Spam Resource: All Things Deliverability

Published Monday, October 13, 2025 by Al Iverson. Click here to subscribe.

Gmail: Nine reasons your mail went to spam

Hey, friend! It's that time again! Here's what's happening in the world of email deliverability as found on Al Iverson's Spam Resource.

Also: Thanks to the fine folks at Inbox Monster, who were kind enough to feature me answering their Rapid fire (email) questions this week. Watch it here.

This Week's Featured Story

Gmail: Nine reasons your mail went to spam
When you look at an email message in your Gmail spam folder, Google helpfully displays a little bit of text along the top of the message, telling you why they've delivered that particular email message to the junk bin, instead of sending it to the inbox. I decided to dig through my own spam folder, and over the past 30 days ...

And More to Read

Ask Al 57: Protecting Parked Domains
For my latest Valimail video, I tackle something I don't think gets enough attention: how to secure your parked (non-mail-enabled) domains from spoofing and phishing. A Reddit post got me thinking: someone asked if the right move is to set DMARC to reject and publish blank SPF and DKIM records for domains ...

Microsoft SNDS: Minor changes
Microsoft's SNDS (aka their Smart Network Data Services email reputation data portal) has recently undergone some minor updates that might impact your use of the platform, depending on how you utilize it. The CSS and design seem to have been updated just a tiny bit, making it look a bit more modern. While this mild refresh is welcome, the data ...

SMTP relay services: A short list
Every once in a while, somebody asks me what email relay services are available for developers to implement either SMTP relay or API-based email sending for the various email needs related to their cool new SaaS platform. What should they plug in to use to send emails? Though I do run my own MTA, not everybody wants to do that, especially if it's ...

Plus A Bonus Article From the Archives (January 2023)

Does Gmail use Spamhaus? Or any other blocklists?
This is a question I get a lot. Does Gmail use any blocklists? Or, somebody will tell me that they're having Gmail issues, and they've plugged their own IP address into an online blocklist lookup tool, and they are sure that any results found (blocklisting issues) must somehow ...

That's all for now. Got an idea for a future story? Or an email question that I could answer in a blog post? Or just want to share feedback? Please feel free to reply! 😊

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Mailing address: 1522 W Jarvis Ave, Chicago IL 60626. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Duh. All opinions are mine alone and do not necessarily represent the views of any group, company, organization or other person. No chimps, bees or clouds were harmed in the crafting of this 100% artisanal and protein free email newsletter.