Why are My HubSpot Emails Going to Spam?

Have you been facing the issue of your HubSpot emails going to spam?

It’s frustrating to watch your cold email marketing efforts go unnoticed even after you try using a popular mass mailing system like HubSpot. Letting your emails go to spam can potentially further damage your brand’s engagement and deliverability reputation.

This article delves into the common pitfalls that might be sabotaging your email campaigns or what HubSpot might be having issues for you. Let’s start!

9 Reasons Why You See Your HubSpot Emails Going to Spam Folder?

We will uncover some critical reasons that might be obstructing your emails from going to recipients’ inboxes.

1. Inadequate Email Warm-Up Practices

One common reason emails end up in the spam folder is due to inadequate email warm-up practices. Email warm-up helps you establish a reputation with email inbox providers by demonstrating consistent, responsible email behavior.

If you skip this crucial step, your emails will likely get spam flagged because of the sudden high volume of emails from an unproven account. Neglecting proper email warm-up can lead to many of your emails getting blocked or filtered into spam folders before they even reach the recipient. It impairs your ability to reach your audience effectively and can result in a loss of many potential opportunities for converted customers.

2. Poor Email List Management

Managing your email list is not just about growing it. It also requires you to keep the engaging and interested recipients to ensure your deliverability rates remain good.

Poor list management often involves inadequate attention to the origins of email addresses. For instance, adding contacts to your list from outdated email lists that you might buy without much effort can lead to high bounce rates and getting caught in spam traps.

Continuously sending emails to disengaged audiences will also affect your engagement metrics, which ISPs monitor closely.   

Update your email list by editing or deleting contacts in SalesMix

3. Lack of Proper Authentication Protocols

The primary authentication standards include –

1. SPF (Sender Policy Framework), 

2. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and 

3. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance).

If you are not aligned with these protocols, internet service providers (ISPs) and email service providers (ESPs) can easily mistake your cold emails for phishing attempts or malicious spam. 

Not having SPF authentication will lead to rejection by major ISPs as they cannot verify if the source of the email is legitimate. Without DKIM, alterations to the email en route, whether malicious or not, may cause the email not to reach the recipient. Without DMARC, you lack control over how ISPs and ESPs will treat these failures and will likely see your cold emails in spam.

4. Overly Promotional or Misleading Subject Lines

Overly promotional subject lines, like “Buy now,” “Limited time offer,” or “Act fast!” often only raise red flags for spam filters. They can also disappoint a potential lead, as most customers now prefer a straightforward and honest approach.

Misleading subject lines, on the other hand, promise one thing but deliver another. This discrepancy between expectation and reality frustrates recipients and damages your service or brand’s trust and credibility. 

It is imperative that you craft subject lines that are clear, concise, and relevant to the content of your email.

5. Getting Spam Complaints

Receiving spam complaints from recipients is a significant reason why emails might end up in the spam folder. Even a few complaints can lead to a low sender’s reputation in your email domain.

Spam complaints can be particularly damaging if the rate of complaints exceeds the threshold set by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Most providers maintain strict policies; even a complaint rate as low as 0.1% of your total email volume can trigger negative consequences/

6. Content Trigger Spam Filters

One of the main triggers for spam filters is using specific words or phrases commonly associated with spam. These include overly aggressive sales terms like “guaranteed,” “risk-free,” or “special promotion.” Moreover, phrases that sound too good to be true, such as “make money fast” or “once-in-a-lifetime offer,” are likely to alert the filters.

Excessively using bold fonts, colors, or capital letters can make your email look like spam. Similarly, a high image-to-text ratio is often suspicious because spammers frequently use images to hide text from spam filters.

Including too many links or using URL shorteners for more organized links or link tracking can also flag your emails as spam. Spam filters are wary of links that might lead to malicious sites or deceptive content.

7. Not Personalizing Your Emails

In today’s digital age, recipients expect more than just generic messages. They look for content that speaks directly to them and addresses their specific needs or interests.

Emails can quickly become irrelevant or impersonal when they are not personalized. This disconnection can lead recipients to disengage, either by not opening the emails or, worse, by marking them as spam.

Personalizing emails goes beyond just inserting the recipient’s name in the greeting. It involves tailoring the content to meet their interests, past interactions, and preferences. For instance, you can start with how you learned so much from a blog post on the recipient’s website or saved time with their app’s new feature.

Seamlessly personalize your email with SalesMix.

8. Not Having Relevant Content

Relevance in email content is crucial for avoiding spam filters and fostering a positive relationship with your audience. If the content doesn’t align with your recipients’ needs, they might feel misled or uninterested. This mismatch can prompt them to ignore the email, delete it, or report it as spam.

Knowing your ideal customer profile (ICP) well is essential to ensuring the relevance of your email content. Armed with this knowledge, you can opt for more targeted and personalized emails to your potential leads.

9. Not Including An Unsubscribe Link

Failing to include an unsubscribe link is a crucial oversight that can send your emails straight to the spam folder. It frustrates recipients who no longer wish to receive your communications. Without an easy way to opt-out, these recipients might resort to marking your emails as spam.

Include an Unsubscribe Link with SalesMix

In the worst-case scenario, if you’re found to be non-compliant with email regulations, you could face substantial fines and legal challenges. These consequences can tarnish your brand’s reputation and have long-term financial implications.

What Might Your Mass Mailing System – HubSpot Be Doing Wrong?

If you are not getting the expected results from your email campaigns or your email tracking tools are showing a Hubspot spam rate even after doing everything right, then the issue might be on Hubspot’s end. Let’s see what might cause Hubspot emails to go to spam without your oversight.

Not Properly Warming Up Your Emails

If your cold emails consistently land in spam folders, it could indicate that HubSpot might not be effectively warming up your emails.

One reason HubSpot might be failing to warm up emails properly is that its settings default to higher sending volumes than recommended for new email accounts or campaigns. It can be particularly problematic if the warm-up process isn’t tailored to the size of your email list or the typical engagement rates you experience.

HubSpot doesn’t automatically adjust sending volumes based on feedback loops, such as bounce rates and spam reports. You will need to manage this process manually. If you don’t have extensive cold email marketing expertise, it can lead to errors in execution, inadvertently causing your emails to land in spam.

Using A Bulk Email Sender Email Service Provider (ESP)

While HubSpot is a powerful tool for managing and executing email marketing campaigns, there are inherent challenges associated with using any bulk email platform that can impact your email deliverability.

A primary issue with using a bulk sender ESP is it involves using all its shared IP addresses. When multiple users send emails from the same IP address, the actions of one user can affect the reputation of that IP for all others. If any other user is engaging in spamming activities from the IP address given to you (on which you don’t have control), your email deliverability can also face issues.

Another challenge is the potential for your emails to be perceived as less personalized. As these bulk email sender ESPs usually send large volumes of emails without careful management, your cold emails can easily come across as generic or impersonal.

Use SalesMix to Get Better Email Deliverability and Land in Inboxes

Improving your email deliverability and ensuring your messages land directly in inboxes can be a game-changer for any email marketing campaign. This is where SalesMix comes into play, with its features providing immense value.

One of SalesMix’s standout features is its email warmup service, which helps you significantly improve your sender reputation. You can use an automated, unlimited warmup process to warm up your email accounts. It’s as simple as a one-click setup, and SalesMix handles the rest, working with any email provider to methodically move your emails out of spam and into the inbox.

This continuous warmup process uses a proprietary system that mimics human behavior. It engages in peer-to-peer email interactions that ensure ESPs and ISPs see your emails as trustworthy.

Automated Email Warm-Up in SalesMix

The platform allows for deep personalization using data from your CSV files of the prospectus list. You can easily insert specific placeholders, such as {{first_name?? FALLBACK}}, to tailor each email to the recipient. Furthermore, SalesMix supports the use of Spintax, enabling you to vary the words used in your emails and preventing them from appearing repetitive or generic.

Spintax in SalesMix

SalesMix also offers a test email feature to check your cold email deliverability. It lets you identify potential deliverability issues before they affect your campaign, ensuring that each email has the best chance of reaching its intended destination.

Test your email deliverability with SalesMix

Conclusion

As you’ve navigated through the various reasons why your HubSpot emails might be hitting the spam folder, the path forward involves a proactive approach to refining your email strategies. 

You need to understand and address each factor that might be harming your email deliverability. But beyond just fixing these issues, you should consider adopting a comprehensive tool, like SalesMix, that thinks about properly warming up your email and seamlessly personalizing bulk emails to little details.