How To Avoid SPAM Folder For Your Email Marketing Campaigns

Email Marketing is the most powerful form of Online Marketing. But in order to run an email marketing campaign, it is necessary to understand how email marketing works. Nothing is more important than ensuring emails are delivered and opened.

Steps to Avoid SPAM Folder for your Email Marketing Campaigns

1. Avoid Purchased Lists

   Purchased lists are there just to devastate your reputation as a sender. Mailbox providers are informed that you are breaking the rules by sending unsolicited emails. At best your messages may end up in junk folder and at worst you may be branded as a spammer. Therefore if you still buy email lists, STOP NOW!

2. Watch What You Say

   Spam filters analyze your content. There are no magic keywords to enhance deliverability but limiting the use of risky words such as: free, buy, promo etc. This will reduce the likelihood of your emails landing in the spam folder.

   Tips

   – Link only to legitimate sites with reputable domains

   – Don’t send oversized emails. (30KB is fine)

   -Balance the image-to-text-ratio

   -Host your images with credible services only

3. Team Up With A Reliable ESP

   Email Service Providers (ESP) are evaluated as senders based on the reputation of the IP addresses and domains of their clients.

   Careless ESPs with low scores on the IP address of their senders are destined for spam folder delivery. So, these will be blocked by the providers like Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail.

   ESPs that send only solicited emails and ban spammers from their platforms have greater credibility with mailbox providers. Their customers are more likely to experience undisturbed inbox delivery.

4. Get Certified

   If you are on a dedicated IP space, you should definitely look at the certification provided by a company called Return Path.  Once they audit your mailing practices, you can get a Sender Score Certified status, which will guarantee that you inbox at most of the major ISPs out there. This service is not free, but it definitely deserves a closer look. The money spend on the fees should be easily returned by the increased conversions.

5. Avoid Dirty Tricks

   What may was effective in 1997 it no longer works today. If you are caught with red-handed in any of the following practices it may cause permanent damage to your deliverability ratios.

   – Hushbusting: Inserting random characters in the subject line or content to fool spam filters: e.g “F.ree. p.r!z.e”
   – Deceptive Subject Lines: Starting the subject line with “Re” or “Fwd” to suggest an ongoing communication with the sender.
   – Misleading Claims: Subject line stating that the recipient has won a prize.
   – Image Text: Concealing a text message in an image to fool spam filters

6. Whitelist Me, Please!

   Your Email Marketing Service (EMS) asks mailbox providers, such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail, to whitelist your domain or IP address. That is why is important to send marketing emails through reputable EMS, rather than sending emails from your own email server or email account.

7. Monitor Your Deliverability

   Want an easy way to monitor deliverability that costs you nothing? Add a “seeded” list of email addresses using ISPs that your customers use most often such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, Hotmail.