How to Avoid the Spam Folder: 10 Email Deliverability Tips for Law Firms

Executive Summary

Email deliverability is a critical but often overlooked part of law firm marketing. If your emails aren’t reaching inboxes, your messaging, offers, and updates may never be seen—costing you leads and client engagement. We’ve outlined ten proven strategies to help law firms keep their emails out of spam, from cleaning your list to authenticating your domain and crafting human-sounding content. Whether you’re just getting started or fine-tuning an existing system, these tips will help ensure your communications reach the people who need to see them.

1. Start with a Clean Email List

When it comes to email deliverability, quality > quantity is paramount. Sending to outdated or unengaged email addresses is one of the fastest ways to get flagged as spam. Internet service providers (ISPs) monitor how recipients interact with your emails. If you’re consistently sending to invalid or disengaged contacts, they assume your content isn’t valuable. Or worse, they assume that it’s spam. To avoid this:

• Regularly remove bounced or unresponsive addresses.
  • A lot of mail providers will automatically clean out unengaged contacts for you, but you should be mindful of whether or not your email marketing platform is doing so.
• Make sure that the ‘unsubscribe’ button is easily visible at the bottom of your emails.
  • Making it difficult to unsubscribe not only leads to a bad client experience but could also increase the odds of clients reporting the email as spam.
• Never buy email lists. They’re full of bad addresses and lead to high spam complaints.

2. Authenticate Your Email Domain

Email authentication builds trust between your server and the recipient’s inbox. Think of it like showing ID before you enter a secure building. Make sure your law firm’s domain has the following protocols set up:

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Confirms your domain is authorized to send emails.
• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Adds a digital signature to prove the message wasn’t altered.
• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): Tells ISPs how to handle emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks.

If you’re using an email service provider like Mailchimp, HubSpot, or Lawmatics, they’ll guide you through the process, but it’s often up to your IT person or domain host to complete the setup.

3. Use a Reputable Email Platform

Don’t send marketing emails from Outlook or your Gmail inbox. Instead, use a reputable platform designed for mass email sends. Tools like Mailchimp, Hubspot, Lawmatics, or Klaviyo are built to handle deliverability and provide analytics to track success. These platforms also:

• Automatically include unsubscribe links (required by law).
• Help throttle sends to avoid spam triggers.
• Monitor your sender reputation and bounce rates.

4. Keep Subject Lines Clear and Legitimate

Spam filters love to flag dramatic or misleading subject lines, especially when they’re in all caps or contain too many emojis. Law firms should aim for subject lines that are professional, relevant, and specific.

Avoid:

• “Open Immediately!!!”
• “⚠️ Legal Notice – Read Immediately”
• “FREE CONSULTATION RIGHT NOW”

Instead, try:

• “Your Rights During a Divorce in Colorado”
• “Need Help with Custody? Here’s What to Know”
• “Schedule a Strategy Session with Our Legal Team”

5. Avoid Spammy Formatting and Language

Some common spam triggers include:

• All caps and excessive punctuation (!!!).
• Large red fonts.
• “Free,” “Buy now,” “Click here,” or “100% guaranteed.”

Write like a real human being. Keep formatting clean and content valuable. It’s fine to include links or bolded text, but make sure not to overdo it.

6. Always Include a Physical Address and Unsubscribe Link

The CAN-SPAM Act requires all commercial emails to include:

• A valid physical mailing address.
• A clear way to opt out of future emails.

Most email marketing platforms handle this automatically, but it never hurts to double-check. Forgetting these basics can land you in legal trouble, not just the spam folder.

7. Focus on Engagement

One of the most underrated email deliverability tips: send emails people actually want to read. ISPs pay attention to engagement signals like:

• Open rates
• Click rates
• Replies
• Emails being marked as spam or deleted immediately

Here’s how to increase engagement:

• Segment your list so content feels personal.
• Avoid blasting everyone with the same message.
• Use first names in the subject line or greeting.

If someone hasn’t opened your emails in 90+ days, consider sending a re-engagement campaign or removing them from your main list.

8. Warm Up Your Domain and IP (If You’re New)

If you’re just starting email marketing or switching to a new sending platform, don’t send to your full list right away. ISPs get suspicious of a brand-new domain sending thousands of emails at once.
Instead:

• Start by sending to your most engaged contacts.
• Gradually increase the volume over a few weeks.
• Monitor bounce and open rates closely.

This “warm-up” process builds a positive reputation and helps future emails land in the inbox.

9. Watch Your Metrics

Your platform will provide key deliverability metrics:

• Bounce Rate: Should be under 2%.
• Spam Complaint Rate: Should be under 0.1%.
• Open Rate: Varies, but 20–30% is a good benchmark.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): 2–5% is average.

Pay attention to whether these numbers dip or spike; it could signal issues with list quality, content, or technical setup. Fixing problems early helps protect your sender reputation.

10. Test Before Sending

Most email platforms let you send test emails or preview how your email will appear in different inboxes. Use these tools!

Before you hit send:

• Send a test email to a few different email addresses (Gmail, Outlook, etc.).
• Check if it lands in Promotions or Spam.
• Adjust subject lines or formatting as needed.

You can also use tools like Postmark or Mail Tester to simulate spam filter results.

Don’t Let Your Emails Die in the Spam Folder

When emails go to spam, opportunities vanish. For law firms, that means missed leads, poor client experiences, and lost revenue. The good news? Deliverability issues are preventable with the right strategy.

At US Legal Marketing Group, we help law firms clean up their lists, create engaging email content, and implement smart automations that actually drive results. We even set up professional support inboxes using real names (yes, even our CEO’s), because personalization builds trust and trust gets replies.
If you’re ready to stop getting ghosted by Gmail, let’s fix your email strategy.
Reach out today to make sure your next message lands exactly where it should: the inbox.