Why Your Customers Aren't Seeing Your Emails
You’ve spent hours putting together a special offer or a monthly update for your customers. You hit send, expecting the phone to ring or the orders to start rolling in. Instead? Silence.
Most Brisbane business owners I talk to think that if an email doesn't get a response, it’s because the customer wasn't interested. But more often than not, the customer never even saw it. It’s sitting in their 'Junk' or 'Spam' folder, buried alongside dodgy offshore inheritance scams.
If your emails aren't landing in the main inbox, you are literally throwing money away. You’re paying for staff to write them, you’re paying for software to send them, and you’re losing out on the sales they should be generating.
The Myth: "It’s the Words I Used"
I hear this all the time from tradies and shop owners: "I must have used the word 'Free' too much," or "Maybe my subject line was too pushy."
Let's bust that myth right now. While your content matters, the biggest reason emails go to spam today isn't what you said—it’s who Google and Outlook think you are.
Think of it like a delivery driver trying to get into a gated community in Ascot. If the driver doesn't have the right ID, the gate stays shut. It doesn't matter if they're delivering a diamond ring or a pizza; they aren't getting in. Your email needs the digital equivalent of a high-vis vest and a valid ID badge to pass the gatekeepers.
The "ID Badges" Your Business Needs
There are three technical settings that tell the big email providers (like Gmail and BigPond) that you are a legitimate local business and not a scammer. You don't need to know how to code to understand why these matter.
1. The "I Am Who I Say I Am" Check (SPF)
This setting tells the world which computers are allowed to send email on your behalf. If you use a tool like Mailchimp or Klaviyo but haven't updated this setting, Google looks at your email and thinks, "This says it's from Joe's Plumbing, but it's coming from a random server in the US. Block it."2. The "Digital Signature" (DKIM)
This is like a wax seal on an envelope. It proves that the email hasn't been tampered with since it left your outbox. Without it, you look suspicious.3. The "Instruction Manual" (DMARC)
This is the most important one lately. It tells the receiving email server exactly what to do if an email fails the first two checks. If you don't have this set up, many providers will now just bin your email by default to be safe.If you're worried about the tech side, it's worth looking into how email platform costs can vary depending on whether the provider helps you manage these settings or leaves you to fend for yourself.
Your Reputation is Like a Credit Score
Every time you send an email, Google and Outlook give your domain (your business website address) a secret score. If people open your emails and click links, your score goes up. If they delete them without opening, or worse, hit 'Report Spam', your score plummets.
Once your reputation is trashed, it is very hard to fix. I’ve seen a landscaping business in Chermside buy a massive list of 'leads' from a random website, blast them all at once, and get blocked by every major provider within 24 hours. They couldn't even send a normal invoice to their regular customers for weeks because their whole domain was blacklisted.
This is why we tell people to stop 'blasting' their entire database with the same generic message. Instead, focusing on relevant messaging ensures that people actually want to open what you send, which keeps your reputation high and your emails out of the junk folder.
The Danger of "Warm-up" Shortcuts
You might hear some 'experts' tell you to use automated tools that send fake emails back and forth to 'warm up' your account. Don't do it. Google is smarter than that. They can tell when a bunch of bots are talking to each other.
Real reputation comes from real people. We recently worked with a professional services firm in the CBD that was struggling with their emails going to spam. Instead of using tricks, we fixed their technical settings and focused on sending a high-value data-led welcome flow to new enquiries. Because those first few emails were exactly what the customers wanted, they opened them, clicked them, and essentially told Google: "This sender is a good guy." Within a month, their 'deliverability' (how many emails actually hit the inbox) went from 60% to 98%.
How to Tell if You Have a Problem
How do you know if your emails are actually being delivered? Don't just look at the 'Open Rate' in your software—those numbers can be misleading.
Here are the real signs of trouble: The 'BigPond' Test: If you send an email to a customer with a @bigpond.com or @optusnet.com.au address and they never get it, you have a reputation problem. These Australian providers are notoriously strict. The Invoice Silence: If you're constantly hearing "I never got that invoice," it's a red flag.
- Gmail 'Promotions' Tab: If your personal updates are landing in the 'Promotions' or 'Social' tab instead of the main Inbox, you're losing eyes.
What Should You Do First?
If you suspect your emails are going to spam, don't just keep sending more. That’s like digging a deeper hole.
1. Check your settings: Ask whoever manages your website or IT if your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are set up correctly. If they look at you blankly, find someone who knows. 2. Clean your list: If someone hasn't opened an email from you in six months, stop emailing them. They are dead weight that is dragging your reputation down. 3. Ask for a reply: In your next email, ask a simple question. "Hey, just checking you got this, could you hit reply and let me know?" When a customer replies to you, it tells the email providers that you have a real relationship, which is gold for your reputation.
The Bottom Line
Fixing these 'technical' issues isn't about being a computer geek; it's about making sure your marketing actually reaches the people who want to buy from you. It’s the difference between a campaign that generates $10,000 in bookings and one that generates $0.
In Brisbane’s competitive market, you can’t afford to be invisible. Most of your competitors are getting this wrong—they’re just hitting 'send' and hoping for the best. By taking an hour to fix your digital ID cards, you’ll already be ahead of the pack.
Confused by the technical jargon? At Local Marketing Group, we help Brisbane businesses sort out the mess so their emails actually make them money. Contact us today to get your emails back in the inbox.