Why Are My Automation Emails Going to Customers Spam Folders?

Overview

It can be frustrating to discover that your review request emails are landing in spam instead of your customers’ inboxes. The good news is that this is a very common situation and there are clear, straightforward reasons why it happens. This article walks you through each cause and gives you practical steps to improve deliverability right away.

Common Reasons and How to Fix Them

Spam filters evaluate several signals before deciding where an email lands. Understanding those signals puts you in control of your deliverability.

Reason 1: Emails Are Sent from the Default Feedspace Domain

When you send emails through the default Feedspace sending domain, recipients and spam filters have no way to associate the message with your brand. Connecting a custom email sender, using your own domain, adds a layer of trust that significantly improves deliverability. Email providers like Gmail and Outlook give more weight to messages that come from an authenticated, recognisable domain.

Setting up a custom sender in Feedspace is straightforward. Once your domain is connected and DNS records are verified, your review request emails will arrive appearing to come directly from your business address, which builds both trust and inbox placement.

Reason 2: The Subject Line Contains Spam Trigger Words

Subject lines that include words like “free”, “win”, “congratulations”, or excessive punctuation (multiple exclamation marks, ALL CAPS) are frequently flagged by spam filters before the email is even opened. Keeping your subject line natural and conversational makes a meaningful difference. A subject like “We’d love to hear your thoughts” performs far better than “WIN a prize, share your feedback FREE!!!”.

Review your subject line in the Feedspace automation editor and aim for a tone that matches how you would write to a customer personally.

Reason 3: Recipients Did Not Opt In to Receive Emails

Spam filters and email providers prioritise consent. Sending review requests to people who have no prior relationship with your business, or who never agreed to hear from you, increases the chance that recipients will mark your email as spam. Over time, a high spam-report rate damages your sender reputation across the board.

The most effective approach is to only send review requests to customers who recently made a purchase or had a direct interaction with your business. This keeps your audience engaged and receptive, and it protects your long-term sender reputation.

Reason 4: The Email Looks Like a Mass Campaign

Generic, impersonal emails that read like broadcast marketing campaigns are more likely to trigger spam filters and less likely to be opened. Personalising the email with the recipient’s first name immediately makes it feel like a one-to-one message. Keeping the body short and direct also helps, as lengthy emails with multiple links or images can resemble promotional blasts.

In Feedspace, you can use personalisation tokens to insert the customer’s first name into the subject line and body. A concise, friendly message with a single clear call to action is both more deliverable and more effective at generating responses.

What You Can Do Next

• Connect a custom email sender using your own domain in Feedspace to improve trust and deliverability immediately.
• Review and update your email subject lines to remove spam trigger words and keep the tone natural and personal.
• Limit your automation to customers who have an existing relationship with your business and recently interacted with you.
• Use personalisation tokens to add the recipient’s first name and keep the email body short, focused, and free of excessive links or images.