You've got an unwanted email sitting in your inbox. Your finger hovers over three options: Delete, Unsubscribe, or Mark as Spam. Which do you choose?
This seemingly simple decision can have major consequences for your inbox's future. Choose wrong, and you might invite more spam, confirm your email address to bad actors, or miss opportunities to train your email filters effectively.
While most people default to hitting "delete" and moving on, email management isn't that straightforward. The choice between spam, delete, and unsubscribe depends on crucial factors that separate savvy email users from those constantly battling inbox chaos.
We asked industry professionals, marketers, business owners, and email experts to share their decision-making process. Their insights reveal the strategic thinking behind effective email management—and the red flags that trigger an immediate spam report.
Here's how the experts decide, and what their strategies can teach you about protecting your inbox:
When I receive an email that appears to be from someone I know but shows signs of impersonation (such as unusual requests or uncharacteristic phraseology), I always mark it as spam rather than simply deleting it.
Whether the person's email has been hacked or the fraudsters have spoofed the address (changed the details to appear as if it is from someone I know), either way, they don't have good intentions.
I have known this to happen within our business, where a colleague's email address was cloned, and they were asking the recipient for bank details. Although the initial signs seemed as if the email was from that person, we can never be too cautious. If a strange request comes from someone, we should just give them a quick call to check if it is legitimate. If not, then it's probably a phishing attempt, trying to steal money or data, and it should be flagged as spam.
Wendy Makinson, HR Manager, Joloda Hydraroll
I mark an email as spam when it crosses the line from annoying to manipulative. If it pretends we've talked before, fakes urgency, or hides the opt-out like it's a secret mission — that's 100% spam.
Delete is for stuff I don't care about. Unsubscribe is for senders I once cared about. But spam is for the ones who don't play fair — and they don't get a second chance.
Temmo Kinoshita, Co-Founder, Lindenwood Marketing
Flagging an email as spam sends a message. It instructs your inbox to filter out similar messages in the future. That's better than deleting or unsubscribing. Deleting is a momentary solution. Unsubscribing is only effective when the sender is legitimate. When the source doesn't feel right, spam is the way to go.
Some messages just don't sit well. The tone is aggressive. The sender is unknown. The message reads as random or confrontational. These indicators are sufficient. There's no need to open the email or click on anything. Reporting spam helps defend your inbox and trains the filter to look out for bad patterns.
Unsubscribing is sensible when the sender is familiar and trusted, but the message is no longer relevant. Spam is for anything phony, coerced, or inappropriate. It's not just about scrubbing your inbox. It's about decreasing risk, being effective, and managing what gets through. Trust your instincts. Mark it and proceed.
Darcy Cudmore, Founder, RepuLinks
I mark emails as spam when they are just that: spam. This helps train my email junk filter to understand what is spam and what is not. If I have subscribed to something or bought something somewhere and they send me email, I unsubscribe. I only use "delete" for legitimate email that I want to keep getting. When you hit "delete," it signals to your email filters that the email was legitimate and you are happy to continue getting those types of email.
Julia Rueschemeyer, Attorney, Attorney Julia Rueschemeyer Divorce Mediation
Generally, when you mark an email as spam, it moves into a spam folder where it eventually gets deleted. You may not want to risk opening the email to unsubscribe because it (e.g., a link to unsubscribe) could allow access to a virus or other malware. Marking an email as spam also usually means that the sender will be blocked from sending more emails, or future emails from the sender will be automatically marked as spam or deleted (i.e., moved to the trash).
Luke Enno, Content Writer, Art Unlimited
Running an SEO agency, I get flooded with emails from people pitching backlinks.
Most of the time, I'll just delete the message or hit unsubscribe. No big deal. The only time I actually mark something as spam is when I've already replied and told them I'm not interested, but they keep pushing anyway, sometimes multiple times a day.
If you can't take no for an answer and keep filling up my inbox after I've responded, that's when it crosses the line from outreach to straight-up spam, and I have no problem flagging it.
Raphael Larouche, Founder & SEO Specialist, seomontreal.io
As someone who handles hundreds of emails every week from operations, vendors, and security notifications, I can assure you that the quickest way to get flagged as spam is by spoofing sender familiarity. I recently received an email that appeared to be from a CI/CD provider we use, but it was actually a marketing campaign with a spoofed subject line. It also seemed to be an alert. That one got flagged immediately.
If an email appears to be manipulative even before I open it, that tells me all I need to know. Marketers need to realize that B2B readers are not only protective of their inboxes but are also managing live systems. We view any sort of feigned urgency or misdirection as a red flag, particularly when trust is involved in the sales process.
I delete marketing emails every day, but spam is reported when someone deliberately conceals their intent. If you are honest about what you are offering, I may read it. However, if you attempt to deceive me into opening it, I will ensure you never make it to my inbox again. That is the line.
Hone John Tito, Co-Founder, Game Host Bros
One key reason I mark an email as spam instead of just deleting or unsubscribing is:
If the email feels deceptive or comes from an untrustworthy source.
For example:
The sender fakes familiarity ("Just following up!" when I've never interacted with them)
There's no clear unsubscribe link
The domain looks suspicious or mismatched
It was sent to an email address scraped without consent
In such cases, marking it as spam not only protects me but also helps email providers improve their filters. I reserve unsubscribing for legitimate marketers who may have just missed the mark in relevance.
Dipika Jadwani, Sr. Digital Marketing Manager, Dipika Jadwani
When I mark something as spam, it is because the sender skipped basic context and blasted us with something completely irrelevant or aggressively misleading.
For example, I once received a message promising "Ofsted-proof WiFi upgrades." That is nonsense. Ofsted does not rate a school based on WiFi specifications, and anyone who works in education would know that. This kind of message is not just incorrect; it shows zero respect for the buyer's intelligence. I reported it, not to be petty, but because it clogs the pipeline for the vendors who do take the time to learn how schools actually work.
The line between delete and spam gets crossed when someone sends back-to-back emails using fear tactics. "Are your pupils safe online? If not, click now before it is too late." No school wants to ignore safeguarding, but no serious ICT decision is made under that kind of pressure. These emails signal poor training and desperate tactics. They go straight into the spam folder.
So for any vendor reaching into the education sector, be aware: we can smell a mass email from three paragraphs away. If it looks like it was written for a completely different market, we will not just ignore it; we will block it. Respect the space you are entering. Schools do not take shortcuts with children. They will not tolerate shortcuts in sales.
Mark Friend, Company Director, Classroom365
I mark emails as spam when they pretend to know me — but clearly don't.
If a message opens with fake familiarity or misrepresents how they got my contact information, that's an instant spam flag. Deleting or unsubscribing is for irrelevant but honest outreach. However, if someone is using manipulative tactics or scraping without consent, I mark it as spam to train filters and protect my inbox going forward.
As someone who values ethical outreach, I believe respecting permission is the baseline for being in anyone's inbox.
David Quintero, CEO and Founder, NewswireJet
My response to poor email list management and shady email acquisition practices is to label the email as spam. When I receive an email newsletter from a legitimate company that I am certain I never subscribed to, I do not simply delete it or unsubscribe. Instead, I send a stronger message by marking it as spam. This action serves as an indicator to the sender that their method of acquiring email addresses is incorrect or that they are not reaching their target audience effectively. This action may influence the reputation of their email service provider and negatively impact their subsequent email delivery. By marking the email as spam, I contribute to highlighting these problems, forcing businesses to revise their practices and pay more attention to privacy.
John Beaver, Founder, Desky
I use the spam button to mark emails that I am aware of as unwanted or sneaking into my inbox. It is a fast and efficient method that can help me maintain a tidy inbox. It is an additional step to unsubscribing, and when deleted, it is not always assured that we will not see them again. The use of spam labeling for an email will help to avoid similar emails in the future, thus saving time and energy. It would be the fastest way of preventing undesired messages, particularly when I realize that I have received a suspicious email message.
As time progresses, my email provider becomes familiar with what I do not want, so it actually filters out similar emails. The result is a neat inbox and a reduced frustration factor. This approach not only eliminates an existing email but also prevents further receipt. It is quicker than unsubscribing, not to mention more dependable. There is no need to spend time unsubscribing when you can eliminate the problem with just one click.
Danilo Coviello, Founding Partner, Espresso Translations
Instead of hitting the delete button or the unsubscribe link, I often simply mark an email as spam instead, if I feel the sender is trying to be sneaky and avoid me successfully unsubscribing. For example, when I unsubscribe, only to see the same type of email come from a different person with a different subject line. This is an attempt to circumvent my wishes to not receive this type of communication. It's very frustrating, and marking it as spam means I can keep my inbox clear from unwanted emails.
Using the spam filter is a sure way to keep unwanted content from being sent to me again. My experience is that if I unsubscribe, I will still get additional unwanted emails. When I mark them as spam, I can help the system learn and avoid similar content from other senders. Especially with the amount of email I have to deal with on a daily basis, marking them as spam instead of wasting my time and energy unsubscribing is a no-brainer. It is an effective and efficient way to keep the same type of email from filling my inbox again.
Adam Yong, SEO Consultant & Founder, Agility Writer
The decision to mark an email as spam instead of simply deleting it or unsubscribing is usually made out of the necessity to ensure that my inbox will not be disturbed in the future. When I unsubscribe from a mailing list, there is always a possibility that the email address will be sold or shared, and I will receive even more unwanted emails from third parties. Reporting an email as spam will immediately notify the email service provider about this problem, and it will be used to filter out similar messages in the future. It is a good way of training the system to recognize and prevent future messages of the same origin or of similar origin.
It is about establishing a more sophisticated system for myself and others. Deleting an email only removes the short-term problem but does not prevent the cause of the problem from recurring. Reporting it as spam, though, will allow my inbox to learn with time, becoming more intelligent about what is a legitimate email and what is not. Not only does this save me time in the future, but it also assists in enhancing the filtering system for all people using the same email provider.
Allan Hou, Sales Director, TSL Australia
When I mark an email as spam, it is because the sender was clearly attempting to engage in manipulative tactics that made it difficult to unsubscribe or otherwise prevent future emails from the sender. Some cases involve unsubscribe links buried in the fine print or within a winding series of steps that are tiresome to follow. It is absolutely clear in these cases that there is no real respect for my preferences, but rather a manipulation to keep me trapped in an unwanted communication loop.
In response, marking a message as spam is my way to directly respond to these efforts. I stop receiving unsolicited emails from spam senders and send a message to the email inbox providers that these practices are harmful. At the same time, it keeps my inbox organized and gives my inbox space from junk email. By marking emails as spam, I avoid wasting time dealing with inefficient unsubscribing processes and only receive emails from real trusted brands because I opted in to receive them.
Hailey Rodaer, Marketing Director, Engrave Ink
If an email starts with something such as "Hi [First_Name]" or has broken formatting tokens which obviously should have auto-filled but did not, those are examples of what I mark as spam mail. When I see that type of personalization fail, it makes me question the entire integrity of the message. If a sender cannot get a name right or leaves placeholders visible, I do not want them to have access to my inbox or data. I have seen more than 40 of these in one week, and by flagging them, you teach the filters to recognize what should be blocked. My time is too precious to waste on something off-hand or depersonalized.
Meera Watts, CEO and Founder | Entrepreneur, Siddhi Yoga
When a subject line blatantly lies or attempts to manipulate with false urgency, I do not extend the courtesy of unsubscribing or even giving it a second thought. I mark it as spam immediately because it signals dishonesty from the outset, and I do not want that kind of messaging appearing in my inbox again. There is a distinction between capturing attention and baiting someone into opening an email under false pretenses. Once that line is crossed, I cease treating it as a legitimate attempt at communication.
I recall receiving an email with the subject line "Payment failed on your last order," which surprised me as I manage hundreds of client tools and software subscriptions. Upon opening the email, I discovered it was merely a generic cold pitch for a financial tool I had never even heard of. This wasted my time, disrupted my productive process, and made me much less inclined to trust any further communication from that company. At that point, I felt that reporting it as spam was the only sensible solution.
Caleb Johnstone, SEO Director, Paperstack
When I get an email giving me a bogus prize, I do not just erase the mail but I mark it as spam. Such emails are meant to entice me by offering me some substantial prize or financial gain, and thus by getting my personal information or selling it to other entities. Marking the email as spam would be more effective since my inbox will remain safe and the concerned email provider will learn to give me a clear filter on similar emails. This action protects me from ongoing risks and keeps unwanted & potentially harmful emails from reaching me again. It is a simple, but important step to take in managing unwanted emails.
Rami Sneineh, Vice President / Licensed Insurance Producer, Insurance Navy
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