Play by the rules or get filtered out.

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Today's Email: Play by the rules or get filtered out

Are your emails still landing in spam? Here’s why.

It’s not the algorithms.
It’s not Google.
It’s you.

Most email deliverability issues boil down to four things:

1️⃣ Bad "Message-Audience Fit" – Sending content no one asked for.

This is the biggest culprit. When you send emails that don't match what your subscribers expect or want, they delete, ignore, or worse—mark as spam. Every negative action trains email providers that your content isn't valuable.

2️⃣ Bad Lists – Old, unengaged, or bad data sources.

Your email list health directly impacts your sender reputation. Email providers look at your engagement patterns across your entire list, not just individual emails.

3️⃣ Spray & Pray – Same message to everyone = red flag.

Mass-blasting identical content to your entire list is a classic spam behavior pattern. Email providers are sophisticated enough to detect when you're not personalizing or segmenting your communications.

4️⃣ No Auth – Missing SPF, DKIM, DMARC? You're unverified.

Technical authentication is your digital ID card. Without proper setup, email providers can't verify you're actually who you claim to be.

The fix is simple (not easy):
✔ Send real value
✔ Clean your list regularly
✔ Segment smartly
✔ Lock down your authentication

Inbox placement isn’t a mystery. It’s a system. And you can follow it.

Best,
Alec