Spam Complaints: How they Occur and How You Can Reduce them

You have a great email program; you provide valuable content and tempting discounts. But for some reason you have been receiving spam complaints. Many marketers deal with the issue of receiving spam complaints, even though they feel they’ve been doing everything right. If not managed properly, these complaints could easily derail the program you’ve worked hard to maintain. But don’t fret, all email messages receive complaints at some point, it’s understanding what complaints mean and managing your campaign to minimize them that makes the difference. So let’s discuss how spam complaints happen and how you can use best practices to prevent them.

How Do Spam Complaints Happen?

A spam complaint occurs when one of your recipients reports your message as unsolicited or unwanted. Often, this can mean that the recipient simply wants to unsubscribe, but reporting the message as spam is a more convenient or secure way to do this. A spam complaint can happen through a number of methods:

• Clicking "This is Spam" in their email client – Most email providers include a button or link in the inbox that allows a user to quickly mark a message as spam. Through feedback loops, the ISPs then transmit these complaints to the mail sender for handling.
• Forwarding the message to the Abuse desk – Sometimes recipients will forward your message to the abuse department at their own ISP, a third-party spam filtering service, or your organization (or ESP) directly.
• Using an automated unsubscribe process – Make sure that every email you send includes an unsubscribe link (this is included automatically if you’re using Bronto). Once a user is unsubscribed through this method, they are also given the option to lodge a spam complaint if they believe the email was unsolicited.

When Bronto receives a spam complaint via any of these methods, the contact is unsubscribed from the list and the complaint is recorded in the account. The more complaints you receive, the lower your sender rating – and your deliverability – since ISPs measure the percentage of complaints received from their users, and senders who exceed certain thresholds can be throttled, routed to the bulk folder, or blocked altogether.

What Can I Do to Reduce Complaints?

Reducing the number of spam complaints your mailings receive typically requires tightening of your permission and list management practices. Here are a few areas to examine:

1. Permission is the key to an effective email marketing campaign. Make sure when requesting an opt-in that you are being clear and explicit, transparency is essential. If you collect email addresses during the checkout process, be sure to also include a checkbox option to receive promotional mailings. If you have a catalog request form that captures email addresses, make sure the checkbox is there as well. You should make the option prominent and easy to understand in every location you collect email addresses. If not, your complaint rate will reflect it.
2. Unsubscribes - If you're using Bronto, unsubscribes requested via the link in your email are removed automatically - but what about other unsubscribe requests? Many contacts may choose to request removal by replying to the email, via phone, or in a brick-and-mortar location. If they do, you'll need to be sure to update their status in your list accordingly.
3. Expectations - Even if your permission is clear and explicit, you may still generate lots of complaints if you don't set proper expectations. Check out the 6 rules of email engagement, where the first crucial step is to set appropriate expectations at the beginning of the relationship. If your sign-up process mentions weekly emails, be sure to stick to that schedule - emailing more frequently will likely cause an increase in complaints. Setting expectations about content is important as well. If your subscribers sign up for emails about apparel and receive an email about tools, they're much more likely to lodge a complaint. Make sure your content is relevant to the audience and in line with the information they signed up to receive. Whether related to content or frequency, setting the right expectations goes a long way toward preserving customer goodwill.
4. Familiarity - When mailing to your subscribers, you should always use a from name that will be immediately recognizable and reflects your brand. It's best to avoid generic from names like "Customer Service" or "eTeam" and use the name of your organization or brand when possible.
5. Consistency - NOT Repetition: Are you a seasonal sender? If your emails are most relevant during particular seasons or times of the year, it's easier for a contact to forget they subscribed to your mailings months ago. If possible, send messages throughout the year to keep your name and content top-of-mind with your subscriber base. While it's a good idea to send frequently, it's best to avoid sending the same offer or content multiple times. A single remail or follow-up to an offer is typically a good idea, but sending the same message over and over is a sure-fire way to generate complaints.
6. Make it Easy to Unsubscribe - Encouraging recipients to unsubscribe may seem counterintuitive, but it’s actually one of the best ways to prevent spam complaints. Often, marketers include the unsubscribe link below all the message content, sometimes obscuring it in fine print. When a user can’t easily or quickly locate this link, they are many times more likely to report the message as spam instead. Featuring the unsubscribe link prominently, such as in the preheader of your message, will encourage users to click this link instead of the spam button.

Following these tips will help decrease the likelihood of spam complaints. Unfortunately, eliminating all spam complaints is difficult, as some subscribers who gave explicit opt-in permission may lodge a complaint. Make sure you manage the important factors that you can control. Minimizing the number of complaints will help you improve deliverability and ultimately help the success of your overall email program.

Brad Gurley
Professional Services Associate