Inbox placement

Landing in the inbox (instead of spam or promotions) depends on a combination of technical setup, content quality, and sender behavior.

Technical foundation

These are table stakes — without them, you're fighting uphill:

• Domain authentication — SPF, DKIM, DMARC
• Verified domain in SES
• Subdomain for sending (recommended)
• Valid unsubscribe link in every email (Sendra adds this automatically)

Content tips

Avoid spam trigger words

Certain words and patterns make spam filters more suspicious:

• ALL CAPS IN SUBJECT LINES
• Excessive exclamation marks!!!
• Phrases like "Act now," "Limited time," "Free," "Click here"
• Misleading subject lines that don't match the content

Keep a healthy text-to-image ratio

Emails that are mostly images (with little text) look spammy. Aim for a good balance of text and images.

Include a plain-text version

Sendra generates both HTML and plain-text versions automatically. This signals legitimacy to spam filters.

Don't use URL shorteners

Link shorteners (bit.ly, tinyurl) are heavily associated with spam. Use full, clean URLs.

Behavioral factors

Send consistently

Erratic sending patterns (nothing for months, then a huge blast) look suspicious. Send on a regular cadence.

Maintain engagement

Inbox providers track how recipients interact with your emails. High engagement (opens, clicks, replies) signals wanted email. Low engagement signals the opposite.

Honor unsubscribes

Sendra processes unsubscribes automatically and immediately. Never re-add unsubscribed contacts.

Keep complaints low

If your complaint rate exceeds 0.1%, inbox providers start routing you to spam. Monitor this closely in your SES dashboard and Sendra campaign reports.

Gmail-specific

Gmail uses a reputation system separate from other providers:

• Set up Google Postmaster Tools — gives you direct insight into how Gmail views your domain
• Gmail promotions tab — marketing emails often land here. This is normal and expected. Focus on getting out of spam, not out of promotions.