Does your email look like spam?
Email marketing can be a great way to stay in touch with your customers because it’s a cost-effective way to stay in front of your customers. But, how do you know that your emails are reaching the right customers – or any customers at all?
No business or company wants their emails to be referred to as spam. However, even the most justifiable email marketing campaign can be marked as spam.
The war on spam is united front: both email and internet service providers are constantly working to avoid spam messages from being delivered to their users’ inboxes. If businesses are not careful, their email messages could end up in the spam folder, reducing the effectiveness of their marketing campaign.
Tips to Ensure Your Email Makes it Past the Spam Filter
The easiest way to analyze your email marketing is to break it down into parts. Each part of the email, from your email address to your mailing list to the body of the email, must comply with the rules to avoid the dreaded spam filter.
Start with your email address
It is a bad idea to use a personal email address for business. There are plenty of email options availble, making it relatively easy to have a branded email address.
When choosing an email host, make sure they are reputable. Spam filters block shady service providers, even if some of their clients are legitimate. Ensure your emails are delivered by protecting your reputation and avoiding unethical business practices.
Edit your mailing list
Nobody likes receiving unsolicited email. Allow your audience to opt into your newsletter. Once you have a list established, it’s a good idea to go through and edit it every now and again.
Legally, all emails must include an unsubscribe link in the footer. Providing recipients with a clear opt-out option is a must!
Write the email – starting with the subject line
An email subject line usually makes the difference between a client opening the email or deleting it site-unseen. Take the time to think about what your audience wants to see. Then, write a subject line that makes them want to read more!
There are a few best practices to follow when writing an email subject line:
- Do not use all caps.
- Do not use special characters.
- Avoid spammy phrases.
Finally, write the body of the email
Email Size: Sending files larger than 110 KB are more likely to be marked as spam. To maximize delivery, email marketing campaigns should keep email sizes between 15-100 KB.
Spelling and Grammar Errors: When composing business emails, it is imperative to ensure your emails are free of typos and poor grammar. Both spelling and grammar errors are generally an indicator that the email message is spam. Even if the spam filter does not catch these types of mistakes, it is highly likely that an alert consumer will.
Trigger Keywords: Trigger words should be avoided at all costs. Artificial Intelligence software is designed to look for certain words. Once a business has used a trigger word they will most likely be marked as spam.
Examples of trigger words include:
this is not spam.
dear friend.
order now.
cancel at any time.
money back guarantee.
free or toll-free.
Avoid Phishing Terms: Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams are used to trick people into transferring money or providing personal information. Businesses should avoid common spam phrases in email subject lines to prevent emails from being flagged.
Examples of expressions to avoid in your email subject line include:
Request.
Follow up.
Urgent.
Important.
Are you available?
Are you at your desk?
Payment Status.
Hello.
Other.
Purchase.
Invoice Due.
Re:
Direct Deposit.
Expenses.
Payroll.
Not Using Alt Text with Images: Alt text is a feature that has been added to the image tag in HTML. This text will help search engines understand what an image is about. Many email programs will not display the image if an alt text has not been added.
Excessive Symbols: Anytime symbols are used more than once, they are considered spam. Do not use multiple $$$ or !!! in your email marketing campaign.
Using JavaScript in an HTML Email or Having Broken HTML: Any type of scripting or broken HTML in an email will result in your message being blocked by spam filters and should be avoided.
Suspicious Links: Ensure any added links look legitimate. Spam filters are designed to pick up on any links that appear suspicious or out of place.
Consider privacy
While having a privacy policy does not mean that your email with get to your clients, it can help your customers feel safe signing up for your mailing list. The Better Business Bureau has a template to help small businesses write a privacy policy for use online.
Contact CourseVector Today
Although these suggestions do not guarantee 100% email delivery, they will significantly reduce the chances that your email marketing campaign will be flagged by spam filters. Whether you are just starting your marketing strategy or are looking for a fresh take, contact CourseVector’s team today. Our team can assist you in developing an effective marketing campaign designed to maximize your customer database.
