Are You Blacklisted?
If you are sending out the email using your own server, check you
are not blacklisted first. There are a number of blacklist databases
ISPs use to block emails from certain IP addresses that have been
judged as spam in the past. If you share a web server, this could be
down to another domain, stopping you from sending out emails
effectively.
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Do you
have shared hosting? Ask your ISP if they screen prospective
clients in order to keep spammers out. |
You can check your IP address against the following blacklist
databases:
www.spamcop.net
www.spamhaus.org
www.mail-abuse.com
www.spambag.org
www.apews.org
You can see if you are risking being blacklisted by checking your
email delivery logs on your server. Many websites provide information
on why an email is rejected. Checking your logs gives you an idea of
how big the problem is.
If you do happen to be blacklisted, sometimes it's an automatic
system where you will be de-listed after a certain amount of time.
Otherwise, normally it's a case of filling out a web form to
start a process of becoming de-listed. There many be some requirements
you will have to make in order to become de-listed, so make sure these
are done beforehand or you risk being blacklisted again the next time
you send out an email campaign!
Avoiding the Junk Folder
For many, blacklisting isn't an issue as the email delivery is
handled by a third party. However, this doesn't mean you shouldn't
worry about your email's delivery. Your email can still easily be
rejected unless you follow these steps:
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Careful Copy Many spam filters analyse the words used within an
email to decide if they are spam. Words such as "free" are trigger
words. An inconvenient example is the county Essex which, because
of the word 'sex' in the middle of it, could mean you end up as
spam despite being completely legitimate! Try to avoid such words
while keeping your newsletter as professional as possible. |
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Pay Attention to Formatting
Another trigger for spam filters is overly formatted emails.
Some don't like any formatting at all, particularly if you are
sending to public sector contacts or large organisations tight on
security. Avoid too many different types of fonts, colours and
images. Don't use excessively sized fonts either, using a simple
CSS style sheet is better than having lots of separate individual
font tags. |
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Stay
Consistent People trust consistency. This is why spammers often
send out fake bank emails. If it looks like the real thing, people
are easily tricked. In a positive manner, keeping continuity in
your email design means there is less chance your email will be
marked as spam or go unread. The same goes for timing, if
recipients are used to receiving your regular e-newsletter one a
month on the same day, the more likely it will be read. Readers
will begin to expect your email if it is consistent in delivery. |
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Try
to use Double Opt-in As mentioned earlier in the guide, double
Opt-In subscribers are the best kind for when renting an email
list. This has the greatest chance of the recipient being
interested in what you are sending them, which reduces the chances
of them marking it as spam. Double Opt-In also helps delivery
rates because the recipient has had to confirm their email
address, avoiding any misspellings. |
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Let
People Unsubscribe No one wants to see their email unsubscribed
from, but it is a legal requirement, along with the display of
your company contact details. Spam filters can pick up if this
information is not available, and consequently mark it as spam. |
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Viewing Problems
Its essential to test your email before sending it out. A sure
fire way of getting into the Junk Email box is by having an email
that is unreadable. See our
list of email providers to see what they allow. Setting up a
test account in Hotmail or Gmail will allow you to test if emails
sent to those accounts display properly or are deemed spam. You
can then take corrective action. You can also use a testing tool
like SpamCheck or
MailingCheck to see if your email contains spam content. It
will give your email a ranking and suggest what to do to fix it. |
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Never Use BCC
Some cheap or free email software programs allow you to do send
email marketing campaigns from your PC. These often take your
contact database and send them out as one huge list in your BCC
field. It is a sure fire way of ending up in a spam filter! |
Many recipients aren't aware that if they have anti-spam software
installed, they can whitelist emails as well as mark them as spam. You
may want to add a short line to the end of your email saying something
like:
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We hope you liked this email. To ensure you
keep receiving our emails, please add
email@yourdomain.com
to your Whitelist. |
It all sounds like a lot of hard work, and for large emails it can be.
However, the 'cleaner' your email, the more chance of it being
delivered and the more responses you will get. Research has shown that
response rates have risen from the typical 4% range to 50% and over by
thoroughly checking your email to reduce spam content.
...Or go back to
'Email Design'
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