| Think Before You Report: Pt – 2 – The Journey Continues Last month, I wrote a newsletter titled Think Before You Report: The Unseen Impact of Hitting “Spam” on Legitimate Businesses. I shared how excessive spam reports can hurt businesses and my personal experience with the issue. If you’d like to read it, please check out it out here. At the time, I had spoken to my email platform three times and was waiting for their response. Now, as promised, here’s the follow-up. What I Discovered After a week of no updates, I reached out again. My email platform investigated and found that my subscriber form, built using a licensed plugin, prevented security features like reCAPTCHA and double opt-in from filtering out bots. This meant that some email signups or subscribers weren’t being verified properly. Additionally, I learned that my emails might have been landing in spam not just due to manual reports but also because they weren’t recognized as legitimate. If recipients didn’t move them to their inbox or add me to their contacts, my account kept getting flagged. I felt stuck—no one I knew had faced this issue, and I didn’t see a clear way forward. My Solution After a few sleepless nights, extensive research, and a lot of prayer, I decided to switch email platforms. Besides my frustration with how my previous provider handled the issue, their pricing structure also became unsustainable. I started at $20/month with 200 subscribers, but as my list grew to 1,600, my cost jumped to $65/month—without yet securing a client from my emails. My new platform charges a flat $35/month, regardless of subscriber count, making the switch a no-brainer. Switching email platforms also meant redoing my website. My original site was built using a specialized theme that required coding knowledge for modifications, making updates costly. Instead, I opted for a fresh start with a new theme, giving me the opportunity to refresh my branding as well. A Valuable Lesson from LinkedIn During this transition, I connected with Caroline Chebab from Decision to Be Thin on LinkedIn. She asked if she could add me to her email list and sent a follow-up message instructing me to check my spam folder and mark her email as “Not Spam” if needed. I was blown away—she understood my struggle and had a proactive approach to email deliverability. This sparked a great conversation, during which she shared that educating subscribers on email placement had significantly improved her open rates. Steps I Took With guidance from Caroline and support from my new email provider, Flodesk, I made several key changes: –Updated my subscription form – My new website footer now includes a Flodesk sign-up form along with a message letting potential subscribers know this is a bi-monthly newsletter as well as to make sure to check their spam folders for the confirmation email. –Improved Messaging – My “Thank you for subscribing” message now immediately instructs new subscribers to check their spam folder. Additionally, my subscription confirmation email reminds them to do the same and add my email ([email protected]) to their contacts. –Enabled double opt-in – This ensures only engaged subscribers receive my emails. –Cleansed my list – I removed most of my previous subscribers to start fresh with genuinely interested contacts. Interestingly, I’m no longer getting the surge of questionable sign-ups I saw with my old platform, making me wonder what was happening before. Looking Ahead I won’t know for a few months if these changes fully resolve my spam issue, but I’m optimistic. If I see a big improvement, I might write a Part 3! If you’re struggling with Email Marketing challenges or need help with your business’s administrative tasks, let’s connect – I’d love to help! Maritza |
