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Inbox placement determines whether your emails appear where subscribers actually see them. Landing in Promotions or Spam kills open rates instantly, even if your content is excellent. Inside Brevo, inbox placement depends on technical factors (authentication, domain reputation, sending behavior) and practical elements (subject lines, segmentation, frequency). To avoid Promotions and Spam, you need a hybrid approach: one part technical deliverability, one part content and engagement optimization.

This guide breaks down how inbox filters work, how Brevo communicates with inbox providers, what signals Gmail monitors, what triggers the Spam tab, and how messaging structure affects classification. You’ll learn how to “train” inbox providers to trust your domain consistently — avoiding Promotions and Spam with predictable long-term inbox performance.

Understanding How Inbox Filters Work

Inbox providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook use machine learning systems to classify emails. These systems analyze:

Your domain behavior
Your sender reputation
Your engagement rates
Your content style
Your sending patterns
User feedback (spam complaints, archive behavior)

If your signals match “trusted senders,” your emails enter Primary Inbox. If your signals match “marketing content,” they enter Promotions. If your signals match “unsafe or low trust,” they enter Spam.

The Biggest Reason Messages Go to Promotions

Gmail's Promotions tab isn’t “bad” — it simply groups marketing content. Your emails land in Promotions when:

Your list is very large
Your content looks commercial
You use multiple links
Your template layout looks promotional
Your send time matches typical campaigns

Brevo does not control Promotions placement — but you can influence it.

Top Reasons Emails Go to Spam

High spam complaints
High bounce rates
Low engagement (opens, clicks)
Unverified domain
Misleading subject lines
Dirty email lists
Sudden sending volume spikes

Avoiding spam requires proactive control — not reactive fixes.

Key Tip: If your emails land in Spam, stop mass sending immediately. Continue sending only to “Active 30 Days” users until inboxing stabilizes.

Technical Inbox Placement Strategies

1. Authenticate Your Domain Fully (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, BIMI)

Inbox placement collapses without authentication. Brevo provides verified DNS records you must paste into your domain host.

SPF — proves allowed servers
DKIM — signs each message
DMARC — adds enforceable rules
BIMI — displays a verified brand logo for trust

2. Protect Your Domain Reputation

Your reputation rises with engagement and falls with bounces and complaints. Inbox providers trust domains with:

High open rates
Low bounce rates
Consistent sending patterns
Low complaint numbers
Strong authentication

3. Warm Up Your Domain (If New)

Day 1: 50 emails
Day 2: 100 emails
Day 3: 200 emails
Day 4: 400 emails
Day 5: 800 emails

Warm-ups "train" inbox filters to trust you.

4. Avoid Sudden Sending Spikes

Jumping from 2,000/day to 10,000/day flags you as suspicious.

5. Remove Cold Subscribers

Users inactive for 60–90 days are toxic for inboxing. Remove or suppress them.

6. Monitor Spam Reports

Brevo alerts you instantly when complaints rise.

7. Maintain Consistent Sending Patterns

Predictability = trust. Chaos = suspicion.

Content-Based Inbox Strategies (Avoid Promotions)

1. Avoid Over-Formatted Emails

Promotions emails usually contain:

Multiple buttons
Large banners
Heavy design
Coupon words
Too many links
Template-like structure

Gmail sorts them instantly.

2. Write Natural, Human Subject Lines

“Quick update for you”
“Wanted to share this with you”
“One small thing I noticed”

Avoid commercial keywords at the top of the email.

3. Reduce Links

2–3 links maximum.

4. Keep Your Email Lightweight

Text-heavy emails land in Primary more often than template-heavy emails.

5. Use Sender Name Consistently

Stick with one sender name per brand.

6. Personalize with Care

Light personalization improves trust — heavy personalization looks spammy.

Engagement-Based Inboxing Strategies

Send first to Active 7 Days
Then Active 30 Days
Then Active 60 Days

Never blast cold lists — this destroys inboxing immediately.

Companies Using Brevo to Improve Inbox Placement

NorthRiver Essentials — moved from Promotions to Primary by reducing template usage.
GlowHouse Organics — increased inbox placement by 33% using engagement filtering.
MintEdge Retail — reduced Spam placement after full domain authentication.

Key Tip: The fastest way to escape Spam: pause sending for 72 hours → delete cold contacts → send only to Active 30 Days → warm up again.

Brevo Pricing & Included Features (2025)

Plan	Price	Inbox Placement Features
Free	300 emails/day	Basic analytics, shared IP, simple suppression, basic segmentation.
Starter	$9/month	Smart Send Time, engagement analytics, device reports, 5,000 emails/month.
Standard	$18/month	A/B testing, advanced segmentation, send-time optimization, workflow-based targeting.
Professional	$499/month	Dedicated IP support, advanced deliverability tools, reputation dashboard, blocklist monitoring.

Final Verdict

Inbox placement is both a technical and psychological challenge. You must earn trust from inbox providers through authentication, engagement, clean lists, and safe sending behavior. Then you must earn subscriber attention with meaningful messaging, natural subject lines, and value-driven content. When these two sides work together, Brevo becomes one of the most stable inboxing platforms you can use.

EmailSchool Recommendation

Start with authentication, clean your list monthly, and use engagement-based segmentation every single time. For official documentation and platform-level instructions, visit Brevo Official.

1. Authenticate your domain fully
2. Segment by engagement every week
3. Avoid sending to cold contacts

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