How to get your marketing emails out of spam and into your subscribers’ primary inbox
If it feels like your social media marketing isn’t going as far as it used to, you’re not imagining things. Thanks to the nonstop 2025 news cycle and shifting user behavior, many small businesses are seeing lower ROI—and turning to email marketing instead.
And honestly? That’s a smart pivot.
Why (and when) a small, highly engaged email list can outperform your best social post:
✅ Email links are clicked more often than social media links.
✅ Your message is more likely to get seen (no content-ranking algorithm here!)
✅ Email subscribers are already closer to making a purchase decision.
However, none of that matters if your email winds up in a spam folder or promotions tab. But why does this happen?
Understanding signals and how they affect the deliverability of your marketing emails:
Inbox providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo filter emails based on a mix of visible and invisible signals, including the formatting and phrasing of your subject line, the trustworthiness of your sender name and email address, the tone/structure of your message, how much it’s been engaged with, and if any recipients have marked your message as spam.
These signals help inbox providers decide whether your email belongs in the Primary tab, the Promotions tab, or the Spam Folder. Even valuable content can get flagged if the signals suggest that this is an email you want to send more than your subscribers want to receive—and that doesn’t help your clients, and it certainly doesn’t help your business.
5 tips to improve your email deliverability
The good news? We have five common-sense tactics that can help your communications stay out of email jail and land exactly where you want them to go: in the primary inbox.
Step 1: Encourage new subscribers to save your address
Your very first email—the welcome message—is more important than you think. It’s your chance to train both your subscriber and their inbox provider to expect your emails. Your welcome email should include:
A warm reminder of who you are and what they signed up for
A simple explanation of what to expect moving forward
A clear ask to add your email to their contacts
When a recipient adds you to their contacts, inbox providers take it as a green light: this sender is wanted. A simple “Make sure to add my email [insert email address] to your contact so nothing slips through the cracks!” goes a long way.
💡 Bonus tip: You can even include a quick message at the end of your opt-in form to prompt new subscribers to look for a welcome email and add your address to their contacts.
2. Write an email subject lines that signal trust to inbox providers
Your subject line is among the first things an inbox filter scans. A subject line with ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation!!!, and more than one emoji 💯🤪📧 is a sure-fire way to wind up anywhere but the primary inbox. Your goal is to sound expected, personal, and helpful—not like a generic (or pushy) marketing blast.
Real-world examples:
When we were drafting our welcome email for the Toast and Coast, the first few subject lines landed us in the promotions folder—even though they were fun and friendly.
Here are the subject lines that didn’t work for us:
“You’re in! Get ready to coast through your fundraisers.”
“Welcome to the Toast and Coast! So glad you’re here.”
Here’s the subject line that finally landed us in the primary inbox:
“Thanks for signing up, [First name]!”
Even though the winner had the least amount of razzle-dazzle, it clearly communicated to the inbox provider that 1) this was something the recipient asked for, and 2) we were speaking to this person specifically by including their first name in the subject line.
3. Use a real name and a recognizable email address
Even if you update the name of the sender to include your first and last name, if the email address starts with "no-reply@" or "info@," both your reader and their inbox provider might think your address looks impersonal and even suspicious.
Instead, use something like:
From: Cynthia at C-Suite Solutions
Email: cynthia@…
Why it matters: Your audience should recognize your name, and their inbox should recognize you as a legitimate sender (and person).
4. Write like a real person, not a marketing machine
If your email looks like an ad, Gmail will treat it like one. Inbox providers (especially Gmail) will flag overly formatted emails as promotional—even if they’re genuinely helpful. Excessive bold or italic styling, too many bullet points or emojis, and multiple calls to action (“subscribe!” and “download our freebie!” and “book a discovery call!”) can flag your email as promotional.
Instead,
keep your tone a bit more conversational
format your email like a one-to-one message using merge tags like “[First name].”
use soft, natural phrasing instead of hype
The more your email reads like it’s from a real person to a real person, the more likely it is to land in the Primary Inbox—and actually get opened.
5. Test, adjust, and repeat— then ask for help
The best way to find out if your email will land in the Primary Inbox is to send yourself a test email. If your email is ending up in your promotions or spam, you can bet it’s going to end up in someone else’s. The tweaks we mentioned above can fix most deliverability issues, but when all else fails, loop in your trusty robot companion, ChatGPT! (Just be sure to omit any sensitive information from your prompt.)
Try using the following prompt and include your subject line and body copy:
ChatGPT Prompt: “This email is being filtered as promotional for Gmail. Any tips on how to make it land in the primary inbox?”
ChatGPT will point out a few places where your message is too promotional, offer alternative suggestions, and share some insight into why your message isn’t landing in the primary inbox.
Ensuring your marketing efforts serve your business goals
The tactics we’ve shared in this post should go a long way toward eliminating the most common deliverability issues. With a few intentional tweaks, your emails can start landing where they belong: in the Primary Inbox.
And that matters—because landing in the Primary tab means your message is more likely to be opened, your links more likely to be clicked, and your offers more likely to convert.
If you’re using this article to fine-tune your DIY strategy, we’re rooting for you—and we’re proud to be a resource you can trust.
And if you're ready to get email marketing off your desk, we’re happy to step in.
At Untrendy Marketing, we take on your entire email marketing function. We’re certified Mailchimp partners who don’t just write compelling copy in your voice—we also build the systems, automations, and performance tracking that make your email marketing ecosystem run smoothly.
Whatever level of support you need, we’re here to help your marketing work harder—so you don’t have to.
