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Help! My legitimate email newsletter is being
filtered as spam
Spam filters are great. Almost everyone is running some sort of
spam filter these days, whether it is software based or server based
it can inversely affect your email newsletters success.
Here are some tips and techniques we've found can greatly increase
your read and open ratio.
- Use sentence case in your email subject
line and message. Spam filters actually identify all
caps writing and assign a point value to your email. If enough
points add up your message can be identified as spam.
- Use a senders email address that isn't
from a free email service. Spammers spoof yahoo and hotmail
addresses all the time.
- Actually include real content in your email.
Sounds simple, but lots of people think they can include a big
image they made in Photoshop and hit send. Sending a blank message
sends a signal that your email is spam like nothing else. You're
emails almost asking to be filtered out. The best advice is to
write an email like you normally would with plain old content.
Don't be afraid to be wordy.
- Be careful to not include words or phrases
that spammers take advantage of. See
a list of these words here. If you do use words like "free"
or "guarantee" don't include it more than once or twice
in a single email message.
- Use a real name or two word company name
in the "From Name" field. Just don't leave
it blank.
- Make sure your subscribers actually opted
in. If you received a database from a partner, or someone
you are working with, ask them where they got the names. Did the
people subscribe? A legitimate subscription list should average
at 1% unsubscribe request. If you have a higher rate something
is wrong.
- Don't send your HTML email without a text
option. If your HTML email doesn't automatically switch
to text format for those readers who can't receive HTML, it will
get filtered out.
- Don't send attachments. Attachments
often carry viruses. In defense, they are frequently filtered
out proactively. Even if an attachment gets through to your readers,
it is a burden to expect them to run it through a virus protection
program.
Some handy related articles
Lyris
spam filter checker - checks your message against SpamAssassin.
What
should I avoid?
A popular spam filter called SpamAssassin and a
list of what variables
it identifies.
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