What is a Spam complaint and how to avoid them?

What is a spam complaint and how can you avoid it?

When you send an email campaign, your recipients have the option to mark your emails as spam. This happens when people receive emails from senders they don’t recognise, or become frustrated with the amount of mail they are receiving.

Multiple spam complaints can damage your sender reputation beyond repair, putting a stop to your email marketing masterplan. So we explain exactly what a spam complaint means and how you can avoid receiving them.

What does a spam complaint mean?

When a recipient marks your email as spam, they are reporting to their inbox provider that they’ve received an unwanted or unexpected email from your domain. The inbox provider (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook etc) will add the complaint to a record known as your sender reputation, and send the complaint back to you or your email provider using a feedback loop (FBL).

When you use Act! CRM to manage your email campaigns, the feedback loop will automatically add these recipients to your suppression list so you cannot email them through the software again. However, if you change providers or software, you’ll need to make sure your suppression lists are carried across so you don’t email those contacts again.

How many spam complaints am I allowed?

The more spam complaints you receive, the more your sender reputation is damaged, and you risk being ‘blacklisted’. When your domain is blacklisted, it is flagged as sending spam and any future emails will be blocked by inbox providers. If this happens, email marketing will be nearly impossible for your business because your emails just won’t get through.

The amount of spam complaints you’re allowed before being blacklisted is surprisingly low. This is because many people who receive spam mail probably won’t report it. Therefore, the industry standard limit is one complaint per one thousand emails, or 0.1%.

If you send an email that receives more than a 0.2% complaint rate, you’ll likely receive a warning from your domain provider. If you receive a complaint rate that is above 0.5%, your account could be suspended.

How do I avoid spam complaints?

Now that you know what a spam complaint is and how many you can get before being suspended, it’s time to learn how to avoid them in the first place.

• Get permission before emailing people. Just because you have your customers’ email address, it doesn’t mean they give you permission to send them marketing emails. Always get your recipients to opt in to your marketing lists before sending them promotional emails.
• Meet expectations. When your subscribers opt in let them know exactly what to expect and stick to it. This includes the frequency with which you’ll email them, what kind of content the emails will contain, and which domain or email address your emails will be coming from. Keep your branding and logo consistent so your recipients can easily recognise your emails.
• Don’t email unengaged recipients. If you have a database full of old contact details, or paid for data you’re more likely to get spam complaints. Old contacts might forget that they have signed up to your mailing list and assume your email is spam.

If you’ve paid for contacts, they will not have expressly agreed to receive your emails and therefore are more likely to complain about them. Some paid for data can also contain spam traps, which will automatically report any emails received as spam.

•  Check ‘From’ settings. When you create email campaigns in Act! CRM you have the ability to edit the ‘From’ field and change the name and email address. This information lets your contacts know who the email is from when it lands in their inbox. We always recommend setting this to show your company name and domain name, so your emails don’t come as a surprise.
• Maintain a pace. Sticking to the right frequency is important when emailing your database. Email your contacts too much and they’ll get fed up, email them too little and they’ll forget who you are. Find the right pace for your email list and stick to it. Stuck for ideas? Download our free ebook featuring 24 e-marketing content ideas.

For help or advice on avoiding spam complaints while using Act! email marketing, speak to our experts by calling 0121 323 2304 or email us info@softext.co.uk.

Or if you’re still thinking about trying Act! Sign up for a free trial. You’ll be able to use all the features of the software, free for 14 days with no credit card details or downloads required.