[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"docs-\u002Fdocs\u002Femail-deliverability":3},{"_path":4,"title":5,"description":6,"navigation":7,"image":12,"head":17,"body":36},"\u002Fdocs\u002Femail-deliverability","Email Deliverability · Waitlister Documentation","Emails landing in spam or Gmail's Promotions tab? They're different problems with different fixes. What Waitlister handles automatically, and what you control.",{"title":8,"group":9,"description":10,"order":11},"Email Deliverability","Features","Why waitlist emails land in spam or Gmail's Promotions tab, and what actually fixes each — authentication, list quality, content, and warm-up.",9,{"src":13,"width":14,"height":15,"alt":16},"https:\u002F\u002Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com\u002Fv0\u002Fb\u002Fwaitinglist-app-c24fc.appspot.com\u002Fo\u002Fdocs-og-image.png?alt=media&token=85e60b24-c882-4f84-aa9e-ef85e1ae4bb5",400,300,"Waitlister Email Deliverability",{"meta":18,"og":31,"twitter":33},[19,22,25,28],{"name":20,"content":21},"keywords","waitlist email deliverability, emails going to spam, gmail promotions tab, welcome email spam, email broadcast deliverability, custom email domain",{"name":23,"content":24},"robots","index, follow",{"name":26,"content":27},"author","Waitlister",{"name":29,"content":30},"copyright","© 2026 Waitlister",{"title":5,"description":6,"type":32,"image":13},"article",{"card":34,"title":35,"description":6,"image":13},"summary_large_image","Email Deliverability with Waitlister",{"type":37,"children":38,"toc":471},"root",[39,52,59,64,100,105,112,117,122,166,171,177,182,189,218,224,263,269,302,308,313,319,324,330,335,398,404,410,430,436,441,447,452,458],{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":42,"children":43},"element","p",{},[44],{"type":40,"tag":45,"props":46,"children":49},"span",{"className":47},[48],"secondary-heading",[50],{"type":51,"value":9},"text",{"type":40,"tag":53,"props":54,"children":56},"h1",{"id":55},"email-deliverability",[57],{"type":51,"value":58},"Email deliverability",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":60,"children":61},{},[62],{"type":51,"value":63},"\"My emails aren't arriving\" is usually one of three different problems, and they have\ndifferent fixes:",{"type":40,"tag":65,"props":66,"children":67},"ol",{},[68,80,90],{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":70,"children":71},"li",{},[72,78],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":74,"children":75},"strong",{},[76],{"type":51,"value":77},"Not delivered at all.",{"type":51,"value":79}," The address bounced. Waitlister suppresses these\nautomatically.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":81,"children":82},{},[83,88],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":84,"children":85},{},[86],{"type":51,"value":87},"Delivered to the spam folder.",{"type":51,"value":89}," An authentication, content, or list-quality problem.\nYou can fix this.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":91,"children":92},{},[93,98],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":94,"children":95},{},[96],{"type":51,"value":97},"Delivered to Gmail's Promotions tab.",{"type":51,"value":99}," This is neither spam nor a delivery failure.\nGmail categorizes marketing-shaped email as promotional; that's normal. You can nudge\nit, but some of it is outside any sender's control.",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":101,"children":102},{},[103],{"type":51,"value":104},"Check which one you actually have before changing anything: open the subscriber in your\ndashboard and look at their email history. \"Bounced\" is problem 1. Delivered but the\nrecipient found it in spam is problem 2. Delivered and it's sitting in Promotions is\nproblem 3.",{"type":40,"tag":106,"props":107,"children":109},"h2",{"id":108},"the-promotions-tab-is-not-spam",[110],{"type":51,"value":111},"The Promotions tab is not spam",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":113,"children":114},{},[115],{"type":51,"value":116},"Gmail sorts mail into tabs (Primary, Promotions, Updates) based on what the email looks\nlike, not on your sender reputation. A welcome email with a designed layout, images,\nbuttons, and an unsubscribe link looks promotional, because it is. Google's own\ndocumentation describes Promotions as a normal category, and recipients can move any\nemail to Primary.",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":118,"children":119},{},[120],{"type":51,"value":121},"What nudges emails toward Primary:",{"type":40,"tag":123,"props":124,"children":125},"ul",{},[126,136,146,156],{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":127,"children":128},{},[129,134],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":130,"children":131},{},[132],{"type":51,"value":133},"Write like a person.",{"type":51,"value":135}," A short, mostly-text email from \"Ada at YourProduct\" beats a\ndesigned template from \"YourProduct Team\" for tab placement. Cut images and buttons\ndown to what the email actually needs.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":137,"children":138},{},[139,144],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":140,"children":141},{},[142],{"type":51,"value":143},"Ask for a reply.",{"type":51,"value":145}," End your welcome email with a real question (\"what made you sign\nup?\"). A reply is the strongest signal Gmail gets that your mail belongs in Primary,\nand the answers are useful market research.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":147,"children":148},{},[149,154],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":150,"children":151},{},[152],{"type":51,"value":153},"Ask subscribers to move you.",{"type":51,"value":155}," One line in your thank-you page or welcome email\n(\"find us in Promotions? Drag the email to Primary\") trains Gmail per-recipient.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":157,"children":158},{},[159,164],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":160,"children":161},{},[162],{"type":51,"value":163},"Use a real reply-to address",{"type":51,"value":165}," you actually read, not a no-reply.",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":167,"children":168},{},[169],{"type":51,"value":170},"And a calibration point: for a waitlist, Promotions placement matters less than it feels\nlike it does. Subscribers who just signed up are actively looking for your confirmation\nemail. Watch your open rates before treating the tab as a crisis.",{"type":40,"tag":106,"props":172,"children":174},{"id":173},"landing-in-actual-spam",[175],{"type":51,"value":176},"Landing in actual spam",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":178,"children":179},{},[180],{"type":51,"value":181},"Work through these in order:",{"type":40,"tag":183,"props":184,"children":186},"h3",{"id":185},"_1-authenticate-with-your-own-domain",[187],{"type":51,"value":188},"1. Authenticate with your own domain",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":190,"children":191},{},[192,194,201,203,208,210,216],{"type":51,"value":193},"By default your emails send from Waitlister's shared domain, which works out of the box\nand is fine for getting started. On the Growth plan and above you can send from your own\ndomain (",{"type":40,"tag":195,"props":196,"children":198},"a",{"href":197},"mailto:hello@yourdomain.com",[199],{"type":51,"value":200},"hello@yourdomain.com",{"type":51,"value":202},"): Waitlister generates the authentication records (DKIM and\nSPF) for you; you add them to your DNS and verify. Your emails then build ",{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":204,"children":205},{},[206],{"type":51,"value":207},"your",{"type":51,"value":209},"\nreputation, independent of anyone else's sending. See\n",{"type":40,"tag":195,"props":211,"children":213},{"href":212},"\u002Fdocs\u002Fcustom-email-domain",[214],{"type":51,"value":215},"Custom email domain",{"type":51,"value":217},".",{"type":40,"tag":183,"props":219,"children":221},{"id":220},"_2-keep-the-list-clean",[222],{"type":51,"value":223},"2. Keep the list clean",{"type":40,"tag":123,"props":225,"children":226},{},[227,237,253],{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":228,"children":229},{},[230,235],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":231,"children":232},{},[233],{"type":51,"value":234},"Leave email validation on",{"type":51,"value":236}," (it's on by default). It catches undeliverable and\ndisposable addresses at signup, before they can hurt you.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":238,"children":239},{},[240,251],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":241,"children":242},{},[243,245],{"type":51,"value":244},"Turn on ",{"type":40,"tag":195,"props":246,"children":248},{"href":247},"\u002Fdocs\u002Fdouble-opt-in",[249],{"type":51,"value":250},"double opt-in",{"type":51,"value":252}," if your signups come from paid traffic\nor anywhere bots find forms. Confirmed addresses bounce less and complain less.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":254,"children":255},{},[256,261],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":257,"children":258},{},[259],{"type":51,"value":260},"Never import a purchased or scraped list.",{"type":51,"value":262}," Mailbox providers detect this quickly,\nand the complaint rate will follow you.",{"type":40,"tag":183,"props":264,"children":266},{"id":265},"_3-send-like-a-human-not-a-cannon",[267],{"type":51,"value":268},"3. Send like a human, not a cannon",{"type":40,"tag":123,"props":270,"children":271},{},[272,282,292],{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":273,"children":274},{},[275,280],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":276,"children":277},{},[278],{"type":51,"value":279},"Warm up.",{"type":51,"value":281}," For your first broadcasts, send to a segment first (use the position\nrange or a tag when composing) and work up to the full list over a few sends.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":283,"children":284},{},[285,290],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":286,"children":287},{},[288],{"type":51,"value":289},"Be consistent.",{"type":51,"value":291}," A monthly update beats six months of silence followed by a launch\nblast to 10,000 cold addresses. Silence makes your list forget you; forgotten senders\nget marked as spam.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":293,"children":294},{},[295,300],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":296,"children":297},{},[298],{"type":51,"value":299},"Skip the spam patterns:",{"type":51,"value":301}," link shorteners, ALL-CAPS subjects, \"FREE!!!\", misleading\nsubject lines. Say what the email is.",{"type":40,"tag":183,"props":303,"children":305},{"id":304},"_4-watch-complaints-not-just-opens",[306],{"type":51,"value":307},"4. Watch complaints, not just opens",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":309,"children":310},{},[311],{"type":51,"value":312},"A spam complaint (\"mark as spam\") is the metric mailbox providers act on. Gmail and Yahoo\ncut off bulk senders whose complaint rate hits 0.3%, and you want to stay far below that\nline, well under one complaint per thousand emails. The best protection is only emailing\npeople who clearly asked, and making unsubscribing a single click (it always is with\nWaitlister; see below).",{"type":40,"tag":183,"props":314,"children":316},{"id":315},"_5-test-it-yourself",[317],{"type":51,"value":318},"5. Test it yourself",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":320,"children":321},{},[322],{"type":51,"value":323},"Before a big send, broadcast to yourself first: add your own Gmail and Outlook addresses\nto the list and see exactly where the email lands. Ten minutes of testing beats a week of\nguessing.",{"type":40,"tag":106,"props":325,"children":327},{"id":326},"what-waitlister-handles-automatically",[328],{"type":51,"value":329},"What Waitlister handles automatically",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":331,"children":332},{},[333],{"type":51,"value":334},"You don't need to configure any of this:",{"type":40,"tag":123,"props":336,"children":337},{},[338,348,358,368,378,388],{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":339,"children":340},{},[341,346],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":342,"children":343},{},[344],{"type":51,"value":345},"One-click unsubscribe headers",{"type":51,"value":347}," (RFC 8058) on every welcome email and broadcast.\nGmail and Yahoo require these for bulk senders; Waitlister handles the whole flow for\nyou and honors unsubscribes immediately.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":349,"children":350},{},[351,356],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":352,"children":353},{},[354],{"type":51,"value":355},"Bounce suppression.",{"type":51,"value":357}," Addresses that hard-bounce are marked undeliverable and never\nemailed again.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":359,"children":360},{},[361,366],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":362,"children":363},{},[364],{"type":51,"value":365},"Complaint suppression.",{"type":51,"value":367}," If someone marks your email as spam, we treat it as an\nunsubscribe: they won't be emailed again, and your complaint rate stays protected.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":369,"children":370},{},[371,376],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":372,"children":373},{},[374],{"type":51,"value":375},"Plain-text versions",{"type":51,"value":377}," of every email are sent alongside the HTML, a long-standing\nspam-filter and accessibility best practice.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":379,"children":380},{},[381,386],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":382,"children":383},{},[384],{"type":51,"value":385},"A visible unsubscribe link",{"type":51,"value":387}," in every broadcast and welcome email.",{"type":40,"tag":69,"props":389,"children":390},{},[391,396],{"type":40,"tag":73,"props":392,"children":393},{},[394],{"type":51,"value":395},"Deliverability statuses",{"type":51,"value":397}," on every subscriber. Broadcasts automatically skip\naddresses marked undeliverable, disposable, or unsubscribed.",{"type":40,"tag":106,"props":399,"children":401},{"id":400},"faq",[402],{"type":51,"value":403},"FAQ",{"type":40,"tag":183,"props":405,"children":407},{"id":406},"i-set-up-a-custom-email-domain-and-my-emails-still-go-to-promotions-why",[408],{"type":51,"value":409},"I set up a custom email domain and my emails still go to Promotions. Why?",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":411,"children":412},{},[413,415,421,423,428],{"type":51,"value":414},"Because authentication and tab placement are different systems. Your custom domain fixes\n",{"type":40,"tag":416,"props":417,"children":418},"em",{},[419],{"type":51,"value":420},"who the email is from",{"type":51,"value":422}," (reputation, spam-folder risk); the Promotions tab is about ",{"type":40,"tag":416,"props":424,"children":425},{},[426],{"type":51,"value":427},"what\nthe email looks like",{"type":51,"value":429},". A designed, image-rich email will sit in Promotions on a perfectly\nauthenticated domain. Use the content levers above: plainer template, personal from-name,\nask for a reply.",{"type":40,"tag":183,"props":431,"children":433},{"id":432},"whats-a-good-open-rate-for-waitlist-emails",[434],{"type":51,"value":435},"What's a good open rate for waitlist emails?",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":437,"children":438},{},[439],{"type":51,"value":440},"Welcome emails land well above your normal rates, because the recipient just asked for\nthem and is often watching their inbox for the confirmation. Broadcasts to an older list\nvary widely. The useful signal is your own trend: if broadcast opens are sinking\nsend-over-send, the list is going stale. Send more consistently, or re-engage before the\nbig launch email.",{"type":40,"tag":183,"props":442,"children":444},{"id":443},"how-do-i-warm-up-before-a-launch-announcement",[445],{"type":51,"value":446},"How do I warm up before a launch announcement?",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":448,"children":449},{},[450],{"type":51,"value":451},"Send your launch email to positions 1–500 first (position range in the broadcast\ncomposer), wait a few hours, then send to the rest. Early positions are your most\ninvested subscribers; their opens and clicks warm the path for the full send.",{"type":40,"tag":183,"props":453,"children":455},{"id":454},"does-waitlister-limit-how-many-emails-i-can-send",[456],{"type":51,"value":457},"Does Waitlister limit how many emails I can send?",{"type":40,"tag":41,"props":459,"children":460},{},[461,463,469],{"type":51,"value":462},"Email sending starts on the Launch plan, and each plan that includes it has a monthly\nallowance (see ",{"type":40,"tag":195,"props":464,"children":466},{"href":465},"\u002Fpricing",[467],{"type":51,"value":468},"pricing",{"type":51,"value":470},"). The caps also protect the shared sending domain: one\nsender blasting doesn't degrade delivery for everyone else.",{"title":472,"searchDepth":473,"depth":473,"links":474},"",3,[475,477,484,485],{"id":108,"depth":476,"text":111},2,{"id":173,"depth":476,"text":176,"children":478},[479,480,481,482,483],{"id":185,"depth":473,"text":188},{"id":220,"depth":473,"text":223},{"id":265,"depth":473,"text":268},{"id":304,"depth":473,"text":307},{"id":315,"depth":473,"text":318},{"id":326,"depth":476,"text":329},{"id":400,"depth":476,"text":403,"children":486},[487,488,489,490],{"id":406,"depth":473,"text":409},{"id":432,"depth":473,"text":435},{"id":443,"depth":473,"text":446},{"id":454,"depth":473,"text":457}]