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Stop the InSpamity October 2006 You hate spam, we hate spam, everybody hates spam. And we do everything we can to keep it out of our inboxes. But the drive to beat spam is increasingly likely to cause problems for legitimate emarketing campaigns. For example, a lot of your customers’ spam filters can now be set to block messages and automatically report them as spam to a growing number of blacklist publishers. If one or more of your customers mistakenly or unknowingly report your message to a blacklist, you could soon find blocks on all of your messages. If your email is blacklisted, you need to act quickly to get your address off the list. Then you should take steps to keep your email messages out of the junk filters. Blacklisting consequences depend on the severity of the supposed “abuse.” If you were reported by only one person, you may be blacklisted for a matter of hours. As the number of reports grows, so does the punishment. Meanwhile, your entire network’s email (both the email marketing campaign as well as regular business correspondence) could be bouncing back from its intended recipients. If you start getting bounce-backs, you should first make sure your mail server is correctly configured and doesn’t have an open relay, which spammers can exploit. Then you should take steps to get delisted. Even if the de-listing goes smoothly, it can be a week or more before your address is cleared by all the servers that had been blocking it. Messages that have been bounced typically carry instructions on how to file a dispute with the blacklist company. This is usually accomplished by emailing the blacklist company, although different blacklists have different dispute policies. If you’re unsure whether you’ve been blacklisted, check one of the websites that compile that sort of information. Here’s one: www.mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx. For more information on spam and blacklisting, check these sites. Just be aware that some of these sites will also try to sell you their own brand of spam and blacklist protection. • Spamhaus (www.spamhaus.org) • Spews (www.spews.org) • DSBL (www.dsbl.org) Meanwhile, how do you keep your messages out of the junk folder? There are no guaranteed fixes, but there are some things you can do to increase the odds that your messages will get to the people who actually want them. It’s helpful to know some of the reasons, in addition to blacklisting, that your legitimate emails might be blocked: • Recipients might mark your messages as spam, rather than unsubscribe from your list. • Recipients might establish junk mail settings that dump your message into the trash. • Server administrators might arbitrarily set preferences that exclude your email. Computer users have an increasing number of weapons in their anti-spam arsenal, thanks in part to the federal Can-Spam Act, which defines spam. The act gives legal authority to anti-spam efforts. At the same time, spam filter designers and spammers are in an escalating tactical war to outsmart each other. Spam filters work by setting out rules intended to identify and block junk messages. Consequently, your messages must follow the federal rules to avoid being legally classified as spam, and must be able to pass through the barriers set up by spam filters. If you fail either test, you risk being blacklisted. And yes, that’s as bad as it sounds. Various private companies compile email address blacklists, which they sell to Internet service providers. ISPs then block all messages from those addresses. So if your address winds up on a blacklist, your messages could be blocked by servers all over the world, before they even get near your clients’ mailboxes. Don’t worry. It gets worse. Even the most Can-Spam compliant email marketing campaign is susceptible to the dreaded spam filter and/or junk mail box. In fact, according to Ferris Research/New York Times, that’s the fate of 20 percent of all commercial email. There are ways to improve your odds. Here are a few guidelines.
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© 2006, Greteman Group. 1425 E. Douglas, Wichita KS 67211 • 316.263.1004 • info@gretemangroup.com |