Why do spam reports happen?

A spam report is a person clicking “Report spam” or “This is junk” on your email. Their mail provider tells your sending service, your sending service tells us, and GoodPostal stops emailing that person immediately.

Why a tiny number is a big deal

Spam reports are counted per thousand, and the line is low. Amazon SES puts an account under review at 1 report per 1,000 emails and can pause sending at 5. Postmark, SMTP2GO, and Mailtrap draw the line at 1. Mailgun at 0.8. Watchdog shows your number next to your service's line.

What causes them

Almost always the same thing: people who don't remember signing up. A list bought or borrowed from somewhere else. Event attendees or customers who were added without being asked. A list that hasn't heard from you in years, so your name means nothing when it lands. Sometimes it's simpler: the unsubscribe link was hard to find, so they hit the spam button instead.

What to do about them

Only email people who signed up themselves. Put the unsubscribe link where it's easy to see; GoodPostal adds one to every campaign and honors it instantly. If you've been quiet for a long time, start again with the people who opened something recently, and remind everyone who you are in the first line. If Watchdog turns red, pause your scheduled campaigns, look at which group the campaign went to, and don't send to that group again until you've cleaned it.

What GoodPostal already does

Anyone who reports you is unsubscribed on the spot and never emailed again, even if they're re-imported later. The suppression list remembers.

See also: why emails bounce, the other number your sending service watches.