The Battle of Overcoming the Spam Filter in Email Marketing for Business Success

A successful ad campaign draws on many resources to fill its potential.

If one of those resources fails, the entire campaign becomes jeopardized. If your email notices end up in a spam folder then that resource has failed. When your emails are classified as spam, not only does your campaign risk failure, but also you may face liability for spamming.

The Federal Can-Spam Act was passed into law in January 2004. Under this law, if you are classified as a spammer you can be fined as much as 11 thousand dollars per offense. If you sent just 1,000 emails, that fine could be enough to shut you down.

That is the extreme end of failed emails. The more common problem is a failure to get your message across to the intended audience. An email in the spam folder is a product on the shelf that has no chance of being sold. If you want your email marketing campaign to be successful, you need to reach your intended recipients’ inbox.

According to Symantec, the problems with spam are not just sales pitches. A major concern has grown over the years over issues of security as well. A good amount of spam is designed towards identity theft and fraud, spreading viruses and malware and using emails for exploitation purposes.

So how can you get your emails to the spot they need to be? You need to get past the filtering systems used by the recipient. There are tips and tricks by the score to make sure your mail gets past the filters and goes where it needs to go. Here are a few to get you going:

• In most cases, spam comes in the form of HTML. It has colored lettering or a colored background. Keep your letters neat and normal. Keep to a white background with black lettering.
  
• Think of your emails as sales representatives. Avoid the loud, garish salesperson that jumps around and screams about how much money your customer will save. Avoid using all capital letters and floating too many dollar signs in your email. Both are spam filter targets.
  
• Certain words will trigger an escort to the spam folder as well. Avoid using words like “Guaranteed, Great offer, Free and even Hello”. Address your emails as you would address a personal note to a friend or associate. Always avoid blank subject lines as well.
  
• Spam filters often take notice of the number of incoming emails from their source. Have your emails come in at a slower rate to get past this filter. Your goal should be no more than 2 thousand per hour to any single provider. If you can do less, it would be better.
  
• Test your emails before filling your lists. Send a handful of samples to all the service providers including a copy or two that will go to an office account that uses Outlook. Use the same service and information as your main list. If your emails go to spam, an adjustment to the subject line is needed.
  

Several sites have more tips and tricks to keep your emails running on course. In particular, The University College of Dublin offers their views on the matter in six steps. Other articles take their lists up to ten steps; however, the basic line remains the same. Your emails must be adjusted to get past the filters. Without that knowledge, your email campaign is finished before it starts.

Research is the key to preventing your campaign from stumbling along the way due to the emails department not filling their end. Re-think the subject line, make sure you have all the required lines and reforge the entire thing if you need to. Staying with an email that doesn’t hit its mark is the same as folding your dollar bills into little airplanes and tossing them out the window. Spam is a meat product, not the defining end of your campaigns.