When a recipient clicks "report spam" or "mark as junk" in their email app, their email provider sends a complaint signal back to the system that delivered the message. Raise More records that signal, stops sending to that address, and counts it on the campaign. This article explains what a spam complaint is, what Raise More does automatically, why complaints matter for your deliverability, whether the person can be added back, and what to do if your complaint rate starts climbing.
What a spam complaint is
A spam complaint happens when a recipient uses the "report spam," "mark as junk," or similar button inside their inbox (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Apple Mail, and so on). The recipient's email provider treats that click as a signal that they did not want the message. The provider then notifies the service that sent the email.
A spam complaint is different from an unsubscribe. An unsubscribe is a recipient using the unsubscribe link at the bottom of your email. A spam complaint is a recipient telling their own provider that your mail is unwanted, which is a stronger and more damaging signal. It is also different from a bounce, which means the message could not be delivered at all.
What Raise More does automatically
When a spam complaint comes back for one of your sends, Raise More handles it without any action from you:
The complaining email address is suppressed. It is removed from future sends across your organization with a removal reason of "spam complaint." From that point on, the address is automatically skipped whenever you send a campaign, so you will not email it again.
The complaint is counted on the campaign. The campaign that triggered the complaint shows a "Clicked report spam" count in its stats, alongside opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes. The count links through to the list of recipients who reported the send, so you can see exactly who complained and which sends are generating complaints.
The suppression is applied at send time. Before each campaign goes out, Raise More drops any address marked with a suppression reason (unsubscribe, bounce, spam complaint, or repeated soft bounce) so suppressed people never receive the next send.
Why it matters for deliverability
Spam complaints are one of the strongest negative signals an email provider tracks. Mailbox providers like Gmail and Outlook use complaint rates to decide whether your future mail lands in the inbox, the spam folder, or gets blocked entirely. A rising complaint rate hurts the reputation of your sending domain, and that reputation is shared across everyone you email. In other words, complaints from one segment of your list can push your mail to the spam folder for recipients who never complained at all.
Mailbox providers set their own complaint-rate expectations, and they are low. As industry guidance, Gmail asks senders to keep their complaint rate below 0.1 percent (fewer than one complaint per thousand delivered emails) and treats 0.3 percent as a hard limit. These numbers come from the mailbox providers, not from Raise More. Crossing them, even briefly, can trigger throttling or spam-folder placement that takes time and careful sending to recover from. Because the damage compounds, it is worth treating even a small uptick as something to investigate.
Can the person be added back?
No, not on your own. A spam complaint is treated as a permanent suppression. Unlike an unsubscribe or a repeated soft bounce, a spam-complaint suppression cannot be reversed through the public resubscribe link, and it cannot be restored from the contact's profile in the app.
This is intentional. Re-mailing someone who explicitly reported your message as spam is both a deliverability risk and a compliance problem. If an address was suppressed for a spam complaint by mistake, or you have clear evidence the recipient wants to keep hearing from you, contact Raise More support and they can review the situation. Outside of that, the address stays suppressed.
What to do about a rising complaint rate
If you see your spam-complaint count climbing, slow down and look at why before sending more:
Review the campaign that drove the complaints. Look at who was on the list and what the message said. Complaints often spike when a message goes to people who do not recognize the sender or did not expect to hear from you.
Tighten your consent. Make sure everyone you email actually opted in or has a real prior relationship with your campaign. Avoid emailing purchased, scraped, or stale lists.
Reduce frequency. Sending too often is a common driver of complaints. Space out your sends and make sure each one is worth opening.
Make sure your "from" name and subject lines are clear and honest, so recipients immediately recognize who is contacting them.
Keep the unsubscribe link visible and easy to use. People who can unsubscribe quickly are far less likely to hit the spam button instead.
FAQ
Does a spam complaint affect just that one person, or my whole list?
The suppression applies only to the complaining address. The reputation damage, though, affects deliverability for your entire sending domain, so a pattern of complaints can hurt inbox placement for everyone you email.
Will I keep emailing someone who reported spam?
No. Once the complaint is recorded, the address is suppressed and skipped on every future send automatically.
Can I see how many complaints a campaign got?
Yes. Each campaign's stats include a "Clicked report spam" count alongside its other metrics, and you can click it to see the specific recipients who reported the send.
A contact reported spam but really does want my emails. What now?
Contact Raise More support. The public resubscribe link and the contact profile will not restore a spam-complaint suppression, so support has to review it.
Is a spam complaint the same as a bounce or an unsubscribe?
No. A bounce means the message could not be delivered. An unsubscribe is the recipient using your unsubscribe link. A spam complaint is the recipient reporting your mail to their provider, which is the most damaging of the three for your reputation.