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Welcome to High On Marketing - A weekly newsletter where I show you how to strengthen your email marketing strategy for your cannabis brand. Learn how to nurture your audience, increase retention rates, and sell more weed.

⚡Quick Tip⚡

Today’s Email:

• How Email Providers Filter Spam (What They Look For)

• Common Mistakes Dispensaries Make That Land Them In Spam

• How to “Warm Up” a Cold Email List the Right Way

Let’s Roll 🛼

My spam folder is 90% dispensary emails.

Almost every email I receive from a dispo goes right to promotions.

That’s because most dispensaries think email is just for mass-communicating daily deals to their subscribers.

• Sending the same email en masse to every subscriber…

• Disregarding relevancy and preferences…

• Using too many salesy words…

These are landing you in spam.

And if your emails are hitting spam, you’re losing customers, revenue, and engagement.

Today, we’re fixing that.

Let’s break down why emails get flagged as spam - and what to do about it.

How Email Providers Filter Spam (What They Look For):

Email providers use complex algorithms to decide whether your emails go to the inbox or spam.

Here’s what they’re looking for:

Engagement Signals - Low open rates and high delete rates tell providers your emails aren’t wanted.
Spam Triggers - Certain words, phrases, or excessive links/images can flag an email as spam.
Sender Reputation - Too many spam complaints damage your reputation and cause your emails to be blocked.
Technical Issues - Not having proper authentication (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) increases spam risk.

How to Avoid Email Provider Spam Filters:

✅ Authenticate Your Domain - Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to prove your emails are legitimate.
✅ Maintain High Engagement - Regularly clean your list and remove inactive subscribers to maintain healthy open rates.
✅ Limit Spammy Words - Avoid overusing words like “FREE,” “WIN,” “DISCOUNT,” and excessive use of symbols (!!!, $$$).
✅ Balance Text and Images - Keep a healthy text-to-image ratio (80% text, 20% images is ideal).

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Common Mistakes Dispensaries Make That Increase Spam Risk:

Here are the biggest mistakes I see dispensaries make:

Overusing Spammy Words - “FREE,” “SALE,” “DISCOUNT,” and “CASH” can trigger spam filters.
Sending to Unengaged Subscribers - If people don’t open, providers assume your emails are unwanted.
No Personalization - Mass emails without segmentation = lower engagement = higher spam risk.
Too Many Links & Images - Emails filled with links and large images look suspicious.
No Sender Authentication - SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are essential for inbox placement.

How to Avoid These Common Mistakes:

✅ Improve Segmentation - Send targeted, relevant content based on purchase history and preferences.
✅ Regularly Clean Your List - Remove subscribers who haven't engaged in over 90 days.
✅ Use Preference Centers - Allow subscribers to choose their content interests and frequency.
✅ Keep Emails Simple - Limit links to 2-3 per email and avoid large images or too many flashy graphics.
✅ Warm Up Your List - Gradually increase sending volume, especially if you haven’t emailed in a while.

Pro tip: Test your campaigns with spam checkers or send test emails to yourself to ensure they’re not landing in spam.

List Hygiene - Best Practices to Keep Deliverability High:

If you haven’t cleaned your list recently, your inbox placement is probably suffering.

List hygiene is an ongoing practice.

If you don’t regularly purge your list of inactive subs, your deliverability, engagement, and revenue will suffer (snowball effect).

Here’s how to maintain a healthy email list:

✅ Remove inactive subscribers - If someone hasn’t opened in 90+ days, they’re hurting your deliverability.
✅ Use double opt-in - This ensures people actually want your emails.
✅ Monitor bounce rates - High bounces mean outdated or fake emails.
✅ Send re-engagement campaigns - Try winning back inactive subs before deleting them.

Pro Tip: Segment inactive subscribers before cutting them off completely. Try a win-back sequence before completely removing them from your list.

How to Warm Up a Cold Email List the Right Way:

If you haven’t emailed your list in a while, sending a full blast can tank your deliverability.

Instead, warm up your list gradually to rebuild engagement:

Step 1: Start with your most engaged subscribers – The ones who always open & click.
Step 2: Slowly reintroduce less active subscribers over time.
Step 3: Send valuable, non-salesy content first (guides, updates, industry insights).
Step 4: Monitor open & spam complaint rates – If complaints rise, pause & adjust.
Step 5: Only start sending promotions once your list is warmed up.

Pro Tip: A “We Miss You” campaign is a great way to test engagement before going all in.

Ready to Fix Your Deliverability? Here’s Your Next Step:

If your emails aren’t hitting inboxes, you’re losing sales and wasting your time.

Want me to audit your email deliverability & help you land in more inboxes?

Reply with "INBOX" and I’ll personally help you fix your email strategy.

See ya soon,
-Steve

When You’re Ready, Here’s How I Can Help You…

Click HERE to download the High On Marketing Evergreen Templates - 50 pre-written emails tailored for cannabis brands to educate, engage, and encourage action from your audience

Stay on top-of-mind while building a well-informed, loyal customer base.

Get your templates today and have the next 6 months of canna content covered!

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