Stay out of the spam nets

No question about it – spam filters are a good thing. At least when they’re protecting your inbox!

Often, though, legitimate email marketing messages can get caught in the net intended to screen out all of the junk.

While spam filter avoidance is becoming more complex every day, here are three tips to help your message get through:

Limit email size to 50 Kb or less. Virus protection programs subject large emails to special scrutiny to avoid malicious payloads like viruses. That means your perfectly innocent email could be deemed a threat. Check your message size before sending and eliminate any unneeded graphics or attachments.

Don’t have more than 15 recipients in the “To” line. If you’re using your email program to send out mass messages, be warned: emails with 15 or more recipients in the “To” field are often blocked by recipients’ email programs or Internet Service Providers. Better to use a well-known email marketing service so that emails are addressed individually.

Avoid certain “spammy” words and phrases. I’d list some here, but then I’d probably get caught in your spam filter myself! You’ll often see e-marketers use carets (^) or asterisks (*) in the middle of certain words (like fr^e) to avoid capture. However, spam filters are evolving to catch even this trick.

If your emails are being sent out via a professional email marketing service, you probably have access to a content checker that will allow you to test your content for spammy words before sending your email.

So write carefully, test thoroughly, and reap the benefits of well-targeted email marketing!