Email campaigns are only as good as their ability to land in the inbox. If your Linkwheelie emails are getting lost in spam or not arriving at all, you’re not alone—and you’re not powerless. This guide is for anyone running campaigns who’s tired of guessing why open rates are in the gutter. I’ll walk you through real steps to figure out what’s going wrong, what actually works to fix it, and what’s just noise.
Step 1: Confirm There’s Actually a Deliverability Problem
Before you start tweaking settings or blaming Linkwheelie, make sure you’re dealing with a real deliverability issue—not just low engagement or a content problem.
- Spot the signs:
- Open rates suddenly drop (not just a gradual slide).
- Unusual bounce rates.
- You or colleagues find your emails in the spam folder.
-
Complaints from recipients about not getting your emails.
-
Ignore:
- A single bad campaign (could be a subject line flop).
- Old or purchased lists (these are trouble—don’t use them).
Pro tip:
Send a test campaign to a few personal addresses across Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. Check if they go to inbox, spam, or don’t arrive at all.
Step 2: Check the Obvious—Your Sending Domain and Authentication
Deliverability lives and dies by proper authentication. Most filters look for SPF, DKIM, and sometimes DMARC. If these aren’t set up, you’re sunk.
- SPF: Confirms Linkwheelie can send on your behalf.
- DKIM: Lets receiving servers verify your messages weren’t tampered with.
- DMARC: Helps protect your domain from spoofing.
How to check: 1. In your Linkwheelie dashboard, look for the domain authentication or sending domains settings. 2. Linkwheelie provides DNS records—add the SPF and DKIM records to your DNS host (where your domain lives). 3. Use free tools like MXToolbox to check if SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are passing.
What doesn’t work:
- Sending from a free address (@gmail.com, @yahoo.com). Always use a proper, authenticated domain.
- Ignoring the Linkwheelie setup wizard for domains. It’s not optional.
Step 3: Inspect Your Email Content
Spam filters aren’t just looking at technical stuff—they’re sniffing for shady content too.
Common content triggers: - Too many images, not enough text. - Spammy words (“FREE!!!”, “Act now”, “Risk-free”). - All caps or excessive punctuation!!!!!! - Broken links or lots of link shorteners.
What to do: - Stick to real, human language. - Use a good text-to-image ratio (don’t send a single giant image). - Test your email with a spam checker tool (like Mail Tester or GlockApps).
Ignore:
- Obsessing over every “bad” word. Context matters more than individual words.
- Templates that look like 1999 e-cards. Modern, clean design is best.
Step 4: Audit Your List Quality and Engagement
Bad lists = bad deliverability. Period.
What hurts: - Old, stale lists. - Purchased or scraped lists (don’t use them, ever). - High bounce rates. - Low engagement (people not opening or clicking).
How to fix: - Regularly clean your list. Remove addresses that bounce or haven’t engaged in months. - Use double opt-in if possible. It’s annoying, but it works. - Segment out the “dead weight” and send re-engagement campaigns before removing.
Pro tip:
Linkwheelie’s reporting can help you spot which addresses are bouncing or never opening. Don’t be sentimental—prune ruthlessly.
Step 5: Check Sending Practices in Linkwheelie
Even if your content and lists are solid, bad sending habits can tank your campaigns.
Things to watch: - Sudden spikes in volume: If you go from sending 100 to 10,000 emails overnight, you’ll get flagged. - Sending too fast: Use Linkwheelie’s throttling options to slow your roll. Gradual is better than “spray and pray.” - No warm-up period: New domains or IPs need time to build trust. Start small, scale up.
What to ignore: - Myths about sending at “magic times” for deliverability. Time of day might help engagement, but not inbox placement.
Step 6: Review Linkwheelie’s Sending Reputation
You can do everything right and still run into problems if Linkwheelie’s shared IPs or infrastructure are on blacklists.
How to check: - Use a tool like Talos Intelligence or MXToolbox Blacklists to look up Linkwheelie’s sending IP. - If you’re on a shared IP and see issues, reach out to Linkwheelie support or consider a dedicated IP if they offer it.
Honest take:
Most small senders are fine on shared IPs unless other users are spamming. Dedicated IPs only make sense if you’re sending consistently high volume and can keep the reputation up.
Step 7: Monitor Feedback Loops and Complaints
Some ISPs provide feedback if users mark your messages as spam. Linkwheelie may manage feedback loops for you, but check their docs or support to be sure.
- Keep complaint rates under 0.1%. Anything above this is a red flag.
- If you see high complaints, look at your subject lines, frequency, and relevance.
Doesn’t work:
- Hiding unsubscribe links or making it hard to opt out. That just drives more spam complaints.
Step 8: Test, Test, and Test Again
Deliverability isn’t “set it and forget it.” You need to test regularly.
How to do it: - Keep a seed list of addresses on major providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.). - Send every campaign to your seed list. Watch where it lands (inbox, spam, promotions). - Rotate subject lines and content to see what changes placement.
Ignore:
- Obsessing over tiny open rate changes. Focus on big swings or patterns.
Step 9: Don’t Chase Every Shiny Tool or Trick
There’s a cottage industry of “deliverability experts” selling magic bullets. Most don’t work.
- Ignore claims about “guaranteed inboxing” or black box deliverability fixes.
- Don’t buy “clean” lists or “warm up” services unless you trust the vendor—and even then, be skeptical.
Stick to the basics: authentication, clean lists, decent content, and smart sending.
Step 10: Ask for Help—But Ask the Right Way
If you’ve checked everything above and still have issues, reach out to Linkwheelie support. Be specific:
- Tell them what you’ve tried.
- Give examples with timestamps, email addresses, and results.
- Ask if they’ve had deliverability issues on their end.
Support teams are more helpful when you’ve already done your homework.
Staying out of the spam folder isn’t rocket science, but it’s not “set and forget” either. Start with the basics, fix what’s broken, and don’t let yourself get bogged down by myths or magic bullets. Keep things simple, keep testing, and iterate as you go. If you do, your Linkwheelie campaigns will have a fighting chance of making it to the inbox—where they belong.