13 Tested Ways to Avoid Email Going to Spam [Used By Top Consultants]
I remember the first cold email campaign I ran that totally flopped.
The leads were solid.
The message was short and personalized.
The offer? Dead relevant.
But still, no replies.
I later checked the backend… and boom, most of my emails went straight to spam.
Not because the content was bad.
Not because I was spamming.
But because I missed all the technical stuff:
- No SPF or DKIM
- No inbox warm-up
- Used a cold domain
- Sent emails way too fast
That’s when it hit me:
If your email infrastructure isn't set up right, your emails never even get a chance to be read.
Since then, I’ve worked with consultants, tried every tool under the sun, and tested what actually works, not theory, not guesswork.
And in this blog, I’ll break it all down for you, easy, clear, and no tech knowledge required.
What Triggers Spam Filters in 2025
If you want to avoid email going to spam, the first thing you need to understand is how spam filters work today.
And no, they don’t just scan your message for words like “free” or “buy now.”
Email providers like Gmail and Outlook check how you send, who you are, and how people react to your emails.
Let’s break it down simply.
✅ 1. Email Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Every email you send needs to “prove” it was sent by you.
That’s what SPF, DKIM, and DMARC do, they’re small records you add to your domain that tell email providers:
“Yes, this person is allowed to send emails from this domain.”
If any of these records are missing or broken, your email might look fake, and land in spam or get blocked completely.
Think of them like digital ID checks.
🔄 2. Sending Behavior
Spam filters watch your patterns.
Here’s what gets flagged:
- Sending a lot of emails suddenly from a new account
- Sending the same message to 100+ people at once
- Sending without warming up your inbox
If it looks unnatural, filters assume you’re a spammer.
Even if you’re not.
⚠️ 3. Domain and IP Reputation
Your sending domain has a hidden reputation score, just like a credit score.
This score drops if:
- You get a lot of bounces (invalid emails)
- People mark your emails as spam
- You use bad links
- You send from an IP address used by others who spam
Once your score drops, even good emails can land in spam until it’s fixed.
🧠 4. Email Content and Formatting
Yes, the content still matters, but only after your email passes technical checks.
Things that can trigger filters:
- Using all caps or too many emojis
- Long, salesy phrases like “Act now!” or “100% FREE”
- Broken formatting or too many links
- Overusing images or attachments
If your backend is weak, even small issues in your email content can push it to spam.
Top Mistakes That Land Emails in Spam
Now that you know how filters work, here are the most common mistakes that hurt your cold email deliverability:
❌ No SPF, DKIM, or DMARC
If your domain isn’t authenticated, email providers don’t trust you.
This is the #1 reason most emails get filtered before they’re even seen.
❌ Using a Fresh Domain With No Warm-Up
You just bought a new domain and sent 200 emails on day one?
That’s a big red flag.
New domains need to “warm up” slowly by sending just a few emails per day.
Spam filters see this as natural behavior.
❌ Sending From Your Main Business Domain
Let’s say you use yourbrand.com for your company.
If your cold emails get flagged, this domain can lose reputation, and even your internal team’s emails (like to clients) may go to spam.
That’s why experts use a separate outreach domain like getyourbrand.com or a subdomain like mail.yourbrand.com.
❌ Using Shared Tracking Links
Most email tools use their own tracking links. For example:
arduino
CopyEdit
emailtool.com/track/click?user=123
But here’s the problem:
If someone else using that tool sends spam, the domain emailtool.com gets flagged, and your email looks guilty by association.
The fix: use your own branded tracking domain.
❌ “Spammy” Formatting and Phrases
Even small things like:
- Writing in all caps
- Using red fonts
- Adding too many exclamation marks
- Copy-pasting salesy text from templates
…can hurt deliverability if your setup is already weak.
13 Consultant-Backed Tactics to Stay Out of Spam (2025)
If you’ve ever wondered how to avoid email going to spam, this is it.
I’ve used these exact methods myself, and I’ve seen consultants use them in real cold outreach campaigns that worked.
These aren’t tips from theory or outdated forums. These are the real actions that keep emails out of spam in 2025.
Let’s break them down, step by step.
1. Set Up SPF, DKIM & DMARC; The Basics You Can’t Skip
Think of these like ID checks for your email. They help email providers trust you.
- SPF says who is allowed to send email from your domain.
- DKIM adds a digital signature to show your message is real.
- DMARC tells inboxes what to do if something looks wrong.
You can use MXToolbox to check if these are set up properly.
Not sure how to do it? A tool like InfraForge can set this up for you, no tech skills needed.
Not sure if your records are set up correctly? Tools like Salesforge’s free SPF & DKIM checker make it easy to verify everything is working as expected, no guesswork needed.
2. Warm Up Your Domain and IP Slowly
New domains look suspicious if they start sending lots of emails right away.
Here’s what to do:
- Start with 10–20 emails per day
- Increase gradually over 2–3 weeks
- Make sure people open and reply (even if it’s automated)
Warming up a new domain takes consistency. Warmforge helps automate this process safely, gradually increasing sending volume to build trust with spam filters.
3. Use a Custom Tracking Domain
You know those weird links in cold emails? Like mailtool123.com/abc?
Spam filters don’t trust those, because they’re shared by lots of users.
Instead, create a link like click.yourbrand.com. It looks cleaner and more personal.
You can set this up using InfraForge in a few clicks.
4. Don’t Use Spammy Words or Overdo Formatting
Words like FREE, LIMITED TIME, or “guaranteed” can send your email to spam.
Also avoid:
- ALL CAPS
- Too many bold texts
- Too many emojis or images
Just write like you’re messaging a real person.
For example: “Hey Alex, I saw your team is growing. Got a quick idea.”
5. Don’t Use Your Main Business Domain for Cold Emails
If you send outreach from your real domain (like yourbrand.com) and get marked as spam, even your regular business emails can suffer.
Instead, use something like:
- tryyourbrand.com
- mail.yourbrand.com
I use InfraForge to manage and switch domains easily.
6. Send Emails in Batches (Not All at Once)
Never send 500 emails in one shot. That’s a spam red flag.
Better to:
- Send in smaller batches (25–50 at a time)
- Use multiple inboxes
- Space them out over hours
InfraForge handles this for me with auto-rotation super helpful.
7. Test Emails Before Sending
Before launching a campaign, I always check my email’s health.
I use:
- Mail-Tester
- GlockApps
They tell me if something’s broken, missing, or looks spammy.
One test can save your whole campaign.
Before launching a campaign, it helps to run your email through a testing tool.
Mailforge lets you check spam scores and inbox placement across providers, so you can catch issues early.
8. Check Blacklists Before You Hit Send
Sometimes, your domain or IP is already on a spam list, and you don’t even know it.
Check it using:
If you’re listed, your emails are in trouble. Always check first.
9. Use Inbox Testing Tools Before Campaigns
Want to know if your emails are landing in the Inbox, Promotions, or Spam?
Use tools like:
- GlockApps
- Mailreach
They show where your email actually lands before you send it to real people.
10. Don’t Add Too Many Links or Images
✅ Keep Emails Clean: 1–2 Links Max for Deliverability
Too many links = looks like a newsletter.
Too many images = looks like a promotion.
Best practice:
- 1–2 links
- Plain-text emails
- One image max (if needed)
Keep it clean and simple. Inbox filters like that.
11. Write Real Subject Lines, Not Clickbait
Spammy subject lines hurt your open rates and reputation.
Don’t write:
❌ “RE: URGENT OFFER!”
❌ “Get rich now!!!”
Do write:
✅ “Quick idea for [their company name]”
✅ “Saw your job post, had a thought”
Keep it honest and useful.
12. Personalize & Segment Your List
Sending the same email to everyone? Bad idea.
Instead:
- Group your contacts by industry or role
- Add small personal touches (like first name or company)
Even a little personalization improves deliverability and replies.
13. Check Your Domain Reputation Often
Just like a credit score, your domain’s reputation affects everything, but you can’t see it unless you check.
Here’s what I use:
I check it once a week. It only takes 5 minutes, and it helps me avoid problems early.
These 13 tips are simple, but powerful. They’ve helped me and many others avoid spam and get replies even in 2025, when filters are tougher than ever.
If this feels like too much to handle, that’s okay, I’ve been there too.
That’s why I started using InfraForge; it automates most of this for me and keeps my emails out of trouble.
Ready for the next part? Let’s talk about what to do when you’ve tried everything… and your emails still hit spam.
Consultant-Backed Tactics to Stay Out of Spam (2025) quick summary box:
When Your Deliverability Issues Aren’t About Content; They’re About Infrastructure
You can follow every best practice, write the cleanest email, avoid every trigger word, and still land in spam.
That’s because content is only half the battle. The rest depends on how your email infrastructure is set up.
Here’s where I’ve seen most issues come from:
- No or misconfigured SPF, DKIM, or DMARC
- Using the same IP for all your outreach
- No domain or inbox warm-up
- Generic or blacklisted tracking links
- Shared environments that hurt your sender score
These technical parts are what consultants fix first, before sending a single campaign.
If you don’t want to deal with it manually, tools like InfraForge can help.
It handles things like:
- ✅ One-click setup of authentication records
- ✅ Custom tracking domains
- ✅ Dedicated environments (no shared risk)
- ✅ Automated domain/IP warm-up
- ✅ Inbox rotation to distribute send load
It’s how teams clean up their backend and give their emails a fair shot at landing where they should in the inbox.
If you're serious about hitting the inbox, InfraForge takes care of the hard parts so you can focus on the outreach.
Deliverability Tool Stack
Final Thoughts: Don’t Let a Broken Setup Kill a Great Email
You’ve fixed your subject lines.
You’ve written a great copy.
But if your emails still land in spam, the problem isn’t what you’re saying, it’s what’s happening behind the scenes.
Things like SPF, DKIM, domain warm-up, blacklists, and tracking links all affect inbox placement more than most people realize.
You don’t need to be a deliverability expert.
But you do need your infrastructure done right.
That’s where InfraForge comes in.
It sets up your email system the way consultants do, verified, trusted, and spam-filter friendly, without the tech headache.
⚙️ Get your backend audit-ready in minutes, and let your cold emails actually do their job.
Run a free infrastructure check at InfraForge.ai and give your emails a real shot at reaching the inbox.
Your emails are good.
Now make sure they’re seen.