Spam, spam, spam, spam, spammity spam.
Everyone has a spam filter, or I’d hope so. Just in the last five days I have had 12 emails offering me great fake Rolex's. Luckily for me they’ve bypassed my inbox and gone straight into my spam folder. Unfortunately sometimes valid emails get caught in the spam net, which begs the question ‘why?’
Firstly, what is spam?
We all know it when we get it, because we don’t want it and we haven’t asked for it. That’s pretty much what it boils down to. The Spamhaus Project’s definition is: A message is spam only if it is both unsolicited and bulk.
Normal emails can be unsolicited, e.g. a job application, and bulk emails can be normal, e.g. subscriber newsletters. It’s only when someone sends out mass emails to people who have not asked for them that the message is classed as spam.
What do spam filters look for?
Points are allocated according to certain criteria, and if these points add up to a certain amount the email is classified as spam. Here are some examples of things that get flagged in emails:
Subject is ALL CAPS (0.763 Points)
Contains phrases like ‘Removes wrinkles’ (1.73 Points)
Talks about large amounts of money (0.193 Points)
Contains G.a.p.p.y-T.e.x.t (1.365 Points)
Has phrases like ‘What are you waiting for’ (2.24 Points)
The rules that the spam filters follow will depend on the spam threshold set by the receiver - if they’re really sick of spam then the spam filters will block just about anything. These are only some of the criteria. For a more detailed list from a leading spam filter see Spam Assassin
Manage your subscriber lists well - all the people that you’re sending emails to should have agreed to be on your list. MailShotBot has a double opt-in process; when someone subscribes to your list they are sent an email with a confirmation link, which means that everyone on your lists actually wants to be there. All unsubscribes should be completed within a week. MailShotBot offers a one click unsubscribe option, but if you’re doing this manually make sure you follow up on the request promptly.
Some easy to avoid mistakes - email marketers make some common and avoidable mistakes.
Avoid using spammy phrases like ‘never to be repeated’ or ‘offer you can’t refuse’
Don’t use too many unnecessary punctuation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!
DON’T WRITE IN ALL CAPS
Don’t write in coloured fonts
Avoid using the word ‘test’ in subjects
Don’t use sloppy HTML, or HTML that’s just one big image with hardly any text, the spam filter will assume you’re just trying to bypass their filters.
And some other guidelines to follow - there are some useful tips to follow to make your email look valid
Use accurate and subjective subject headings. Make sure that your subject matches up well with the content on your email
Use a legitimate from name and from email address
Use a valid reply-to address which can act as an unsubscribe mechanism if required
Include a physical address
Keep an eye on your open rate, and if there are any sudden drops it may be that your email has been picked up by spam filters. Bounce backs are another indicator. MailShotBot offers spam tests by popular spam filters so your campaigns can be automatically checked for you.
For more info on what open rates are typical see our blog entry here.
