Even with Church Space’s built-in email best practices, some emails may still land in spam folders. Here’s what to look out for and how you can reduce the risk.

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What Church Space Already Handles for You

We automatically include industry-standard protections in every email:

  • Unsubscribe links and email preference management
  • A visible physical address (required by anti-spam laws)
  • Proper email headers including a one-click unsubscribe link
  • Required DNS records:
    • SPF
    • DKIM

These help establish your domain as a trusted sender.

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1. Missing or Weak DMARC Policy

While DMARC is not required to send emails, we highly recommend setting it up.

  • DMARC works alongside SPF and DKIM to tell email providers how to handle suspicious emails from your domain.
  • Without it, your emails may still pass authentication but be treated as less trustworthy.

Ask your domain administrator to set up a DMARC record for stronger protection and deliverability. You can find our standard recommended DMARC record at https://churchspace.co/settings/domains

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2. Spammy or Aggressive Content

Certain content can raise red flags for spam filters. Avoid:

  • All caps in subject lines or body (e.g. “ACT NOW!”)
  • Excessive exclamation points (e.g. “Free!!!”)
  • Overuse of salesy or promotional language (e.g. “Buy now”, “100% FREE”)
  • Embedding too many links or call-to-actions
Write like a human. Keep your tone warm, relevant, and clear.

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3. Poor Text-to-Image Ratio

  • Emails with mostly images and little text are often flagged as spam.
  • Aim for a balanced mix of readable text and images.

Never send an email that is one big image or too many back-to-back images without explanation.

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4. Sender Name and Email Address

Your sender name and email address matter.

  • Avoid using generic or unclear names (e.g. “Admin” or “Email Team”).
  • Make sure your address sounds legitimate and recognizable (e.g. hello@yourchurch.com, not info123@domain.net).
  • Church Space already prevents sending from no-reply addresses.

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5. Low Engagement or Past Complaints

  • If people consistently ignore, delete, or mark your emails as spam, email providers may start flagging your future messages.
  • Avoid emailing people who haven’t engaged in a long time.
  • Clean your lists regularly and respect unsubscribes.

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6. Sending to Invalid or Old Addresses

  • Sending to outdated or incorrect email addresses increases your bounce rate, which hurts your sender reputation.
  • Make sure your lists are current and accurate.
  • Church Space automatically suppresses bounced and cleaned addresses.

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Final Tip: Test Before Sending

  • Send test emails to a few different email clients (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) to see where they land.
  • Avoid adding attachments or excessive formatting in your initial drafts.

Need help improving your deliverability or reviewing your DNS settings?
Reach out to us at support@churchspace.co.