By now virtually everyone has some kind of spam filter on their computer, plus their email programs have spam filters.  Emails go through an amazing number of servers on their way from you to your recipients, and they do it sometimes in seconds.  There are two main gatekeepers (filters) to get through – the primary email server on the recipient end (like gmail or a domain where their email goes to) and the recipients’ email settings on their computers (like Outlook).  So how can your email get through the spam filter maze and be considered "deliverable"?

Here are some tips:

1. Avoid using spam words and phrases
Here are just a handful of words and phrases are flags to the spam filters:  free, legal, act now, limited time offer, call now, click here (and worse yet, click here now).  I’m sure you’ve seen the emails that use "free" with * like F*R*E*E*  but you could also choose other words, like complimentary, bonus, no cost…   When I absolutely need to use the word "free"  I might add the * at the end of it but change the color of the * to match the background, which is usually white.  It keeps the appearance of the email clean, but slides through the filters better.

2.  Avoid using the color red in your copy and headlines.
Red is loud! Email studies show that mixing colors in your fonts, even bright greens or yellows, will hurt not only deliverability but also conversion! If you can’t resist and must use color, use bold, rich colors like navy and maroon, which gives the punch of red without the flag.

3.  Avoid Excessive Punctuation Marks ??!!!
Excessive punctuation is simply not good email etiquette and is a sure red flag for filters.  One ? or ! will do the job. Promise.

4.  Don’t copy and paste from a Word document into your HTML email editor.
Now this is where I really want to use a lot of !!!!!   But this is a blog post, not an email  

MS Word uses a lot of hidden coding that simply doesn’t translate anywhere else.  It messes up web pages and spam filters hate it in email. Not to worry – there’s a way around the ugly coding.

Best practice is to type your content directly into the body of the email editor. If you need to copy text from a Word document,  first paste it into a text editor like Notepad. This usually removes the coding from your Word document. It also strips all formatting, like bold and font sizes or colors.  You must then copy the content that you put into Notepad and paste that into the email editor window (the body of your email).  Then reformat it. Formatting simply means adding the bold, color, size, paragraphs, etc.

5.  Don’t Use ALL CAPS
I understand how we want to put the most emphasis on the words that we think are most important. WHEN YOU USE ALL CAPS, IT COMES ACROSS AS YOU’RE SHOUTING OR ANGRY.  Fight the temptation to shout! There are several other ways to get your point across. Try capitalizing just the first letter of the word and putting it in Bold. Use italics (sparingly).  Or underline a word or sentence to show the reader that "this is the part of my letter I really want you to get!"

6.  Beware of Symbols
The number one spam symbol is the dollar sign. Whether it’s in your subject line or in the body doesn’t matter. Many email users have spam filters that will send anything containing this symbol or others directly to the trash. This doesn’t mean you can’t use the $ sign when appropriate, but be very careful how and where you do this.  It should only be used with an actual dollar amount, never  something like "make $$$$$ now" – I guarantee that email will have a tough time getting to your reader!   Remember the punctuation caution?  Those are symbols too, which compounds the flags. Another way symbols are abused is in trying to be clever such as "L@@k at this"  This might be ok for a single email from you to a friend, but not if you’re trying to send an email to more than a couple people at a time.

So there you have it - definitely not an exhaustive list, but these six tips will help you increase your email delivery rates. You want your emails to not only make it past the initial email server spam filters – you also want them delivered into the inbox.  While you can’t control the recipients’ inbox filters, sticking with good email etiquette will definitely improve your delivery rates!

One Response to “6 Tips to Avoid Spam Filter Red Flags”