5 tips to avoid the spam filter
The ISPs are battling an incoming tide of spam. It clogs up their systems, frustrates users and is generally a huge drain on resources. It’s an ongoing struggle, and currently they can only try to filter it out based on what they “guess” to be spam.
For genuine businesses, this means we can inadvertently get caught in spam filters, meaning that our messages never reach their intended recipients. Avoid the following, all of which can increase the likelihood of being caught in the content-based spam filters:
- Spam-like words – Free, guarantee, earn ££££, etc.
- Too much… punctuation!!! AND WHAT ABOUT capital letters???- Only use the punctuation you need. Using all capital letters MAKES IT LOOK AS IF YOU’RE SHOUTING and makes your email look like spam.
- Excessive use of “click here” – Use words to describe what they will see, rather than saying “click here” too often. E.g. “for more information, look at our help page” rather than “for more information click here”
- Too many symbols ££££££ – Another favourite of spammers, especially lots of currency signs. Keep your text in written form where possible.
- No “From:” address – Firstly, this is rude, and secondly it looks like spam and will increase the likelihood of your email being filtered. Make sure all the fields are complete and correct.
Tags: email marketing, spam, spam filters, subject lines