How to get past the spam filters.
6/19/2009 12:00:00 AM
If you’re experienced with sending email campaigns, the chances are you’ve encountered spam filter issues.
Typically you can expect a good 10 – 20% of your emails to get lost, primarily due to over enthusiastic spam filters.
As there are no quick fixes, the simplest way is to understand how these filters work. Typically they look at a list of factors which determine whether your email is junk or not, and assign points each time your email contains the particular phrase.
If your campaign reaches a certain threshold, its quite likely your email will be sent directly to the junk folder. This threshold depends on the receiving server, the spam software installed and the individuals personal preferences.
So how can you avoid the spam filters?
There are a number of common mistakes the newbie email marketer makes, which can result in being sent direct to the doomed spam folder.
- Using spammy phrases like click here or not too be missed.
- Overzealous use of exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!
- Over using the caps lock
- Colouring fonts in red and green
- Poor HTML code
- Over reliance on images
- Using the word test in your subject line
- Sending too many emails to the people within the same company
- Sending too little text
How can I tell if my emails are being spam filtered?
The main indicator is your open rate. If you notice that it suddenly drops then you most likely have a filtering issue. A really high bounce rate is another indicator.
Many good email service providers like Gemmail have been accepted onto the various feedback loops which means we automatically respond to feedback loops and spam complaints on your behalf, so we make sure you don’t get reported again.
What can I do before I hit the send button?
Gemmail provides a number of tools that will help you see whether your campaign will get past the spam filters. This includes and integrated spam checker, but you can also validate your HTML before you send your email using the tools built into the WYSIWYG editor.
Category: Email marketing testing
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