Stay Out of the Spam Folder

Writing by Brick Marketing on Monday, 29 of October , 2007 at 10:32 am

In order to reach your subscribers, your email has to get past the dreaded spam filter. While a spam filter can be very useful in keeping ads for Viagra out of the inbox, it isn’t foolproof. There are precautions you can take to make sure that your newsletter gets through to your subscriber’s inbox.

Certain words tend to trigger the spam filter, so you are better off avoiding these. Words that are commonly associated with spam include free, limited time, performance, buy now, and spam. Most spam filters look at the content of an email, as well as the subject line, so it’s a good idea to eliminate spammy words and phrases from the entire newsletter.

Asking your subscribers to add you to their email list is the best way to ensure that you get into their inbox. Since they may not bother doing this, you might want to try offering a bonus that will arrive in a later email and tell them, “Make sure you receive this free report by adding companyname@emailaddress.com to your address book”.

Excessive punctuation, particularly in the subject line, will also trigger spam filters. Avoid using any exclamation points in the subject line and keep them to a minimum inside the email. Using three or four question marks or exclamation points is a sure way to get your email sent straight to the black hole of the spam folder.

One last thing to avoid is all caps. Even one word in all caps is enough to cause a spam filter to remove you from the inbox. If you want to make a point, do it with small letters instead. Using these tips, you should be able to avoid complaints about your content being spam and keep those spam filters happy.

Category: Not Spam

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