Email deliverability services that fix the spam folder problem

Most spam folder problems have nothing to do with one bad word in a subject line. They come from a missing DNS record, a stale list, or a run of people pressing "report spam". Our email deliverability services find which one is hurting you, fix it inside the platform you already use, and keep monitoring every send after that.

How do you know you have a deliverability problem?

Your platform's delivery rate will not tell you. It counts messages the receiving server accepted, and a message filed straight into spam still counts as delivered. Our guide to email marketing metrics shows how that rate is calculated. Watch for these signs instead:

• Clicks drop at one mailbox provider while the others hold steady. A segment by email domain, such as gmail.com or outlook.com, makes it visible.
• Google Postmaster Tools shows your spam rate climbing, or a requirement marked Needs work.
• Bounce messages quote a rule, like the 550 5.7.515 error Outlook.com returns to high volume senders that fail authentication.
• Customers mention finding you in spam, or a test send to your own Gmail address lands there.
• Revenue from email slips while the list keeps growing.

Why are my emails going to spam?

Mailbox providers weigh three things: whether you can prove who you are, whether recipients want your mail, and whether this message looks like what you normally send. A weak answer on any one pushes you toward spam. These are the causes we find most often:

• The platform is sending under its own domain. Many platforms let you send before you authenticate your own domain. The mail is signed by the platform instead of by you, so it cannot pass DMARC alignment for your brand.
• A free From address. Mailchimp states plainly that public services like Gmail and Yahoo cannot be authenticated, so a newsletter sent from a gmail.com address starts at a disadvantage.
• A broken SPF record. Two SPF records on one domain, or one record needing more than 10 DNS lookups. The SPF standard, RFC 7208, treats both as a permanent error.
• No DMARC record. Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft all require one from high volume senders.
• Complaints creeping up. Subscribers who forgot they signed up click "report spam" instead of unsubscribing.
• Old addresses. Contacts collected years ago bounce, and long abandoned inboxes can become spam traps.
• Sudden volume jumps. A list that heard nothing for four months gets three emails in one holiday week.

Which inbox provider rules do we monitor for you?

Google and Yahoo began enforcing written sender requirements in February 2024, and Microsoft followed for Outlook.com in May 2025. Three of those rules decide most inbox placement problems we see, and we check all three for every client:

• Authentication. SPF and DKIM pass, a DMARC record is published, and your From domain aligns with one of them. Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft all ask this of high volume senders.
• One click unsubscribe. A list unsubscribe header that lets Gmail and Yahoo show their own unsubscribe button, a visible link in the footer, and every request processed within 2 days.
• Spam rate under 0.3%. Gmail and Yahoo both set that ceiling, and Google advises staying below 0.1%, so we treat 0.1% as the warning line.

Every threshold, with the exact wording from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, is in our email deliverability checklist.

How do you fix emails going to spam?

Work from identity to reputation to content. Rewriting copy is wasted effort while your domain fails authentication. These are the seven steps we follow:

1. Read a real message. We send a recent campaign to test inboxes at Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook.com and read the authentication results in the header: spf=pass, dkim=pass and dmarc=pass, with your domain in the DKIM signature.
2. Authenticate the sending domain in your platform. That means a branded sending domain in Klaviyo, domain authentication in Mailchimp, or the matching setting in the other email platforms we work inside. Each one hands you DNS records to add at your domain host. Google asks for DKIM keys of at least 1024 bits and recommends 2048.
3. Repair SPF and add DMARC. One SPF record, under the 10 lookup limit, listing only services that really send for you. Then a DMARC record at p=none with an rua address, so aggregate reports show every source sending under your name.
4. Turn on monitoring. We verify your domain in Google Postmaster Tools, whose Compliance status dashboard labels each requirement Compliant, Needs work or No data found.
5. Clean the list. Hard bounces come off right away. Contacts with no clicks or purchases for a long stretch get one last win back email, then suppression. We judge engagement on clicks more than opens, because Apple Mail Privacy Protection downloads content in the background when a message arrives, which can log an open nobody made.
6. Rebuild reputation gradually. After a spam problem, or a move to a new platform or sending domain, we send to recent engagers first, then widen the audience as complaints stay low.
7. Tighten DMARC when the reports are clean. Once every legitimate sender passes, moving toward quarantine or reject makes your domain far harder to spoof.

What do our email deliverability services include?

Deliverability is not a separate retainer. It runs alongside the 8 campaigns in our email campaign management service, inside the same flat $1,000 a month package.

From you we need access to your email platform and someone who can add records at your DNS host. We write out every record exactly, so the change is copy and paste. You keep ownership of the account, list, templates and domain.

Do you need an email deliverability consultant?

Usually not, if you are a small or midsize US sender. You need the basics set up once, then checked monthly by whoever sends your campaigns.

Why do seasonal businesses hit spam at peak season?

Much of our work is for seasonal businesses, like the "Winter Sites on the Water" snowbird email we wrote for Lake Buchanan RV Resort in Burnet, TX, or the "Camp O Ween" Halloween email for Riverwalk at Yadkin River in Jonesville, NC. Seasonal offers have deadlines, and their audience often includes people who have not heard from the business in months. A list that only hears from you before peak season saves its complaints for the sends that matter most.

Our fix lives in the calendar. We keep a steady rhythm through slow months, send to recent customers before the big push, and clean bounces after each send. The "Black Friday Prep" email we wrote for Whapi, a Shopify app for WhatsApp automation, made the same point to merchants: do the setup before the rush. For your sending, that means fixing authentication in October, not Black Friday week. See more on our campground and RV park email marketing page and in our campaign portfolio.

How do we meet both CAN-SPAM and inbox provider rules?

Every campaign we build carries your physical postal address, a working unsubscribe link and a subject line that matches the offer inside, and we process opt outs fast enough to satisfy federal law and the inbox providers at once. Our CAN-SPAM compliance checklist lists each legal requirement from the FTC, so you can see exactly what we confirm before a send goes out.

Start with a free deliverability check

Our free email audit reviews your SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, list health and recent campaigns, then tells you in plain English what is holding back inbox placement. Act on it yourself or have us handle it. See how deliverability fits with copy and design in our full email marketing services.

Frequently asked questions