Why Does My WordPress Email Get Sent to Spam?

WordPress email sent to spam? It’s a common problem, but it’s 100% fixable.

You’re wondering why your WordPress email never finds its way to your customer’s inbox. Or how that welcome email ends up in the spam folder. Or having people complaining to you that they didn’t get that purchase confirmation email.

It is frustrating, but unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. For every email that you send that gets into a spam folder somewhere, it’s actually hurting your sender score. Your future emails will be more likely to end in the spam folder. Again.

How do you ensure, once and for all, that every WordPress email you send is going into your recipient’s inbox?

We have some quick fixes for you here, but before that, let’s see what has really happened to your email.

How did my WordPress email end up in the spam folder?

In email servers, there is software called spam filters. They are responsible for recognizing suspicious patterns in emails. If your email has one or more of these patterns, it will likely be directed to the spam folder by the spam filter.

Sending emails from your WordPress website is even trickier, since WordPress is built using PHP. Spam filters know that PHP servers are capable of sending thousands of emails automatically in an hour, so they are treated more carefully.

That’s why your WordPress email is in the spam folder.

How do you fix this? How do you make sure that the next email you send from WordPress goes straight to the inbox?

7 tips to prevent your next email from getting into the spam folder

By now, you may already realize that the solution is actually simple. Make sure that your email doesn’t look like spam.

1. Encourage your subscribers to whitelist you

To keep up your sender score, you want all of your subscribers to be people who really want to receive your email. One way to do this is to make a double opt-in for your subscribers. Double opt-in requires an extra step before they’re really subscribed to your list, so it will filter out some people who aren’t willing to confirm their subscription.

While they’re there confirming their subscription, you can also encourage them to add your email to their contact list. If the sender (you) is someone in their contact list, the email will be more likely to end up in their inbox, not their spam folder.

2. Pay attention to your subject line

The subject line below is taken out of one of the emails in my spam folder. If you take a quick look in your spam folder, you’ll find subject lines similar to this one.

This is a good example of what not to do when writing a subject line.

• DON’T WRITE IN ALL CAPS
• Don’t use excessive exclamation marks!!!!!!
• Don’t put gaps between letters l i k e t h i s

3. Stay away from these words

There are words that just sound gimmicky, like ‘Best Price’ and ‘Exclusive Deal’. Words like these will raise red flags in the spam filter, because it’s what spammers use in their emails. For a complete list of spammy words, see this post by Benchmark and this one by Hubspot.

And if it gets past the spam filters, your email won’t be opened too, since it sounds too salesy.

4. Make sure you get the ‘From’ fields right

Subject lines and sender’s name are the first things your subscribers see when receiving your email. Make it clear for the subscribers that the email is from you, someone working at or owning the organization.

To keep things simple, just use [Your First Name] at [Your Organization].

5. Keep images minimal

Emails with a heavy image-to-text ratio will be flagged as spam. Therefore, if you’re using images in your email, keep them light and provide descriptive alternative texts in case the images don’t load properly.

6. Make it easy for them to unsubscribe

If you’re not making it easy for your subscribers to unsubscribe from your list, they will do something else easier to stop receiving your emails. They will mark your email as spam. And as we have discussed earlier, it’s something you wouldn’t want to happen.

This step will also help you to comply with spam laws. In the U.S., organizations that use email to communicate with customers are required to tell them how to opt out from receiving emails in the future.

7. Use a reputable email delivery service

You’ve followed all the tips mentioned above but still found your emails in the spam folder? Then you may want to use an email delivery service. Try SendWP, a service that will make sure each and every one of your WordPress email is delivered on time to your subscriber’s inbox.

SendWP has a 99.75% deliverability rate, and is just a few clicks to install. No complex setup, just signup, install, and send. It’s simple enough for anyone to use, no technical skill needed.

Get your emails straight to the inbox

Your WordPress emails shouldn’t be stressful. And the tips above shouldn’t discourage you from being creative with your email. As we all know, getting the email delivered is only half of the job. The other half is getting it opened. You should always write for your subscribers, not the spam filter.

Having other issues out of your WordPress email you need a hand with? Check out our Definitive Guide to WordPress Email!

Comments are below, so please share your thoughts! What tips do you have for making email deliverability more reliable?