Avoiding the Blacklists and Spam Folder

With the unparalleled rise of the internet and use of email in the last decade it is no surprise that email has become one of the most useful and effective tools for companies of all kinds to sell and market their products. Similar to its older brother “snail mail”, businesses use email to contact interested customers and potential customers who have not expressed direct interest in the product or service they offer. Because of the monumental increase in junk or “spam” mail being sent to unsuspecting email addresses around the world, nearly all email servers have some layer of protection for their email clients so their inboxes are not being abused and filled up by unsolicited email.

A good spam filter will help categorize which emails you want to receive and those which you do not. If you are a business professional, one would assume that as long as you are not sending out mass emails to unsuspecting people there is little reason to worry that your emails won’t be delivered in a timely and reliable fashion. The truth is that email is something that must be managed and meticulously planned, especially for businesses that rely on the internet and email for a large portion of their sales and marketing. Putting yourself in the shoes of the email provider and relying on common sense is simply not enough if want to stay off blacklist and separate yourself from the Canadian pharmacy and obscure stock picks.

- If you send out promotional newsletters only send them to customers that opt-in for your service. Equally important is to provide the customer the option to opt-out; this should be included in the footer of every newsletter that is sent.

- Your address needs to look legitimate. If your customer can’t tell who the email is from by looking at the address they might hesitate and flag you as spam.

- Make sure that your subject line is accurate and trustworthy. If the subject does not get your customers attention and alert them to who you are, you are a spammer to them. Try to distinguish yourself from common junk mail.

- Follow the same general rules for the content of the email that I have suggested for the subject line. Obviously the content is very important and if you are saying something that is untrue or unrelated to what the customers expects, they are likely to opt out or report you as spam.

- Try to address every returned or delayed email to let the recipient address know that you are indeed legitimate. Most will have a form to fill out where you will have a chance to explain what it is you do and why you should not be treated as spam.

With all that being said, unfortunately there is no simple path to follow that can guarantee you won’t end up on a blacklist. I know this from running my Debt Settlement Company, www.selectdebtrelief.com An effective email strategy is inevitably more complex if you happen to be in an industry that has traditionally abused email. If the words debt, mortgage, credit, or Viagra are related to a product or service you offer, expect to spend a lot of time convincing people that you not one of the “bad apples” that has ruined it for the group