Keep Your Newsletter Out of the SPAM Box

It’s a newsletter publishers nightmare–being accused of sending spam and then blocked from reaching their subscribers.

One of the most difficult things to deal with is being accused of spamming.   It can cause all sorts of frustrations.

If you use a newsletter script hosted on your own website it can result in your IP being blacklisted and then you’ll have trouble getting your regular business email delivered (not just your newsletter).

If you use a third party hosting service, your domain email won’t get blacklisted, but your newsletters won’t reach your subscribers.

You don’t want either of these things to happen!

How can you avoid it?  Some people will click the “Spam” reporting button instead of unsubscribing, no matter how easy you make it, and then you’ll need to deal with getting de-listed, but there are some ways to protect yourself from being accused of spamming.

1) Don’t Send Spam

This sounds obvious, I know, but many small businesses don’t realize exactly what spam is.  Spam isn’t just the ads you get for stocks, medicines, or winning international lotteries.  It’s any unsolicited commerical email.  Unsolicited means you sent it to someone who didn’t specifically request it.

What does this mean for you?  Don’t take your entire contact list of emails and add them to your newsletter!  Do not add anyone who has not requested specifically to receive sales related emails from you.  If at all possible, you need an IP address and timestamp proving they requested it (third party newsletter hosts will track and keep this information for you).

In addition, you MUST comply with the CAN-SPAM act by providing an unsubscribe link in every newsletter you send, as well as your complete postal mailing address.  If someone requests removal you need to remove them promptly and be sure they stay removed from your list.

2) Double Opt-In Only

Always require double opt-in.  This means after the person gives you their email address, a verification email is sent that they must respond to (usually by clicking a link or replying to the message) in order to be added to your list.  This ensures that the email address is correct and current.  It also means you’ve got two methods to prove to a service provider who thinks you’re spamming that the email address did want to receive your newsletter.

3) Ask Your Subscribers to Whitelist You

The process varies depending on what email service your subscribers are using, but include a note at the top of your newsletters asking your subscribers to please whitelist your email address or add you to their friends list.  If they take this step you’re much more likely to end up in their inbox instead of their junk mail folder.  You could use something like, “So we can be sure you continue receiving great tips from us to help you run your business each week, please take a few seconds to add yournewsletteraddress@yourdomain.com to your whitelist or friends list.  Thank you!”

4) Include a Permission Reminder and Note About Unsubscriptions

Sometimes people forget that they’ve subscribed to a newsletter (be sure you send out regularly so your subscribers don’t forget you!).  To help jog their memory, you can include a permission reminder somewhere near the top of your newsletter.  “This newsletter is only sent with permission to those who’ve requested it at our website www.yoursite.com but if you’d like to change your address or unsubscribe just scroll to the bottom of this email and click the link.”  If it’s easy to see where/how to unsubscribe, people will be more likely to use that feature instead of reporting you as a spammer.

5) Run Your Newsletter Through a Spam Checker Before Sending

Once you’ve completed writing your newsletter, take time to run it through a reliable spam checker.  Some services (like GetResponse and Aweber) have this feature built-in.  If your sending service doesn’t, here are two good free ones:

spamcheck.sitesell.com — This site will give you a “Spam Score” and recommendations on how to reduce it.

programmersheaven.com/webtools/Spam-Checker/spamchecker.aspx  — This tool checks based on SpamAssassin and SpamBayes rules.

6) Keep Tabs on Your IP and it’s Blacklist Status

There are lots of different blacklists out there that your IP address may get added to if you are accused of spamming.  Your IP address is sort of the numerical version of your domain name, except it’s not always unique to you and is probably shared with other sites hosted by your website host, unless you have an SSL certificate or other reason for your own unique IP.  You don’t need to worry about this with a third-party hosted newsletter service because they monitor their IPs, but if you’re hosting your own newsletter, then check your IP status at the following websites:

mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx
mail-abuse.com/lookup.html
rbls.org/index.html

What can you do if you’re blocked for spamming and stuck on a black list?  If you get placed on a blacklist you’ll need to request removal.  It sounds a little intimidating, but it’s really not a scary process.  When you receive a bounce notice that assumes your newsletter was spam, look closely to find the service provider who bounced you.  Start at their website and do a search to see what you can find about their spam list and removal process.  If you can’t find how to remove yourself from their blacklist, a phone call to their customer service department should help.  Your website host may also be able to guide you through getting your IP de-listed.

These six tips will help you keep your newsletter successfully able to reach the inboxes of the people who’ve subscribed.

Work at home mom extraordinaire Michelle Shaeffer publishes The Muses Brainstorm, a weekly ezine with tips to help you balance, manage, and market your home based business. If you’re ready for inspirational guidance and bright ideas sign up free at http://www.thesmallbusinessmuse.com