Avoiding SPAM-filters – TOP 4 Ways to reduce the SPAM-tagging of your mailings
As we all know, not each SPAM-tagged email is spam, as the users usually mark most of the unwanted emails as Spam, even if they susbscribed to some service or newsletter before. So such SPAM-tagging may really harm your email marketing campaigns – email service providers use filters, that block often spam-tagged emails, and this means that your subscribers will not receive your newsletters and other mailings, even if they really want to and are waiting for them.
I would like to provide you with a TOP 5 Ways to reduce the SPAM-tagging of your mailings:
Make it easy to unsubscribe. You should always place an unsubscribe URL in the footer of your email newsletter, or even have a special button for this, because it’s way more better to have -1 subscriber on your email list, than +1 spam-tagging or even a spam-complaint to an email service provider or ISP.
Avoid generic “from” addresses. Use “good-looking” FROM-addresses, as the messages from DoNotReply@ or info@ – looks like spam, even when it’s good corporate mailing or a really useful offer.
Ask your subscribers about the content and the frequency of your mailings. All you need to do is ask and your subscribers will happily provide you with the information on what’s interesting to them and how often they are ready to receive your newsletters.
Write subject lines that describe a content. Use subject line that describes a content, and NEVER advertise in you subject lines – recipients analyze emails by the subject lines, and as we all “hate” ads – we do not want to open an email that contains an ad.
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Hello Paul,
While I agree with your first three points, I am not sure what you mean exactly by the fourth. Your subject line should ALWAYS advertise — that’s mostly the point of emailing your subscribers. What I mean by that is, of course you should be providing valuable content for your subscribers, but email marketing is a selling tool. Think about why people sign up for email newsletters or the like. More times that not it’s to get discounts and deals.
If that is the case, you should promote what is most interesting to your subscribers first in the subject line (following the WIIFM principle), which means advertising your discounts and deals. Layering on great content, like REI does, is a great idea, but I have found in 9 cases out of 10 (the one exception being educational newsletters for certain industries) that the advertising works. Even for B2B. That means pushing things like your webinar, your free month of service, etc.
I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to opening something that said “5 ways to groom your dog”, but I would more likely open if it said “5 ways to groom your dog + 15% off rec’d tools!”
-Kelly Lorenz
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for your opinion, you are right about that tip #4 – I was thinking about it like you should never act as an aggressive marketer and include words Buy, Buy now, and similar ones into your subject line. Content is the cornerstone of the marketing, and especially email marketing, and sure email marketing is a selling tool, but subject line is more like a describing feature, not the field for direct ad consisting of 100 symbols.
Hope you understand. But you’re right