Emails from Shopify end up hidden in spam folder

[Haakon_Gaarder]

I used Shopify to send out links to a downloadable file by email. It was crowdfunded so I sent out to 3000 people at the same time. It seems that very many of them, five hundred or so, got the email sorted into their spam folder. I know because they contacted me and said they received no email. Then I asked them to search the spam folder. Most of them found the email there. About a hundred didn't find the email at all. What can I do to avoid this problem in the future? Is this something Shopify is working on improving?

[SEOKart]

Hello Haakon_Gaarder,

Thanks for reaching out to the community!

Well, there are many reasons that your email will land in the spam folder of the receiver, including sending the emails without the permission of the receiver or buying email lists.

Google to Google → Search ‘run email spam test’ → Run a test (using any tester) → You will get the report showing results of how many emails are landing in the spam folder

Here are some suggestions for you to ensure that your emails land in the inbox of the users:

• Only send the emails to the subscribers: While collecting the email details of the customers, ensure that you get permission to send them promotional or informative emails. This can help you ensure that you are acting ethically.
• Regularly send emails: Send emails to subscribers on a regular basis to make them familiar with your website, so they do not get suspicious whenever you send an email.
• Avoid suspicious subject lines: Ensure that you do not add suspicious-looking subject lines, rather do your research and select the best or most authentic subject line to ensure that the receivers do not find the email suspicious.
• Avoid adding spammy content: Avoid using trigger words, like ‘Congratulations for winning this, now click on this link’, ‘You are the lucky winner, click to claim the price’, etc. Such words suggest that it is a scam, which can be detected by the crawlers and the email will land in a spam folder.
• Do not add file attachments: Attached files in emails usually create suspicion, as they can be malicious files that can hack users' systems once downloaded. So, such emails (sent in bulk) usually land in the spam folders.
• Request the subscribers to whitelist your email: You can request your subscribers to add your email to the whitelist, which improves the authority and trustfulness of the email address, and the emails sent from that address will land in the inbox of the users.
• Give the option of unsubscribing to the receivers: Provide the option of unsubscribing to the receivers in the emails, to ascertain if the users are liking the promotional emails or not. Respect their choice, and remove them from the email-subscribers list.

Hope it helps!

Leesha

SEOKart

[Haakon_Gaarder]

Hello! Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely try one of those spam testers next time!

In this situation I had backers who had signed up on Kickstarter who I added to Shopify. So they were not customers before this. Then I sent them an email with a subject line including "your file is ready for download", and in the main text I include lines like "click to collect your reward". And there was a big download button. Do you think my choice of words had a big impact on triggering spam? 

[SEOKart]

Hi Haakon_Gaarder,

I think 'click to collect your reward' can appear as a scam to users.

If you check the explanation for Phishing emails on Google and Microsoft support, the common example they use for phishing emails is the emails that promise any form of reward.

To make it more authentic and genuine, you can explain why you're offering the customers the reward. Like, is it some ongoing offer, or is it for the first few visitors of the website.

I think modifying the content of the email a bit can work for you.