Tips for sending your email to the customer’s Primary Gmail box

Learn how to keep your important emails out of Gmail’s promotions tab with these tips. Gmail automatically filters certain emails to the promotions tab, which can cause important messages to get lost or overlooked. By using specific keywords, optimizing your email design, and encouraging your subscribers to add your email address to their contacts, you can improve the chances of your emails landing in the primary inbox. Additionally, regularly cleaning your email list and segmenting your subscribers can help ensure that your emails are relevant and valuable to the recipients. By following these strategies, you can increase the visibility and effectiveness of your emails in Gmail.

What causes emails to end up in the Promotions folder?

Gmail utilizes algorithms to scrutinize all incoming emails. If you use third-party email marketing software such as Mailchimp or GetResponse to send promotional emails, Gmail’s algorithm will detect them and move them to the Promotions folder. Among the 84.5% of emails that go to Gmail’s Promotions tab, only 19.2% are opened.

How to prevent emails from going to the Promotions tab

Preventing emails from being directed to the Promotions tab is not a straightforward task as Gmail algorithms are constantly evolving. Nonetheless, you can adopt certain measures to enhance the probability of your emails landing in the Primary tab.

1. Ask your subscribers to add you to the Primary tab or to whitelist you.
To ensure that your emails land in your subscribers’ Primary inbox, you can request that they add you manually by clicking on the “Labels” icon and unchecking the Promotions box. However, this is a time-consuming process and not all subscribers may be willing to do it. Another option is to ask them to whitelist you or add you to their contacts list by clicking on the three dots and selecting “Add [Name] to Contacts list.” It’s important to explain the benefits of doing so as your subscribers are receiving numerous emails daily. For instance, if you have an upcoming product launch or exciting news to share, let them know in a transparent and informative manner.

2. Personalize your email
To avoid your emails landing in the Promotions tab, it’s recommended to personalize them. Write your emails as if you are talking to a friend, using words that your subscribers are familiar with, sharing relatable stories, and adding appropriate humor. By doing this, you demonstrate that you value your subscribers, leading to better open rates and conversion. Personalizing marketing emails may seem challenging, but it’s easier than you might expect. Here are some tips to help you out.

– Divide Your Subscribers into Segments: Use information such as buying habits, subscription length, age, etc., to group your subscribers. Then, send targeted emails to each segment to improve open rates, revenue, and customer loyalty.

– Avoid Bulk Emailing: Sending bulk emails to your entire email list may result in your messages being flagged as spam. Instead, personalize your emails by targeting the specific interests of each subscriber.

– Personalize Your Emails: Addressing subscribers by name can help create a sense of belonging and increase the likelihood that they will read your email. Take the extra time to personalize your emails and reap the benefits of more engaged subscribers.

3. Reduce the use of phrases that sound overly promotional – Tone down salesy phrases
When writing marketing emails, it’s common to use salesy phrases like “Get paid now,” “Free gift card,” “50% off,” “Free membership,” or “No obligation.” However, these phrases can be flagged as spam by Gmail and directed to the Promotions tab. It’s important to avoid these types of phrases and tones, especially in subject lines, as they can come across as too promotional and turn people off from your emails. Instead, focus on providing valuable content and avoiding any language that sounds too salesy.

4. Use images sparingly
To avoid your promotional emails getting sent to the Gmail Promotions tab, it’s recommended to use images sparingly. While pictures may capture subscribers’ attention, it’s best to stick to one image rather than overcrowding your emails with multiple graphics, product photos, and infographics. Additionally, it’s worth noting that using your business logo as a profile picture may result in Gmail flagging your emails. So, keep it simple and limit the use of images.

5. Be mindful of the number of links you use.
To avoid Gmail’s algorithm flagging your promotional emails and diverting them to the Promotions tab, limit the number of links to two or three maximum. The links may direct consumers to your website’s homepage, landing pages, blogs, or social media accounts. Additionally, the “Unsubscribe” button counts as a link. Instead of using salesy phrases like “Buy now” or “Limited time only,” use a single call to action (CTA) link such as “Learn more,” “What we do,” or “Continue.” These CTAs are effective without being pushy and won’t affect Google’s algorithms.

6. Check your email address.
In order to ensure that your emails are properly received, it is important to use the same email address in both the sender field and reply-to field. If you utilize different addresses, Gmail may interpret the email as a business communication. Typically, personal emails between acquaintances do not utilize separate reply-to addresses or a no-reply address. If you utilize an email marketing service, it is recommended that you confirm that both the reply-to and sender email addresses are consistent.

Gmail is designed to differentiate between personal and business email addresses. It is recommended that you send your emails from a personal email address, rather than a business email address. For example, you should utilize name@companyxyz.com as opposed to info@companyxyz.com.

Automated email blasts for promotional and marketing purposes may appear to be efficient, but they can actually be counterproductive. Such impersonal mass outreach often results in the email being placed in the Promotions folder, where it is unlikely to be read. The most effective email campaigns strive to establish a relationship with the subscriber. To this end, it is recommended that you write in a conversational tone, avoiding a corporate sales approach.

By following the aforementioned guidelines, you can increase the likelihood of your emails being placed in the Primary folder, resulting in a significant increase in conversion rates.