Why is spam check useful?

The spam check is a valuable tool that helps identify potential spam-related issues in your campaigns and automation emails before they are sent to your contacts. By resolving these issues in advance, you can enhance the deliverability and effectiveness of your emails.

• What is a spam check?
• How concerned should you be if you fail the spam check?
• Common spam check error messages

The spam check is automatically performed for every campaign and automation email you create in Marketune.

If no issues are detected, a green checkmark will appear, indicating that your email is unlikely to be flagged as spam. If any potential issues are identified, you’ll receive a notification with details on what could affect the deliverability of your email.

Marketune uses SpamAssassin, a well-known open-source tool, to conduct these spam checks. SpamAssassin evaluates emails based on predefined rules designed to spot common spam triggers. It’s important to note that the spam check doesn’t block your email from being sent; it simply highlights potential concerns so you can make improvements. The check only evaluates the content of your email; factors like your domain's sending reputation are not considered, so a passing result does not guarantee that your email will avoid the spam folder.

Not too concerned! The spam check is designed to highlight potential issues, not determine the success or failure of your email. If you’re following best practices—such as maintaining a clean contact list and consistently sending valuable, relevant content—you don’t need to worry about occasionally receiving a few points on the spam check. Think of these guidelines as helpful suggestions to steer you in the right direction, rather than strict rules. 

Here’s a list of the most common spam check error messages along with tips on how to resolve them effectively:

1. Error Message: Reference to a muscle relaxant
Solution: Your email contains terms like “soma,” “cycl” (cyclobenzaprine), “flexeril,” “skelaxin,” or “zanaflex,” which may trigger spam filters.Review your content and remove or replace these terms unless they are absolutely necessary.

2. Error Message: Sender's email is a commonly abused end-user email provider
Solution: Use a professional email address associated with your domain (e.g., yourname@yourcompany.com).

3. Error Message: No description available (Header)
Solution: Your email may contain suspicious phrases such as: “Your...account”, “Dr.”, “Your compensation”

4. Error Message: BODY: No description available
Solution: The phrase “Reply to this email...” may trigger spam filters. If you use this phrase, ensure it’s part of a legitimate and clear call-to-action.

5. Error Message: BODY: HTML has an incorrect text-to-image ratio
Solution: Your email’s ratio of text to images may not meet spam filter standards. This message can generally be ignored, but ensure your email has a healthy balance of text and images for better deliverability.

6. Error Message: BODY: Message is 10% to 20% HTML obfuscation or BODY: Message is 20% to 30% HTML obfuscation
Solution: Balance your email content by adding more text to complement your images. Simplify the email’s HTML coding if needed.

7. Error Message: URI: Uses %-values within the host name of a URL
Solution: This issue often occurs when personalization tags like %EMAIL% are used in the URL. You can safely ignore this flag since the value will populate correctly when the email is sent.

8. Error Message: "Earn lots of money!"
Solution: Avoid using words like “lucrative” or “profitable” in your email content to prevent it from being flagged.

9. Error Message: Too many tags used in the code
Solution: This often results from complex HTML code in the email design, which SpamAssassin might mistakenly interpret as obfuscation. Typically, this is a false positive and can be ignored. However, review your email design to ensure it is as clean as possible.

10. Error Message: Subject has an exclamation mark and question mark
Solution: Using both “!” and “?” in the subject line can appear overly promotional and trigger spam filters. Remove one or both symbols from your subject line for better deliverability.

11. Error Message: BODY: Removal phrase right before a link
Solution: The phrase “Here” in “Unsubscribe Here” within the footer can sometimes be flagged. Remove the word “Here” and use a clearer alternative, such as “Unsubscribe” or “Manage Preferences.”

12. Error Message: Subject contains 'your family' or 'your household'
The phrase “your family” or “your household” can raise red flags with spam filters.
Solution: Rephrase your subject line to avoid using these terms.

13. Error Message: Accessing a blocked URL or obscuring a source
Solution: Upload the image directly to Marketune image manager or host it on your domain. Avoid linking from external sources like Gmail or Googleusercontent.com to prevent issues.

14. Error Message: Your message contains characteristics similar to those of scammers
Solution: Remove or rephrase the term “your compensation” in your email content.

15. Error Message: A URI hostname has a long hexadecimal string (6 characters or more). This looks suspicious
Solution: Links with abnormally long numeric strings or account names, such as 1857105312.activehosted.com, may appear suspicious. Review and adjust such links. If the issue is due to your account name, our Support Team can help you update the account name to a more user-friendly format.

16. Error Message: Your message claims to be a 'marketing partner' of the recipient. This is often seen as spam.
Solution: Terms like “marketing partner” or “network partner” are often flagged as spam. Avoid using these terms in your email content.

17. Error Message: RAW: Message Contains “Best,” But Without a Name
Solution: Ensure the personalization tags are correctly set up and will populate with real data when the email is sent.

18. Error Message: BODY: Contains a Tracking ID Number
Solution: Long links or overly long words with hyphens (e.g., Bestimmungs-Kraft-Session-2-Recording) can be flagged. Review and shorten the links or replace excessively long words to avoid triggering this rule.

19. Error Message: Subject Mentions Losing Weight
Solution: Revise the subject line to use alternative wording or remove these terms entirely.

20. Error Message: UC_GIBBERISH_OBFU
Solution: This flag often arises from sentences in non-English or non-Dutch languages with long words, such as “condizioni VANTAGGIOSISSIME quello.” Review and simplify the content, ensuring the wording is concise and relevant.

21. Error Message: BODY: HTML Includes Images with 2000–2400 Bytes of Words
Solution: Add more textual content to your email to balance the text-to-image ratio and improve deliverability.

22. Error Message: BODY: One-Time Scam
Solution: Avoid using terms such as “one-time” or “scam” in your content. Rephrase the message to maintain clarity while steering clear of spam-sensitive language.