| > | | | | Unfortunately, the scenario described above is |
| Permission email deliverability is more difficult than | | | | happening with chilling regularity. It has happened to |
| ever for email marketers today, even with good | | | | me personally four times. Each time I spent several |
| SpamAssassin scores. This article briefly describes the | | | | hours trying to figure out why my SA-approved |
| ongoing challenge of permission email deliverability and | | | | email content was stopped dead in its tracks by the |
| provides a simple solution for improving it by lowering | | | | ISP's. It was terribly frustrating. |
| your spam scores. | | | | The Solution |
| Studies show that up to 25 percent of legitimate | | | | I set out to fix this problem once and for all. I |
| permission email never gets delivered to the intended | | | | constructed two dozen different test emails using all |
| recipients because of spam filters (source: Lyris, Q2 | | | | sorts of combinations and variations of suspect |
| Email Advisory Report Card 2007). It's enough to | | | | words with negative scoring weights and sent them |
| make a permission marketer's blood boil. | | | | to a dummy list. Eventually, after a lot of frustration |
| Internet Service Providers in an effort to reduce | | | | and several weeks of trial and error I discovered a |
| spam and demonstrate their customer | | | | pattern. I could no longer trust my 'good' spam |
| responsiveness have provided their subscribers with a | | | | scores as good enough to get my email delivered. It |
| 'spam button' in their hosted email accounts. One | | | | seems the sophisticated ISP filters are now |
| simple click and your email address and content have | | | | scrutinizing and trapping innocent, good-scoring email. |
| been flagged as unwanted spam. A few dozen clicks | | | | Now here's the kicker... to get my opt in emails |
| by unknowing subscribers and you will probably end | | | | through the ISP filter with near 100% certainty, I had |
| up on several email blacklists. | | | | to have SpamAssassin content scores of 0 or |
| As more and more people report real spam to their | | | | very close (like 0.2, 0.3). Emails with a 1 - 2 score |
| ISP's, legitimate permission email marketers continue | | | | would get through, but only about 50% of the time. |
| to get caught in the net. In fact, getting your | | | | Email scores of 3, 4 and 5 were being trapped cold. |
| legitimate marketing email delivered has never been | | | | This didn't seem to be the case a year or even six |
| tougher. In this article I will provide some real world | | | | months ago. At that time, I was sending messages |
| examples of battles I've had with the ISP filters and | | | | with scores of 3 and 4 which passed through the ISP |
| how I solved these frustrating email deliverability | | | | filters to the intended recipients. |
| problems. | | | | Simple Tips For Getting Your Opt In Email Delivered |
| The Problem | | | | Use a filter words list as a reference when |
| As an upstanding and ethical email marketer you | | | | creating your email content. Just search on the |
| have done your part to get your mail delivered. Or so | | | | phrase "email filter words" or "spam filter words" and |
| you think... | | | | you will find pages containing these words. Copy and |
| You eliminated the filter words that ISP's use to | | | | paste them into a personal document for future use. |
| trap spam cold. | | | | Find and use synonyms as substitutes for as |
| You added special characters like periods, | | | | many filter words as possible. For those words you |
| asterisks and tildes to important (but suspect) words | | | | cannot find suitable synonyms for, modify them by |
| so they look like *free*, off.er, big sa~le, etc. | | | | adding extra characters like asterisks (*), tildes (~) |
| You personalized the email by using your | | | | and periods (.). For example: "Sign up for our *free* |
| subscribers' names in the body of your mail and in | | | | teleseminar..." |
| your subject. | | | | Some common filter words and phrases to either |
| You tested your mail against the | | | | avoid or modify are: cash, money, offer, specials, |
| SpamAssassin database content checker and | | | | order now, free, act now, buy, financing, debt, |
| have received good scores of 2 and 3 (If your score | | | | promotion, guaranteed, MLM, no cost, online |
| is greater than 5, SA recommends that you revise | | | | marketing, subscriber, amazing, % off... among many |
| your message substantially to conform better to | | | | others. |
| industry anti-spam criteria). | | | | Use quotation marks, exclamation points and |
| You check the blacklists on occasion just in case | | | | dollar signs sparingly and not in subject lines. |
| people mistakenly report your mail as spam. | | | | Use capital letters sparingly, especially in the first |
| Next, you confidently broadcast your message | | | | two paragraphs and not in subject Lines. |
| to your opt in list. Minutes (or sometimes hours) later | | | | Use content variables (such as 'name') to |
| you receive a deliverability report on your broadcast | | | | customize your mail and subject line. |
| from your smart autoresponder or email broadcast | | | | Keep testing your content with a content |
| software. | | | | checker through trial and error to achieve a spam |
| To your shock and dismay, your mail has not | | | | score of 0. |
| been delivered to most if any of your recipients. | | | | By taking the time to make the above adjustments, |
| Your heart is now in your throat and you feel | | | | you will greatly improve your email delivery rates. |
| violated in some way. | | | | |