Email Newsletters: How to Avoid Spam Filters

Email newsletters and spam mail might exist at two ends of the spectrum of bulk emailing; however, they are both subject, just like all other emails, to the scrutiny of spam filters. This can have radical consequences for your business. While you may have taken the positive step of sending newsletters to elicit business instead of sending spam, you could end up in the same boat as a spammer. The problem could fundamentally lie in the way that you are setting up your emailing lists, how you send your emails, and most importantly, the content that you are sending in your mailer.

You need to take some time to understand spam filters before you send out a mail. Spam filters work by using two mathematical methods, separately or together. They are called Bayesian filtering and Markovian discrimination. Bayesian filtering is a method of identifying patterns using probability in each mail that a recipient marks as spam. With each rejected mail, the software learns which keywords are likely to indicate spam mail. At some point the software can then function on its own. Markovian discrimination uses the same technique but checks for entire phrases instead of keywords.

The first step to avoiding a spam filter is to ensure that your users mark you as a safe sender this can be done by sending a confirmation mail to the recipient, which the recipient has to mark as safe before proceeding. This is a technique that is basically an opt-in assurance of avoiding the spam filter.

Next, it is important to write the content in your mail in a certain way. Knowing that the spam filter looks for patterns of occurrences, do not use the same set of words or phrases repeatedly; this is an incorrect style of writing a newsletter and must be avoided. The other step that you must take is to keep the text to a minimum. Keep small paragraphs in your email newsletters that have links to a website for more elaborate content. Also, use a lot of imagery that will speak more than words will.

The method you use to send the mails is also worth noting. Most spammers cut the cost of sending mails by using open relay servers, which can be rear-ended and then the users of that server will be sent a mail from the spammer. Some mass mailing service providers can do this, so when you are initiating your exercise, ensure that you actually invest in a server of your own and mail from that server itself. The days of internet anonymity are now a thing of the past and probably only hackers dwell in the labyrinths of anonymity.

Your subject lines are also a point to note. Keep the subject lines topical and sound like newsreel items. This is not just important from a spam filter perspective but also from a perspective of the recipient being really interested in opening the mail in the first place.

Jamie Colbs is a html email newsletter templates best practices activist advocate for Benchmark Email , a leading Web and permission-based email marketing service.

Author Links
Business URL: www.benchmarkemail.com/email-marketing/html-email-templates

Business/Social Networking Links
Twitter URL: twitter.com/benchmarkemail

Article Source:www.articlesbase.com/internet-marketing-articles/email-newsletters-how-to-avoid-spam-filters-1239260.html

Related Products:

Speak Your Mind

StudioPress Premium WordPress Themes

New Customer Sale! Save 25% on your first order! S