Delineating spamming from valuable email marketing

Written by: Chris Donald

Published on: 28-03-2019

Chris is Managing Partner at InboxArmy and has more than 25 years of experience in email marketing

Imagine drafting the perfect content, working through an interactive layout and testing the email several times, only to realize that the subscriber will never get to open it. Isn’t that the worst fate for the email campaign?

Most often, owing to several reasons, your email enters the spam folder instead of the inbox of the subscriber. This means you did not think about all aspects of the email design. You certainly did not consider spamming, before sending out the emails.

You need to create a spam-proof email, if you want to maximize the outcome of your email campaign, and achieve your goals.

We are here with some tips that would help you define what spamming is for your email campaign and how best to avoid it when planning the individual emails.

Spamming in Emails

When your subscriber starts receiving inappropriate emails owing to the bulk blasts you have made very recently, it is defined as email spamming. It may be sent by scammers or by reputed companies. The bottom line is that spam emails are sent without the permission of the receiver, which is why they do not get acknowledged. Your emails are wasted, and your campaign suffers a loss.

There are many ways in which the filters as well as the anti-spam software, check for spam emails and do not allow them into the inbox. The popular email companies such as Yahoo! and Gmail tend to have several filters in place that send the spam emails into the spam folder directly.

One of the many things that it checks for is the sender address. If not proper, it is directly considered as a spam email.

There are many spamming signs, and you need to avoid that when drafting the email for your business.

Spamming Signs and Solutions

Here we will discuss all the signs that give away your email is spam, and how to overcome these issues.

 “No Reply” Addresses

You may have experienced that when you receive an email, in many cases, the sender’s address is mentioned as “no reply”. This is one of the primary filters that the spamming software look for. When you are sending emails to your subscribers, make sure you send them from an authentic and genuine email id. Subscribers generally overlook emails that contain sender IDs as no reply and admin. The idea is to encourage the people to reply to the emails they have received. In case of queries, they should have an email id that they can send messages to.

To avoid being reported as SPAM, make sure you use genuine email addresses. Send emails from your company domain to command better trust.

The Subject Line

Bad subject line is another aspect of email that gets you into the spam folder. If you consistently send emails with click-bait subject lines, your subscribers might enlist you as spam. They will stop trusting your emails, and even when you decide to send some good content, you will not be considered genuine. The best way to avoid this situation is to work on the subject line and use something that connects with the subscriber. Make sure they are clickable and trustworthy.

Avoid Spammy Words

Certain words are considered spam by the filters and the spam software. You need to make sure you don’t use these words when designing the email.

Few words such as discount, cheap, free order, trial etc. can lead you to a spam folder. Try avoiding these words when deciding the subject line or the email copy.

When sending the email to the subscriber list, make sure you don’t include any suspicious links or attachments. When you post links or attachments, the anti-spam software tends to consider it as a fraud, and immediately places it into the spam folder.

Don’t forget to include an unsubscribe link, when you are sending bulk emails to the subscriber.

Create a Subscriber List

It is crucial that you have a subscriber list of the people who have opted-in to receive your emails. Make sure you send the emails to that list only.

If your email goes to people who are not leads or, people who have opted-in, those people might ban you from sending them emails and report you as spam. This might affect your sender reputation. If you continue sending emails without consent, then your ESP will block you from sending emails in the future.

To build a good subscriber list, make sure you have a double opt-in for all the email contacts. This way you can be sure of who all want to be a part of your mailing list. Send an email asking them to confirm if they’re going to join your mailing list, before sending in the emails you have designed for the different purposes.

Personalize the Emails

Personalization is the norm of the hour. You cannot send emails that are not relevant to the subscriber list. Make sure you not only send relevant messages for the subscriber, but also add the name of the subscriber on the email. This makes it more personal to them, and they will click-through the email. You can even personalize the subject line to get a better open rate. There are various techniques to personalize an email. Make sure you follow one or more of these techniques to improve the email quality and its open rate.

Summing up

It is important you follow all the anti-spam laws in place before sending the email for better conversions and to give away yourself as authentic. Welcome your subscribers, as soon as they opt-in for your emails to help them build their expectations with your business.

It is important that you avoid spam words and create emails that pass through the anti-spam filters and land into the inbox of the subscriber. Let us know how many of these techniques you have used to define spamming for your email marketing campaign and help get to the subscriber’s inbox.

About Author

Chris sent his first email campaign in 1995. He’s worked directly with Fortune 500 companies, retail giants, nonprofits, SMBs and government agencies in all facets of their email marketing and marketing automation programs. He’s also a BIG baseball fan, loves a good steak, and is mildly obsessed with zombie movies. For more information follow him on linkedin

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