We’ll share proven strategies to keep your real estate marketing emails out of the spam box. We’ll also highlight common pitfalls that can cause emails to be flagged. Implementing these spam-blocking tactics and best practices will improve your email deliverability. Let’s maximize your inbox placement!

Why Emails Get Sent to Spam?

First, it’s helpful to understand why emails get sorted as spam:

  • Spam trigger words – Certain words in the subject line or body frequently cause emails to be flagged. Examples are “free,” “act now,” “sale,” etc.
  • Bad sender reputation – Factors like high complaint rates and low engagement hurt a sender’s reputation.
  • Suspicious links – Too many links or shady-looking URLs raise red flags.
  • Image-heavy design – Emails with minimal text and heavy image use often go to spam.
  • Purchased email lists – These lists notoriously contain inactive emails and spam traps.
  • Formatting issues – Problems with HTML, images, etc. can indicate a spam email.
  • Lack of personalization – Generic, impersonal messages seem more spammy.

tips to keep your emails in the inbox

7 Tips to Keep Your Real Estate Marketing Emails In the Inbox

There are proven techniques to avoid the spam box fate. Follow these 7 tips for better email deliverability:

1. Use Relevant Subject Lines

Your email’s first impression is determined by its subject line. Spam filters analyze subject lines to evaluate content and sender legitimacy.

Some common subject line mistakes include:

  • Using ALL CAPS and excessive punctuation
  • Making unbelievable claims like “Earn $10,000 in one week!”
  • Including spam trigger words like “free,” “sale,” “win,” etc

The solution? Craft compelling subject lines that communicate value, like:

  • “Get Your Home Sold Faster with These 5 Simple Staging Tips.”
  • “Buying Your First Home? Here’s a Checklist to Keep You on Track”

Relevant, benefit-focused subject lines build trust and beat the spam filters.

2. Personalize Your Emails

Personalized emails look less spammy because they show the sender knows the recipient.

Ways to personalize include:

  • Adding first names with merge tags
  • Including customized content based on location or interests
  • Following up on previous conversations

Even a simple “Hi [First Name]” personalizes your outreach. Sending one generic email to your entire list is more likely to get flagged. Segment your lists and customize the messaging.

3. Use Double Opt-In sign-ups

Some real estate agents just add any lead or contact to their email list without permission. But this increases complaints, spam flags, and unsubscribes.

Instead, use double opt-in signup forms. This means contacts:

  1. Voluntarily give you their email
  2. Confirm they want to subscribe after getting a confirmation email

Double opt-in helps ensure engaged subscribers who want your emails. Your messages will be welcomed, not marked as spam.

4. Maintain List Hygiene

Bad list hygiene is sending to bounced email addresses or people who unsubscribed. This signals to spam filters that you’re not carefully managing your list.

Follow these list of hygiene best practices:

  • Remove hard bounces and repeat soft bounces
  • Honor unsubscribe requests immediately
  • Scrub purchased or rented lists before sending
  • Segment based on engagement and relevance

Proactively keeping your lists clean minimizes spam flags.

5. Limit Email Frequency

Bombarding someone with multiple emails a day will likely cause them to report you as spam.

Stick to below recommended sending frequencies per subscriber segment:

  • Active leads: 1 email per week
  • Existing clients: 1-2 emails per month
  • Inactive contacts: 1 email per quarter

Monitor engagement levels, and further limit sending if open/click rates decline at higher frequencies.

6. Ensure Proper Authentication

Lack of email authentication is a top reason deliverability suffers. Authentication confirms you own the domain you’re sending from.

Be sure to properly configure:

  • SPF records
  • DKIM signatures
  • DMARC policies

Work with your email service provider to ensure authentication is correctly set up. This authenticates your sending domain.

7. Watch Your Complaint Rates

A high complaint or spam report rate kills deliverability. Ideally, keep complaints below 0.1% – that’s 1 complaint per 1,000 emails sent.

If your complaint rate exceeds 0.5%, take immediate action by:

  • Assessing and improving your email relevance
  • Limiting sending frequency
  • Reconfirming consents
  • Cleaning your mailing list with email validators

Lowering complaints establishes you as a trusted sender.

Don’t Let Your Emails Vanish

Getting your real estate marketing emails automatically sorted as spam sabotages your communication. However, implementing spam-blocking strategies will keep your messages in the primary inbox. Following these best practices builds your credibility as a sender. This will dramatically improve email deliverability so your messages are opened and read.

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