How to stay out of the spam folder

Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) makes you eligible for the inbox. These habits keep you there.

Send to people who want it

Inbox providers watch engagement closely. Mail that gets opened and replied to earns inbox placement; mail that's ignored or marked as spam gets filtered. So:

• Only email people who opted in. Never buy or scrape lists.
• Remove disengaged contacts periodically — a smaller, active list out-performs a large, cold one.
• Make unsubscribing easy. A visible unsubscribe link is far better than a spam complaint.

Keep your list clean

Mailee automatically suppresses addresses that hard-bounce, complain, or unsubscribe, so you never send to them again. Don't try to re-add them — that damages your reputation.

Warm up gradually

If you're sending from a new domain, ramp up over a couple of weeks rather than blasting your whole list on day one. Start with your most engaged contacts.

Write like a human, not a billboard

Spam filters react to content too:

• Avoid ALL CAPS subject lines, excessive punctuation (!!!), and spam-trigger phrases.
• Balance images and text — an all-image email looks suspicious.
• Always include a plain-text version (Mailee does this for you) and a physical address in the footer.

Authenticate, then monitor

Set DMARC to p=none first and read the reports to confirm your legitimate mail passes SPF and DKIM. Then tighten to quarantine and reject to stop spoofers trading on your reputation.

Rule of thumb: if you'd be happy to receive the email yourself, it's probably inbox-worthy. If it feels like a blast, rework it.