Subject Line: Urgent immediate Payment Solution

I’m one of maybe 200 spammers that send 80% of all the spam out there. I collect your names from social networks, customer lists, and viruses. I send excessive amounts of unsolicited emails, and I ruin it for the rest of you.

Rampant spam and email fraud, like spoofing and phishing, have severely damaged the public’s confidence in email. Despite a multi-million dollar anti-spam software industry and many attempts to eradicate spam through regulation, spammers and fraudsters continue to make life difficult for email marketers.

But email marketers have tools and information at their disposal that can make the difference between your email marketing campaigns arriving in your subscribers’ inboxes, or ending up like the above email - tossed in the spam folder.

Re-familiarize Yourself with Spam: Who Defines it and Why that Matters

Do you really know how spam is defined? Many email marketers think, “it’s sending unsolicited email, right?” If that’s the first thing that comes to mind, it’s time to re-familiarize yourself with what spam really is and who defines it. Knowing the definition can mean the difference between your email marketing campaigns making it to the inbox or being blacklisted.

CAN-SPAM laws provide the ultimate definition of spam by outlining what is (and what is not) allowed when sending commercial email marketing. The laws, enacted in 2004 by the Federal Trade Commission, were updated in 2008, but the FTC isn’t the only body that classifies spam.

Internet Service Providers also have a large part in determining what is considered spam. ISPs don’t rely on CAN-SPAM alone to define spam because in their eyes spam is, first and foremost, defined by the user. If an email recipient classifies an email message as spam by putting it on their blocked senders list, dropping it in their spam folder or simply consistently not opening it, then it is considered spam by the ISPs - regardless of whether it adheres to each and every CAN-SPAM rule.

Protect Email Integrity by Following Spam-Free Best Practices

• Stay current on CAN-SPAM laws, and double check that every email marketing campaign adheres to those laws. Don’t take liberties with these laws. It’s not worth the risk.


• Be sure to regularly audit your unsubscribe methodologies for CAN-SPAM compliance:

* Enable your email subscribers to opt out easily - preferably with one single click.

* Document email list members who have unsubscribed from your email marketing and the date when their unsubscribe requests were fulfilled by your company.

• Don’t use unmonitored mailboxes; those that, when replied to, take a user to a " This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. " email address.


• Remind email recipients every so often of the email address they used to subscribe to your e-newsletter or other email marketing. This will help them remember their subscription as well as remind them to update their contact information should it change.


• Consider working with an HTML designer who is versed in the latest spam filters. They should know both the basics, such as avoiding YELLING WITH ALL CAPS in the email, as well as advanced techniques such as writing clean, uncluttered HTML code.


• Make relevance the priority. If your email marketing campaign promotes your company’s new video game, make sure that the landing page concentrates on that video game. If your content - such as your landing page and your Web site - aren’t in alignment with your email, a recipient will consider future email messages irrelevant. They will either a) avoid clicking on them, which over time will result in email messages that are automatically filtered to the spam folder; or b) mark as spam any incoming email from your company.

By following these basic guidelines, you’ll avoid being blacklisted and instead get your emails delivered, see your open rates improve, and maximize your email marketing ROI.

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About the Author

Shannon Titus is the senior marketing programs manager at Lyris. She is responsible for creating compelling email marketing communications and programs to share with Lyris customers and prospects.

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