Reputation dominates, but content still tips borderline decisions and drives the complaints that build reputation in the first place.
Mistake 1: Image-only emails#
Why it hurts: this undermines spam filter content triggers at the point where mailbox providers make their decision, and it is rarely surfaced by your own tooling until placement drops.
Fix: Keep a healthy text-to-image ratio and always include a plain-text part.
Mistake 2: Tracking links on a shared domain used by spammers#
Why it hurts: this undermines spam filter content triggers at the point where mailbox providers make their decision, and it is rarely surfaced by your own tooling until placement drops.
Fix: Link to your own domain; avoid shorteners and tracking domains with poor reputation.
Frequently asked questions#
Are spam trigger words still a thing?
Much less than a decade ago. Modern filters are statistical and reputation-weighted. Deceptive intent matters more than any single word.