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Deliverability

Why are my emails going to spam?

In short

Why do my Reply emails land in spam?

Start with authentication and volume, not with the wording. An unauthenticated domain or a sudden jump in sending explains most cases. Pause the affected domain, fix the records, warm the mailboxes, and increase volume gradually; sending more while placement is bad makes it worse.

Quick fix

  1. Check the sending domain's authentication – see Why does my domain fail its DNS check?. Unauthenticated mail is filtered before anything else is considered.
  2. Pause cold outreach from the affected domain. Continuing to send while placement is poor deepens it.
  3. Check whether volume rose sharply in the days before. A jump is the second most common cause.
  4. Keep the mailboxes on warm-up for at least another week before resuming.
  5. Resume at a lower volume and raise it gradually.

Didn't work? Contact Reply support; the team can check your account directly.

Symptom

Replies dry up, or a recipient tells you directly that your message was in their junk folder. Often it affects one recipient provider: everything reaches one, nothing reaches another.

Most likely causes

CauseHow to recognize it
The domain is not properly authenticatedThe health check reports an SPF, DKIM or DMARC problem
Volume rose too quicklySending jumped in the days before placement dropped, often after adding mailboxes or raising a limit
The mailboxes were never warmed, or warm-up stoppedNew mailboxes, or warm-up switched off at some point
The domain is newA recently registered domain has no sending history, and receivers treat it cautiously for weeks
List qualityBounces rising alongside spam placement points at the list, not the mail
Recipients marked earlier mail as spamOne provider filters and others do not
Heavy formatting, tracking, or a spam-triggering subjectContributes, but rarely the primary cause on its own

Diagnostic checklist

  1. Authentication first. It is binary, fast to check, and it overrides everything else. Do not tune wording on an unauthenticated domain.
  2. Look at the volume curve, not today's number. Receivers react to change more than to level.
  3. Check whether it is provider-specific. Reaching one provider and not another points at reputation with that provider, not at your content.
  4. Check bounces. Spam placement and rising bounces together mean the list, not the mail.
  5. Check the domain's age. A domain registered weeks ago has no history to rely on, and only time and consistent light sending build it.
  6. Only then look at the content. Subject lines and tracking matter, but they are the last thing to change, not the first.

Resolution

Fix authentication

Correct SPF, DKIM and DMARC and wait for propagation. Everything else is wasted effort until this passes.

Pause and warm

Pause cold outreach from the affected domain (roughly a week is the usual advice) and keep the mailboxes warming throughout. Then test manually to a few real addresses before resuming a sequence.

Resume gradually

Come back at a lower daily volume than before and increase it in steps. Ramp-up exists for this; leave it on rather than turning it off to catch up.

Reduce what receivers dislike

Send plain or near-plain text. Avoid heavy formatting and large images. Consider turning open tracking off for a period; a tracking pixel on an unwarmed domain is a signal you do not need to give. Include a clear way to opt out.

Clean the list

Validate before importing. Bounces and spam placement feed each other, and a list with bad addresses will keep pulling placement down however well the domain is configured.

Verification

After resuming, send to a small set of real addresses across different providers and check where they land. Then watch bounce and reply rates over a week rather than a day: placement recovers slowly, and one good send proves little.

Prevention

  • Authenticate every sending domain before its first campaign.
  • Warm new mailboxes fully, and keep warm-up running afterwards.
  • Raise volume in steps. Most damage comes from a jump, not a level.
  • Validate lists before import.
  • Give a new domain several weeks of light, consistent sending before serious volume.

FAQ

Will rewriting my subject line fix this?

Rarely on its own. Authentication and volume history are what receivers weigh most. Change those first.

How long does recovery take?

Usually weeks, not days. Reputation falls faster than it rises, which is why continuing to send during a dip is the costly mistake.

It only happens with one provider. Why?

Each receiver keeps its own view of your domain. Poor standing with one and not another is normal and points at history with that provider.

Still stuck? Contact Reply support

If these steps didn't solve the problem, the Reply support team can look at your account directly. Open the Reply Help Center and send the team a message.

To get an answer faster, include:

  • the sending domain, and which recipient providers are affected
  • your current SPF, DKIM and DMARC records
  • how daily volume changed in the two weeks before
  • whether the mailboxes are on warm-up, and for how long

Don't send passwords, API keys, or access tokens.

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