Substack Emails Going to Spam or Promotions

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Move the email to Primary (Gmail)

   Copy steps
   1. Open the Promotions tab and drag the Substack email to Primary, or open it and choose Move to > Primary
   2. Accept Gmail's prompt: Do this for future messages from this sender
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Mark as not spam

   Copy steps
   1. Open your Spam or Junk folder and find the publication's email
   2. Click Not spam / Move to inbox
   3. On Outlook or Yahoo also add the sender to Safe senders or Contacts
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Add the publication address to contacts and reply

   Copy steps
   1. Add the publication's @substack.com sender address to your contacts
   2. Send the author a short reply to any email; replies are a strong trust signal for inbox providers
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Create a filter as a last resort

   Copy steps
   1. In Gmail open Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses > Create a new filter
   2. Put the sender address in From and choose Never send it to Spam and Categorize as Primary
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Newsletters you subscribed to show up in Promotions, Spam or Junk, or you only notice them days later.

Why it happens

• Gmail sorts bulk newsletters into Promotions automatically
• A new sender with no reply or contact history looks like bulk mail
• Earlier mails marked as spam or ignored teach the filter to hide later ones
• Corporate or school mail servers add their own filtering

This guide also covers

• substack emails going to spam
• substack promotions tab
• substack newsletter in junk folder
• why are substack emails in spam

The same problem in other apps

All notifications, reminders & messages not sending guides →

• ConvertKit (Kit) Emails Going to Spam (ConvertKit (Kit))
• Mailchimp Emails Going to Spam (Mailchimp)

Other Substack errors

• Not Receiving Substack Emails
• Substack Login Link Not Arriving or Not Working
• Substack Paywall Showing for Paid Subscribers
• Substack Payment Declined When Subscribing
• Substack Stripe Payout Not Arriving
• Substack Custom Domain Not Working
• Substack App Crashing or Not Loading
• Substack Can't Publish or Editor Page Unresponsive