{"id":2238,"date":"2018-01-09T06:31:45","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T06:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/?p=2238"},"modified":"2021-08-27T05:54:31","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T05:54:31","slug":"spam-issue-our-fault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/spam-issue-our-fault\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your spam issue our fault?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’re here because your emails are either going to the Spam folder<\/strong> or are being outright rejected with bounce messages<\/strong> indicating there’s a block<\/strong> in place.<\/p>\n

Is it the fault of GMass?<\/p>\n

It might be. It’s actually happened before<\/a>, although it’s rare.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you’re sending non-commercial email<\/a> (club announcements, news to friends, etc.)<\/strong>\u00a0and you’re used to always having your emails land in the Inbox<\/strong>, and suddenly they’re getting rejected or landing in Spam, then GMass could be the cause.<\/p>\n

If you’re sending commercial email, like email marketing campaigns or cold email campaigns<\/a>, and you’re seeing a change in deliverability, it might be that recipients aren’t engaging with your emails like they used to.<\/p>\n

Read on to determine if GMass is the cause of the issue.<\/p>\n

The one change GMass makes<\/h2>\n

There’s only one difference<\/strong> between sending an email with GMass versus the regular blue Gmail Send button, and it involves a “tracking domain”<\/a> that GMass inserts into your email if you are using any of these three features<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Open tracking<\/li>\n
  2. Click tracking<\/li>\n
  3. The unsubscribe link<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you turn all of these features OFF, then the fact you’re using GMass becomes completely invisible, and this will eliminate the possibility of GMass being the cause of a spam issue.<\/p>\n

    So one quick test you can run right now is sending the same email with GMass but turning all of these settings off (see below for how to do that).<\/p>\n

    In this guide, we will isolate the changes that GMass makes to determine whether GMass is causing the issue, or whether the issue would be present even if you didn’t use GMass.<\/p>\n

    Here is a step-by-step guide to\u00a0determining if GMass is the cause of the spam issue<\/strong> and how to solve it<\/strong>. This is the same set of steps our support team uses when helping a user through this issue, and with this guide, you should be able to self-diagnose the issue and fix it yourself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Step 1: Use the Gmail Send button to send the same email<\/h2>\n

    Compose\u00a0your email to the problematic email address<\/strong>, remove the unsubscribe link (if you included one) and send the exact same email<\/strong> with the Gmail Send<\/span> button, instead of the GMass<\/span><\/strong> button.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Send with the regular Gmail “Send” button instead of the GMass button.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    When you send with the Gmail Send button, the email won’t contain the GMass-inserted tracking domain. It’s the equivalent of sending with GMass with open tracking, click tracking, and the unsubscribe link all turned off.<\/p>\n

    Did your email get delivered?<\/h6>\n

    If so, now send it with the GMass<\/strong><\/span> button\u00a0one more time to confirm that it’s GMass that’s causing the spam issue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    If you’ve determined that it’s GMass causing the issue<\/strong>, now move onto Step 2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    If your email still didn’t get delivered after using the Gmail<\/span> Send<\/span><\/strong> button, then there’s something about the content of your email<\/strong>\u00a0or source of your email<\/strong> (if you’re using an external SMTP service<\/a>) that’s causing the issue, and the issue is unrelated to GMass<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Step 2: Send with GMass again, but remove traces of GMass<\/h2>\n

    When you send with the GMass button, GMass makes several changes to your email, depending on your Settings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Track Opens<\/strong>: GMass adds an open-tracking pixel to the bottom of your email.<\/p>\n

    Track Clicks: <\/strong>GMass modifies your links to hit the GMass server first before redirecting to your final destination URL.<\/p>\n

    Unsubscribe Link:<\/strong> If you include the GMass unsubscribe link<\/a>, then that link is personalized for each individual recipient.<\/p>\n

    Prevent these changes<\/strong> that GMass makes\u00a0to your email by turning\u00a0OFF open tracking<\/strong>, turning\u00a0OFF click tracking<\/strong>, and removing the unsubscribe link<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Prevent the changes that GMass makes by turning off open and click tracking and not including the GMass-generated unsubscribe link.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Now, send your email with the GMass<\/span><\/strong> button again.\u00a0Now\u00a0an email receiver won’t be able to distinguish<\/strong> between sending with the Gmail Send<\/span> button versus the GMass<\/span><\/strong> button.<\/p>\n

    Did your email get delivered?<\/h6>\n

    If so, you know it’s an issue with GMass tracking<\/strong>. You should set up a dedicated tracking domain<\/a>, which will almost certainly fix the issue, or if you like, you can keep open\/click tracking turned OFF<\/strong>, and skip the unsubscribe link<\/strong>. If you’re going to remove the unsubscribe link, your emails should be of a non-commercial nature.<\/p>\n

    If your email still didn’t get delivered<\/strong>, then something is very strange<\/strong>, because now the GMass button is acting equivalently to the Gmail Send button<\/strong>, and we already know that the Gmail Send button is successfully delivering<\/strong> your email, otherwise you wouldn’t be here at Step 2<\/strong>. Proceed to Step 3.<\/p>\n

    Step 3: Looking at IP address and other issues<\/h2>\n

    If your email still isn’t delivering, we now know that GMass isn’t causing your deliverability issue.<\/p>\n

    The cause could be one of the following:<\/p>\n