with email you obtain consent before sending the text message, must include the proper identification requirements, and have a functioning unsubscribe mechanism.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Even if you are located in the United States or another country outside the EU, but work with clients in the EU, you will still need to comply with the GDPR. The GDPR impacts how all businesses, regardless of the company’s location, collect, process, store and manage the Personal Data of European Union citizens. If you email or conduct business with European citizens you must comply with the GDPR regardless of your location.
The GDPR is broader in its scope than CAN-SPAM Act and CASL and extends to all personal information which by extension covers how you communicate via phone, text, and email.
As the Controller under GDPR you will need what is called Lawful Basis for the processing of personal information of EU citizens. These are found in
Article 6 of the GDPR. To help you with this aspect of the GDPR we automate the tracking and enforcement of your Lawful Basis.
Simply put, with our enforcement feature enabled you can’t email or call someone unless you have the Lawful Basis to do so. It protects you and it protects your entire team.
Spam Filters
Generally, all email sent and received is screened through a spam filter. Their core goal is to filter out unwanted emails from their recipient's inboxes. Spam filters analyze email across a number of factors to determine the relative spamminess of a message. Each factor is weighed and then tallied to determine the spam score of the specific message. If the score extends a specific threshold the message is considered spam and is moved into the spam or junk folder.
Not every spam filter will behave the same. The same message may be filtered to junk/spam for one recipient but not another so it is important to review what can trigger a spam filter. You can also run a spam check using a third-party tool like Mailgenius or Mail Tester, to better understand why your message is being marked as spam.
Common things that trigger spam filters
Words and Phrases
Certain words and phrases can significantly increase the likelihood of an email being flagged as spam. This is because spam filters use complex algorithms to analyze the content and context of an email, including the words and phrases used. Some commonly used words and phrases that are associated with spam include "earn money fast," "limited time offer," and "urgent."
However, it's not just the words and phrases used in an email that impact whether it will be flagged as spam. Other factors, such as the formatting, punctuation, symbols, and links used, can also play a role. For example, emails that use excessive capitalization, exclamation points, and HTML formatting can be interpreted as aggressive or spammy, and thus, more likely to be flagged as spam.
Additionally, emails that contain numerous links or display a high ratio of images to text can also be flagged as spam. This is because spammers often use these techniques to hide their true intentions and to entice recipients to click on links that lead to malicious websites or download harmful software.
To avoid having your emails flagged as spam, it is important to avoid using suspicious words and phrases, as well as to pay attention to the formatting, punctuation, symbols, and links used in your emails. By adhering to best practices and avoiding red flags, you can improve your email deliverability and reach your intended audience.
Images
Emails that are a single image or contain many images with little or no text will likely trigger a spam filter.
Links
Spammers will use deceptive links to trick recipients into clicking links that could be harmful, so you should also be careful in how you link any URLs included in your email. Your link text should exactly match the linked URL.
For example, if you include the text: Please visit wellesleyrealtygroup.com for more information and wellesleyrealtygroup.com is linked to wellesleyrealtygroup.com/home-search your email will likely get flagged as spam because the text doesn't exactly match the link.
Cloze email includes link tracking for your analytics reports, which changes the links included in your email. We recommend avoiding the use of a URL as the link text because it will not match the destination URL and likely trigger a spam filter.
Recipient Engagement
Recipient engagement is an important factor that determines whether an email will be flagged as spam by email filters. The filters are designed to adapt to changes in recipient behavior and engagement patterns, taking into account metrics such as open rate and bounce rate. If recipients consistently show low engagement with a sender's emails, the filters will gradually flag more of the sender's emails as spam.
To avoid this, it is crucial to send relevant and targeted content to a well-defined audience. This means understanding your audience's preferences, needs, and interests, and crafting emails that are relevant and valuable to them. By sending emails that are likely to be well-received, you can avoid having your emails marked as spam, and increase the chances that they will be opened and acted upon.
Additionally, regularly cleaning your email list of inactive or unengaged subscribers can also help to improve your engagement metrics and reduce the risk of your emails being flagged as spam.
Recipient engagement is a critical factor in ensuring that emails reach their intended recipients and avoid being marked as spam. By sending targeted, relevant content and regularly monitoring and improving engagement metrics, senders can maintain a positive reputation and improve their email deliverability.
Sender Reputation
Email Sender Reputation is a critical aspect of email marketing. Companies and ISPs use email firewalls to prevent spam by intercepting messages from senders with a reputation for sending spam. The firewalls work by scanning inbound messages based on predefined rules, including checking blacklists, to determine whether the message is spam or not. A sender's reputation score, which is based on their IP address, is used to determine their status as a spam sender.
The reputation score is determined by the number of complaints received from recipients about the sender's emails. If a sender receives a large number of complaints, it results in a poor reputation score, which could lead to blacklisting and deliverability issues. To prevent this, ISPs, companies, and firewall software providers share information about senders who have a reputation for sending spam.
Recipients play a significant role in determining a sender's reputation score. They can click the spam button in their email client to report unwanted or unsolicited email, which will affect the sender's reputation score.
A sender's reputation is crucial for successful email marketing. To maintain a positive reputation, senders must ensure they follow best practices, such as using a double opt-in process and avoiding sending emails to recipients who have not explicitly requested them. By doing so, they can avoid getting flagged as a spam sender, maintain their reputation, and ensure their emails reach their intended recipients.
Sending Address
Your company IT team will ensure your email server is properly configured.
The sending email address can have a significant impact on whether an email is flagged as spam or not. Spam filters use various signals, including the sending email address, to determine the credibility and reputation of the sender.
If the sending email address has a history of sending spam or has been associated with malicious activity, then it is more likely that emails sent from that address will be flagged as spam. On the other hand, if the sending email address has a positive reputation and is associated with a reputable domain, then it is less likely that emails sent from that address will be flagged as spam.
Additionally, it is important to ensure that the sending email address is consistent and recognizable to the recipient. If an email is received from an unfamiliar or unexpected sender, it is more likely to be flagged as spam, as it may appear suspicious or illegitimate.
To minimize the risk of your emails being flagged as spam, it is important to ensure that the sending email address has a positive reputation, is consistent and recognizable to the recipient, and is associated with a reputable domain. By paying attention to these factors, you can improve your email deliverability and avoid having your messages marked as spam.
Email Server Configuration
An improperly configured email server can have a significant impact on whether an email is flagged as spam or not. A server that is not properly configured can give off signals that indicate that the sender is a potential source of spam, causing emails sent from that server to be more likely to be flagged as spam.
One common issue is an email server that does not properly authenticate its email messages. For example, if an email server is not properly configured with SPF (Sender Policy Framework) or DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) records, then it may not be able to prove to the recipient's mail server that the messages sent from that server are legitimate. This can result in those messages being flagged as spam.
Another issue is a server that is listed on a public blacklist. Public blacklists contain a list of IP addresses that have been associated with sending spam. If an email server's IP address is listed on a public blacklist, then emails sent from that server are more likely to be flagged as spam.
To ensure that your emails are not flagged as spam, it is important to ensure that your email server is properly configured. This includes properly authenticating your email messages with SPF and DKIM records and checking to ensure that your email server's IP address is not listed on a public blacklist. By paying attention to these factors, you can help ensure that your emails are delivered to the recipient's inbox and avoid being marked as spam.
Duplicate Content
Emailing duplicate content is not recommended for several reasons. Firstly, sending the same email multiple times to the same recipients can result in a high number of unsubscribes and low engagement rates. This can cause your emails to be flagged as spam by email filters and ISPs, which can negatively impact your sender reputation.
Additionally, sending duplicate content can result in a high number of complaints from recipients, who may feel that they are being bombarded with irrelevant or unwanted emails. This can further damage your sender reputation and deliverability rates.
Furthermore, email filters and ISPs use recipient engagement, such as open and click-through rates, to determine the relevance of an email. If you send duplicate content, your engagement rates are likely to be low, which can result in your emails being flagged as spam and delivered to the spam folder.
It is not recommended to email duplicate content as it can result in low engagement rates, high number of unsubscribes, and complaints, and damage your sender reputation and deliverability rates. Instead, it is recommended to create unique and relevant content for each email campaign to engage your recipients and maintain a positive sender reputation.
