I’ll Show You My Spam Folder if You Show Me Yours—Where Emails are Missing the Mark

Guy and Danielle are popping the hood on the darkest corner of their email inboxes—their spam folders.

As email experts, Guy and Danielle are subscribed to thousands of email lists for research, which means they encounter a lot of spam—some justified, some not. Join them as they dive into their spam folders, share real-life examples (yes, they name names!), and uncover the do’s and don’ts of landing in the inbox.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to properly implement AI-generated subject lines while maintaining brand voice and avoiding legal pitfalls
• Why open rates are becoming less reliable metrics and what to measure instead
• The scientific reasoning behind spam folder placement and how mailbox providers make filtering decisions
• How to optimize email size, subject lines, and preheaders to avoid spam folder placement (35-character threshold for subject lines)
• Why message size should stay under 100KB to prevent truncation and subsequent spam complaints
• The correlation between aggressive sales language and increased spam folder placement versus conversational, brand-centric messaging

…and so much more!

Are you an email marketing expert with bold opinions on the industry? Come chat with Guy and Danielle on a future episode! Drop a comment, ping us on LinkedIn, or simply fill out this guest form.

SOME EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• [01:10] Understanding why emails land in spam: core factors
• [07:00] Subject line length and preheader impact on deliverability
• [10:18] Gmail spam folder analysis: beyond engagement metrics
• [13:45] Authentication requirements and welcome email challenges
• [17:09] The impact of friendly from names and special characters
• [19:20] Best and worst examples: real sender stories
• [23:45] Microsoft Outlook: unique deliverability challenges
• [27:50] B2B email deliverability: corporate spam folder insights
• [35:02] Holiday season preparation: avoiding the spam folder
• [38:52] Key takeaways: smart sending strategies for better inbox placement