Why Your Emails Are Ghosting Customers (Technical Fixes)

# Why Your Emails Are Ghosting Your Customers: The Technical Sabotage You’re Ignoring

I’m going to start with a hard truth that most agencies in Brisbane are too polite to tell you: If your technical setup is a mess, the most beautiful copywriting in the world won't save your bottom line.

Last month, I sat down with a business owner in Newstead. He was frustrated. He’d spent $5,000 on a high-end copywriter to craft a launch sequence for a new product. The copy was brilliant—witty, persuasive, and perfectly on-brand. But when he hit 'send' to his list of 10,000 local customers, his open rates plummeted to 8%.

He thought his customers had stopped caring. I knew better. I took one look at his DNS records and saw the digital equivalent of a house with no front door and a 'Do Not Enter' sign on the gate. His emails weren't being ignored; they were being incinerated by Google and Yahoo’s spam filters before his customers even knew they existed.

In 2026, the 'Spam' folder isn't just for Nigerian princes and dodgy pharmaceutical ads. It’s for legitimate Australian businesses that are too lazy or too uninformed to fix their technical foundations.

If you think email marketing is just about 'subject lines' and 'emojis,' you’re playing a game from 2015. Today, it’s a technical arms race. Let’s talk about why you’re losing and how to actually get back into the primary inbox.

The Great 2024/2025 Shift: Why Everything You Knew Is Obsolete

Before we dive into the 'how,' we need to address the 'why.' In early 2024, Google and Yahoo dropped a hammer on the industry. They introduced strict requirements for bulk senders (anyone sending more than 5,000 emails a day, though realistically, these rules apply to everyone now).

They didn't do this to be mean. They did it because the volume of AI-generated junk has exploded. If they didn't tighten the screws, our inboxes would be unusable.

Most business owners I talk to in Queensland think they’re 'too small' to worry about these high-level technical requirements. That is a dangerous delusion. If you use a professional email platform—be it Klaviyo, Mailchimp, or ActiveCampaign—you are a bulk sender in the eyes of an ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Mistake #1: The 'Default' Domain Trap

This is the most common mistake I see, and frankly, it’s the one that drives me the most insane.

When you sign up for a platform like Mailchimp, they often let you start sending immediately using their shared domain. You’ll see it in the 'from' address: yourbusiness@mail123.mcsv.net.

Here is my professional opinion: If you are sending from a shared domain in 2026, you are telling the world your business is a hobby.

When you use a shared domain, your reputation is tied to every other 'shonky' operator using that same server. If a guy selling low-quality supplements in Melbourne blasts a million people and gets flagged for spam, your emails suffer too because you're sharing the same digital 'ID card.'

The Fix: Branded Sending Domains

Mistake #2: The Authentication Trifecta (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

I can see your eyes glazing over already. "Technical jargon, I'll let my IT guy handle it."

Stop. Your 'IT guy' likely manages your Office 365 or your printers. He often has no idea how marketing deliverability works. I’ve seen seasoned IT professionals mess this up because they don't understand the nuances of marketing subdomains.

Let’s break these three down in plain English, because you need to understand what’s happening under the hood of your business.

1. SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

Common Error: Having multiple SPF records. You are only allowed one. If you have one for Outlook and one for Klaviyo, they cancel each other out. You need to merge them into a single string.

2. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

3. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)

Google now requires a DMARC policy. If you don't have one, or if it's set up incorrectly, you're basically shouting into a void. I’ve seen businesses lose 40% of their revenue overnight because their DMARC wasn't configured to meet the new standards.

Mistake #3: The 'Blast' Mentality and Reputation Suicide

Even with perfect technical settings, you can still kill your deliverability with bad behaviour.

I see this all the time with retail businesses in the Gold Coast. They have a slow Tuesday, so they decide to 'blast' their entire list of 20,000 people with a '20% OFF' coupon.

This is the fastest way to get blacklisted.

ISPs look for patterns. If you usually send to 2,000 engaged people and suddenly send to 20,000 (including people who haven't opened an email in three years), the ISP thinks your account has been hacked by a spammer. They will throttle your send or block you entirely.

Instead of blasting, you need to understand the art of relevant messaging to keep your engagement rates high. High engagement (opens and clicks) tells Google that your content is wanted, which improves your technical reputation.

Mistake #4: Ignoring the 'Feedback Loop'

When someone clicks "This is Spam" on your email, it’s not just a 'mean' gesture. It’s a formal report sent back to the ISP.

If your complaint rate stays above 0.3% (that’s only 3 people out of 1,000!), Google will start de-prioritising your emails. Many business owners don't even know where to find this data.

Pro Tip: You need to sign up for Google Postmaster Tools. It’s free, and it’s the only way to see exactly how Google views your domain's reputation. If your graph is red, you're in trouble. If it's green, you're golden.

Mistake #5: The 'Cheap Platform' Tax

I get it. Running a business in Australia is expensive. Rent is up, wages are up, and you’re looking to cut costs. But choosing a cheap, bottom-tier email service provider (ESP) is a classic 'penny wise, pound foolish' move.

Cheap platforms often have 'dirty' IP addresses because they don't police their users. If you're on a server with 500 other people who are all buying lists and sending spam, you're going to pay the price. We’ve written extensively about the email platform costs that most people overlook. Sometimes, the 'free' plan is the most expensive thing you'll ever use.

The 'Warm-Up' Period: Why You Can't Just 'Go Big'

If you move to a new platform or set up a new dedicated domain, you cannot send 10,000 emails on day one. You have to 'warm up' the domain.

This involves sending small batches of emails to your most engaged subscribers—the people who always open and click. This builds a positive history.

I’ve seen businesses ignore this, send a massive Christmas campaign on a brand new domain, and get their domain permanently blacklisted before Boxing Day. It's heartbreaking to watch, and it's completely avoidable.

Content vs. Context: The Hidden Spam Triggers

While this article focuses on technical fixes, we have to mention the content triggers that mess with the technical filters.

In 2026, spam filters use machine learning to 'read' your images. If your email is just one big image with no text, it looks like a giant red flag. Why? Because spammers used to hide text in images to bypass filters.

Rules for 2026 Content: 1. Text-to-Image Ratio: Aim for at least 60% text. 2. Avoid 'Spammy' Keywords: Words like 'FREE', 'CASH', and 'ACT NOW' in all caps are still triggers, but the filters are smarter now. They look at the context. 3. The Unsubscribe Link: It must be easy to find. If you hide it, people will just hit the 'Spam' button instead, which hurts you way more.

The Role of Automation in Deliverability

One of the best ways to maintain a high technical reputation is through consistent, high-engagement automated flows.

Instead of sending one massive blast, a data-led welcome flow ensures that new subscribers are interacting with your emails immediately. This consistent 'trickle' of positive engagement keeps your 'sender credit score' high, making it easier for your occasional big announcements to reach the inbox.

Your Technical Checklist for This Week

If you’re worried your emails aren't hitting the mark, here is exactly what I want you to do. Don't delegate this to someone who doesn't understand the stakes:

1. Check your DNS: Use a tool like MXToolbox to see if your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are valid. 2. Verify your Sending Domain: Ensure you aren't sending from via mailchimpapp.net. 3. Monitor Google Postmaster Tools: Look at your domain reputation. If it’s 'Low' or 'Bad,' stop sending to your whole list immediately and focus only on your top 5% of engaged users until the reputation recovers. 4. Clean Your List: If someone hasn't opened an email in 6 months, stop sending to them. They are 'dead weight' that is actively pulling your deliverability down.

Conclusion: It’s About Respect

At the end of the day, deliverability is the technical manifestation of respect. If you respect your audience by sending them authenticated, relevant, and wanted content, the algorithms will reward you.

If you try to take shortcuts—using shared domains, ignoring authentication, or 'blasting' cold lists—you will be punished. The 'Spam' folder is where lazy marketing goes to die.

Don't let your Brisbane business be a victim of technical neglect. Fix your foundations, and your ROI will follow.

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Need a technical audit of your email setup? At Local Marketing Group, we don't just write pretty emails—we make sure they actually get delivered. Contact us today to stop being ghosted by your customers.