{"id":200410,"date":"2025-10-17T14:46:57","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T12:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spotler.com\/blog\/inbox-placement-naughty-or-nice"},"modified":"2025-11-24T20:55:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T19:55:26","slug":"inbox-placement-naughty-or-nice","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/spotler.com\/en-de\/blog\/inbox-placement-naughty-or-nice","title":{"rendered":"Inbox placement: naughty or nice"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the festive season rolls in and your send queue fills with special offers and jolly jingles, there\u2019s a sneaky deliverability truth: the words \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d<\/em> won\u2019t get your mail blocked. What will? Messy data, spam traps, unexpected volume spikes and missing authentication.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So if you want your emails in the nice<\/em> list rather than the dreaded spam folder, read on. And yes, we\u2019ll mention mince pies (because you\u2019d ask if we didn\u2019t).<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Festive words won\u2019t hurt, your data will<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s tempting to think that all you need is a cheerful subject line and you\u2019re sorted. But according to Spotler\u2019s guide to improving email deliverability<\/a>, the real threats to inbox placement are poor list hygiene, spam traps, high bounce rates and unengaged cold segments.<\/p>\n

The Data & Marketing Association (DMA)<\/a> echoes this, noting that sender reputation and data quality are the<\/em> biggest determinants of inbox success. Festive keywords rarely impact filtering, but inconsistent sending, bad authentication and neglected data can.<\/p>\n

In other words, you can say \u201cHo ho ho\u201d all you like, but if your database hasn\u2019t had a spring clean since last Boxing Day, you\u2019ll be on the naughty list faster than you can say \u201cseasonal segment\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Keep data hygiene high and avoid recycled traps<\/h2>\n

Cleaning your database isn\u2019t glamorous, but it\u2019s essential. A high bounce rate and repeated hits on spam traps will block your route to the inbox. As explained in Spotler\u2019s deliverability resources<\/a>, you should remove hard bounces, inactive users and any addresses that could trigger spam systems.<\/p>\n

The DMA\u2019s Email Deliverability Whitepaper<\/a> reinforces this point, showing that list hygiene, not content, drives most placement issues. According to their research, data decay of 22% per year is typical in the UK, meaning nearly a quarter of addresses can go bad in just twelve months.<\/p>\n

Think of it like clearing the chimney before Santa arrives. Skip it, and you\u2019re getting soot, not presents.<\/p>\n

Helpful checklist:<\/strong><\/h3>\n