Why do my emails go to spam?
There is an order to diagnosing this. Three technical settings to check before you touch the text.
updated · 2026-09-19
Why do the emails I send land in spam?
Email lands in spam for four reasons: domain records are missing, sending volume jumped suddenly, the list contains dead addresses, or the text reads like a promotion. Check them in that order: SPF, DKIM and DMARC records first, then daily volume, then bounce rate, and only last the wording.
In short
- Check domain records first: SPF, DKIM and DMARC all need to be in place.
- On a new mailbox raise daily volume gradually; sudden jumps are the most common cause.
- If bounce rate is above two per cent, clean the list before sending again.
- It is not one banned word but the same text going to everyone that causes the problem.
Start with the records
If you have no SPF record saying who may send on behalf of your domain, no DKIM signing your outgoing mail, and no DMARC policy for when those checks fail, no amount of good writing keeps you out of the promotions folder.
The fastest way to confirm all three is to send yourself an email and open the message source on the receiving side. SPF, DKIM and DMARC should all read "pass".
Look at volume
Sending hundreds of emails at once from a new or long-dormant mailbox is the clearest warning sign filters have. A mailbox earns reputation over time, through steady sending.
The fix is a warm-up plan: start around twenty a day in week one and raise the number gradually each week. Reaching a target volume usually takes four to six weeks.
Clean the list
Continuing to write to dead addresses tells filters this sender does not know their list. Once bounce rate passes two per cent, stop sending and run the list through verification.
The second clean-up is removing anyone who said they are not interested. Keep that record at account level, not per campaign.
Pocufy
Three agents run the part of these steps that repeats every week: defining the audience, building the list, writing each email for the person, and following up on the reply.
Change the text last
Contrary to the usual advice, individual words rarely trigger anything on their own. Filters look at patterns: the same text going to many addresses at once, link density and how recipients react.
Four habits still lower the risk: one link per email, plain text instead of images, a visible way to opt out, and a first sentence that belongs to the recipient's company.
- Keep it to one link, and do not use shortened URLs.
- Send plain text rather than images and coloured buttons.
- Leave an opt-out route in every email.
- Make the first sentence about their company.
- Do not send the same text to more than twenty people.
How long does recovery take?
Missing records take effect within hours of being fixed. Damaged reputation takes two to six weeks to recover, and volume has to stay low throughout.
That period cannot be shortened. Switching to a fresh domain to speed it up means building reputation from zero, which usually takes longer.
Common questions
Send test emails to your own addresses on different providers (Gmail, Outlook, a corporate address) and note where each one lands. Placement varies by provider.
Not that message. If the recipient moves it out, that is a positive signal, but rather than asking for it, fix the setup so the next emails arrive.
No. Business email from free addresses is filtered more often and costs credibility with corporate recipients. Send from your own domain.
Pocufy
Rather than doing all of this by hand, try it: paste your website link and get your first customer list in ten minutes.
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related pages
- How do you set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC?How do you add an SPF record?
- Why emails do not arriveWhether your email gets read depends on three DNS records set up before it is ever sent. This page covers those three records and Pocufy's sending rules.
- DMARCThe policy that says what to do when SPF and DKIM fail.
other guides
- I can't find customers — what should I do?The problem is usually not reaching too few people. It is writing the same thing to the wrong ones. This guide sets out the order.
- How do you write a cold email?The job of the first email is not to sell but to get a reply. This guide covers the structure that produces one.
- How do you set up cold email automation?The hard part of automation is not sending. It is arriving. This guide sets out the setup in the right order.