Spam filtering has affected email delivery
Open and click thru response rates can be dramatically affected by as much as 20-30% due to false-negative classification.
Permission marketing
The number one step in improving deliverability, is confirming the recipients.
All confirmation should be made with confirmed opt-in or verified opt-in process that sends a unique link to the attempted subscriber when they request information. Before adding the person to your list they must click that unique link verifying that they are indeed the same person that owns the email address and requested to subscribe.
Subscriber Addresses
Ask potential susbscribers to avoid using webmail addresses, such as Hotmail or Yahoos. Free emails tend to be disposable saccounts and typically have a shorter lifetime than a primary ISP address.
List Maintenance
Always promptly remove undeliverable addresses that bounce when messages are sent to them. An address that bounces with a permanent error 2-3 times in a 30 day period should be removed from the list. ISP’s track what percentage of your newsletters bounce and will block them if you attempt to continually deliver messages to closed subscriber mailboxes.Additionally, your account may be listed as sending spam.
Message Format
Usage of HTML messages to allow for rich-text formatting, multiple columns, images, and brand recognition is growing in popularity and is widely supported by most email client software.
Unfortunately, because of a richer experience and a noted increased response rate, most spam is also HTML formatted and thus differentiating between requested email and spam HTML messages can be difficult. A 2004 study by AWeber .com shows that bonce rate for HTML messages were seventy-five percent higher than plain-text messagess. If sending HTML it is important to always send a plain text alternative message, also called text/HTML multi-part mime format.
Content
Many ISP’s filter based on the content that appears within the message text.
Website URL:
Website urls should be checked for spam compliance beforere they are issued. Sending a newsletter with an url that has been listed as sending spam ,could result in your address also being blacklisted.
Words/phrases:
Care must be taken when message are crafted. Avoid hot button topics often found in spam such as medication, mortgages, making money, and pornography.
Avoid the need to obfusate words with special characters or incorrect spelling as these appear to attract more attention and the likelyhood of identification.
Images:
Avoid creating messages that are entirely images. Use images sparingly, if at all. Commonly used open rate tracking technology uses images to calculate opens. You may choose to disable open rate tracking to avoid being filtered based on image content.
Images have also been used to send malware.
Attachments:
Attachements have been used to spread viruses, and unfamiliar recipients are wary of attachments. It’s often better to link to files via a website URL to reduce recipient fear of attachments and also reduce the overall message size.
CAN-SPAM Compliance
The January 2004 Federal CAN-SPAM law introduced a number of rules regarding the delivery of email. It’s important you have your legal counsel review your practices and ensure you are in compliance. The two most important rules include having a valid postal mail address listed in all commercial messages and a working unsubscribe link that is promptly honored to remove the subscriber from future messages.
Reputation
Reputation services are often used by large ISP’s as a way to vet email senders regarding their email practices and policies. Businesses listed with these services are then given less stringent filtering or no filtering at all. Several reputation services are:
* http://www.isipp.com/iadb.php
* http://www.bondedsender.com
* http://www.habeas.com
Relationships & Whitelisting
Periodic contact with major ISP’s and email providers is essential in informing them of your messaging. Many large providers such as AOL and Yahoo have specific whitelisting programs and postmaster website areas to ensure your email is delivered as long as you meet their policies and procedures in handling your opt-in list.
Email deliverability is about ensuring requested opt-in email is delivered to the intended recipient. While no single tip will enable you to get 100% of your email delivered each one utilized as a group can go a long way to reaching that goal
