Don’t let spam filters ruin your digital marketing campaign

Few things in digital marketing can be more frustrating than spending time, energy and money on putting together a great email campaign only to find that half the time your message gets blocked by spam filters and does not even reach the intended recipient’s inbox.

Don’t get the wrong idea, spam filters are great things, and we would be drowning in thousands of junk messages if we did not have them. The problem is that certain filters, particularly the free ones provided by providers like Gmail and Yahoo can sometimes come up with “false positives.” This is the equivalent of throwing the baby out with the bathwater and consigning genuine messages to that nether world that is the spam folder.

Better spam filters mean reduced false positives

Gmail’s filter is better than most of the free ones, but there is no getting past the fact that with freeware, you get what you pay for. Many businesses are opting for specialist, tailored solutions like everycloud.com. This is 99.99 percent effective, which is great news when it comes to eliminating false positives. It also means, however, that you have nowhere to hide in your email outreach. If you are still ending up in the spam folder, it can only mean you are sending spammy messages. Here are some tips for ensuring your message ends up in the right place.

1) Avoid spammy words in the subject line

FREE PROMO! GUARANTEED PRIZE! – doesn’t that look terrible? Sure you are probably not going to send anything that blatant, but there are certain trigger words that spam filters particularly look out for, and the above are four examples. Also avoid CAPS and exclamation marks.

2) Be honest

Over the years, marketers have used all sorts of unethical hooks to get people to open mails, such as implying the recipient has won a prize. It’s not the way to win business, and all it will do is convince people you are a spammer and a scammer, so don’t be tempted.

3) Don’t march in uninvited

Work on a subscribe list so that you can be confident that recipients are really people who want to receive your messages. This is only good sense, as it means far better conversions and less likelihood of getting flagged up as a spammer by the Gmail community. Always include an unsubscribe option, too.

4) No heavy attachments

A glossy flyer full of pictures might be OK in paper form, but electronically, it will only set alarm bells ringing. Steer clear of videos, Javascript and the like, and you are less likely to awaken the spam filter.

5) Keep the content professional

Sending out a marketing message that’s full of grammatical mistakes and spelling errors reflects badly on your business and is going to destroy the campaign. It will also render your email more likely to be flagged as spam. It can happen to anyone, often with unexpectedly hilarious results, so ensure you check it, check it again and then get someone else to check it.