Neuctra MailerWhy your emails go to spam, and how to fix it
Emails usually land in spam for three reasons: the receiving server can't confirm you are allowed to send from your domain, your sending suddenly jumps or hits bad addresses, or people mark your emails as spam. Fix authentication first (SPF, DKIM and DMARC), then send steadily to people who asked to hear from you.
1. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC
These are DNS records on your domain that prove an email really came from you. Your email provider gives you the values to add.
| Record | What it does |
|---|---|
| SPF | Lists the servers allowed to send email for your domain. |
| DKIM | Signs each email so receivers can check it wasn't changed and really came from your domain. |
| DMARC | Tells receivers what to do when SPF or DKIM fail, and sends you reports. Start with p=none, then tighten. |
2. Send from your own domain, through the right server
Send as [email protected] through the provider that domain is set up for. Don't send as a @gmail.com or @yahoo.com address through another service: those domains publish strict DMARC policies, so receivers reject or spam those emails.
3. Follow Gmail and Yahoo's sender rules
Since 2024, Gmail and Yahoo require anyone sending in bulk (over about 5,000 emails a day to Gmail) to authenticate with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, offer one-click unsubscribe, and keep spam complaints under 0.3%. Following them helps smaller senders too.
4 to 9. More fixes that work
- Warm up a new domain or account: start with small daily volumes and grow week by week
- Only email people who signed up, and never buy lists
- Stop emailing addresses that bounce or unsubscribe
- Include an unsubscribe link and the List-Unsubscribe header, so people leave instead of reporting spam
- Always include a plain-text version along with the HTML
- Avoid link shorteners, image-only emails and misleading subject lines
How Neuctra Mailer helps your emails reach the inbox
- Emails go out through your own SMTP account and domain, with your reputation
- Warm-up for new services: 50 marketing emails a day at first, rising to 500 by day 21
- Bounced and unsubscribed addresses go on a do-not-send list automatically
- Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link and one-click unsubscribe headers
- A plain-text version is generated for every template
- Rate limits stop sudden bursts, and failures explain SPF, DKIM and DMARC problems when a server reports them
Frequently asked questions
- Why do my emails go to spam in Gmail?
- Most often because your domain has no SPF, DKIM or DMARC records, you're sending as a Gmail address through another server, or recipients have marked similar emails as spam. Check the email's "Show original" view in Gmail: it shows whether SPF, DKIM and DMARC passed.
- How do I check if SPF, DKIM and DMARC are set up?
- Send yourself an email in Gmail, open it, and choose Show original. It lists PASS or FAIL for each. Free DNS lookup tools can also show your domain's records.
- Will a new domain go to spam?
- New domains have no reputation yet, so start slowly. Send small daily volumes to engaged people and increase gradually. Neuctra Mailer's warm-up does this for marketing emails automatically.
- Do transactional emails go to spam too?
- Less often, since people expect them, but they need the same SPF, DKIM and DMARC setup. Keep transactional emails short and free of marketing content.
Send your first email today
Create a service, add your SMTP login and send a test. It takes about two minutes.