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When your e-mail is sent to your readers, it must get past the recipient’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) and e-mail software spam filters. It’s not uncommon for your e-mail to be marked as junk mail, even though it’s authentic. In order to prevent this from happening, it is important to understand what spam filters actually filter.

Work on these 7 parts of your
e-mail to avoid the spam folder

1. The Subject Line – The subject line of your message is the first thing that can mark your correspondence as spam. Make sure the subject line is relevant to the main topic of your message. This line should convey two things – who sent the e-mail, and what the e-mail is about. If your e-mail is a newsletter, this must be stated in the subject line.
2. The Recipient’s Name – As a blogger or content producer, try to make your e-mail or newsletter as personal as possible without overstepping boundaries. For example: include your recipient’s name in your newsletter. This is easy to do with programs such as MailChimp, which allow you to collect list members’ names.
3. The Content – The content is the bulk of the message, and therefore needs to be properly displayed within all web browsers. It should also be available in plain-text alternative. Try using plain, succinct language that won’t trip any spam filter alarms. Avoid phrases such as “Click here!”, “Once in a Lifetime Opportunity!”, or “Why Pay More?” BW?D’s next blog post will focus on common e-mail marketing mistakes, especially in regards to content. Make sure to check back in with us for some more suggestions!
4. Your IP Address – Certain spam filters use “blacklists,” which are published directories of banned IP addresses. Spam filters will not allow your e-mail to get through if your host IP address is on a blacklist.
5. The Message’s Sender – Make sure you are sending your newsletter from an e-mail address that doesn’t sound “fake.” For example: instead of using a free account such as @hotmail.com or @yahoo.com, create an e-mail address with your website’s domain name.
6. Your Domain Name – Certain spam filters use an “authentication” process, which checks e-mail to ensure that it has originated from the specified domain name. For a more detailed explanation, read about MailChimp’s authentication process.
7. Community Based Reporting – Different spam filters frequently work together. When an e-mail recipient identifies e-mail as junk, a message is sent to the ISP. If numerous recipients classify the same e-mail as junk, the ISP will automatically blacklist the appropriate IP address. To get a better understanding of how this works, read about Gmail’s spam report option.

Now that you know exactly what spam filters look for, you are more prepared when creating a spam-proof e-mail or newsletter. Make sure to read our next blog post, about the most common mistakes e-mail marketers make.

Chances are, if you’re an owner of an e-mail address, you’re bound to have encountered the common annoyance known as spam. An acronym beginning in use in the 1980s for “Sales Promotion and Marketing,” spam now designates any piece of unsolicited electronic correspondence, with the bulk being e-mail spam.

Thankfully, many of these unsolicited messages are now picked up by savvy filters in your e-mail client. However, for those bloggers and content producers trying to send out newsletters and correspondence to their willingly-subscribed users, SPAM filters can create a substantial obstacle.

MailChimp, an industry leader in e-mail marketing research and an e-mail list manager program, has stated that around 10-20% of the e-mail you send gets lost due to improper spam filtering. It’s time to educate yourself about how spam filters work and what you can do to avoid ending up in the dreaded spam or junk folder.

The Basics: How do e-mail spam filters work?

Spam filters organize your e-mail according to specific criteria, labeling what they see fit as spam. Through a severity points system, most e-mail clients filter e-mail quickly and without any human input thanks to a system of algorithms that take into account hundreds if not thousands of different factors. Here’s a sampling of severity point boosters from Spam Assassin, one of the most powerful spam filters for e-mail out there.

If the e-mail or newsletter contains the words:

• Money back guarantee – assigned 2.051 points
• Urgent matter – assigned 0.288 points
• Why pay more? – assigned 1.249 points

If the e-mail or newsletter talks about:

• A large sum of money – assigned 0.193 points
• A specific breakthrough – assigned 0.232 points
• Mortgage – 0.297 points

Spam Scores

As one can imagine, if your e-mail or newsletter’s total “spam score” surpasses a certain amount, it will automatically be sent to the recipient’s junk folder. The maximum spam score is different for each and every server, since it is determined by whoever controls the spam filter’s code, which tends to be highly proprietary.

Now that you have a general idea of how spam and their filters work, you may be wondering what you can do as a content creator to avoid the dreaded junk folder. Tomorrow’s blog post will focus on what phrases to avoid, and more. Check back soon!