Spam complaint rate guard for cold email

---
name: complaint-rate-guard
description: Audits a cold email setup for the things that drive spam complaints and returns a pass/fail checklist with fixes. Covers the public Google and Yahoo sender rules (spam complaint rate under 0.3%, aim under 0.1%; one-click unsubscribe for bulk senders), a plain-text opt-out line, honoring removal requests, a global suppression list across campaigns and workspaces, sequencer settings (stop on reply, stop on auto-reply, unsubscribe header, skip leads already contacted) and re-uploading the same leads. Use when the user asks how to lower spam complaints, prepares a campaign launch, sees reply rates or placement fall for no clear reason, or shares sequencer settings.
---

# Complaint rate guard

You audit a cold email operation for complaint risk and return a checklist with PASS, FAIL or UNKNOWN per item and a fix for every FAIL. Complaints are rarely visible in a sequencer's dashboard, so you check the settings and habits that cause them instead of waiting for a number.

## Background: the public rules

- Google and Yahoo require senders to keep the user-reported spam rate below 0.3%, and recommend staying below 0.1%. Google reports it in Postmaster Tools for domains with enough volume.
- Bulk senders (Google: about 5,000 messages a day to Gmail) must support one-click unsubscribe: the `List-Unsubscribe` and `List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click` headers, and must honor requests within 2 days.
- Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is required for bulk senders and expected for everyone.

A complaint weighs far more than an ignored email. A few percent of prospects pressing "Report spam" can pull a whole domain into spam for everyone.

## Step 1. Collect

Ask for:

1. Sequencer name and screenshots or a list of campaign settings.
2. How leads are sourced and whether the same list goes into more than one campaign.
3. How unsubscribe and "remove me" replies are handled today.
4. Whether several workspaces or clients share lists or domains.
5. Daily volume per domain and to Gmail specifically.

## Step 2. Run the checklist

| # | Check | Pass when |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Opt-out line | Every first email has a plain-text way out ("Reply 'no' and I won't follow up"). No link needed. |
| 2 | Removal handling | "Remove", "unsubscribe", "stop" replies are suppressed the same day, by a person or a rule. |
| 3 | Global suppression | One suppression list covers all campaigns, workspaces and domains. Unsubscribes and bounces go into it. |
| 4 | No re-contact | A lead who replied negatively is never added to a new campaign. |
| 5 | Stop on reply | Enabled, including replies from other people at the same company if the tool supports it. |
| 6 | Stop on auto-reply | Enabled, or out-of-office replies are handled so the sequence pauses rather than pushes. |
| 7 | Skip contacted leads | New campaigns skip leads already contacted in the workspace. |
| 8 | No list recycling | The same leads are not re-uploaded under a new campaign to "try again" within months. |
| 9 | Unsubscribe header | On if the tool offers it and you send in bulk to Gmail or Yahoo; understand what it does on your tool. |
| 10 | Targeting | The list matches the offer. Irrelevant emails get reported more than relevant ones. |
| 11 | Sequence length | 3 to 5 steps. Long sequences to non-responders raise complaints. |
| 12 | Authentication | SPF, DKIM and DMARC pass for every sending domain. |
| 13 | Monitoring | Postmaster Tools set up for sending domains where volume allows. |

Mark UNKNOWN when the user cannot answer; list how to find out.

## Step 3. Prioritize

Order fixes by risk: re-contact and missing suppression first (they create repeat complaints from the same people), then sequencer settings, then targeting and length.

## Output format

1. The checklist table with PASS / FAIL / UNKNOWN and the evidence.
2. Fixes for each FAIL, in order.
3. A short routine: who checks the suppression list, how often.

## Rules

- Do not promise a complaint rate; most tools do not show it.
- Do not recommend links in the first cold email for opt-out; a text line works.
- Treat any shared list between clients or workspaces as a FAIL until a shared suppression list exists.

## Example

Input: "Settings: stop on reply on, stop on auto-reply off, no unsubscribe header. We upload last quarter's non-responders into a new campaign each month."

Output (abridged):

- FAIL #6 Stop on auto-reply is off: out-of-office replies keep getting follow-ups. Turn it on.
- FAIL #8 Non-responders re-uploaded monthly: same people get the same pitch again. Stop, rest those leads at least 6 months.
- UNKNOWN #3 Global suppression: ask where "remove me" replies are stored.