5 Do's & Don'ts to Avoid Email Spam Filters

Are you wasting a lot of money every year on email marketing for your emails to just go into junk mail? If this is happening to you, getting a better comprehension of what spam filters are and how they can be avoided could help enhance your return on investment (ROI).

Here are some do's and don'ts to ensure that your emails make it into your recipient’s inboxes.

5 Do's to Avoid Email Spam Filters

• Do Offer a Double Opt-In: When you're building your email list, consider how you will verify that your recipients want to receive emails from your business. For this, you could use what is called a double-opt-in. This provides a subscriber with a confirmation email where they must confirm that they want to receive emails from you before they officially end up on your email list.
  
• Do Authenticate Your Email: Email authentication can be tricky, but verifying your email confirms that you are who you say you are. Inbox providers, such as Yahoo and Google, trust authenticated emails and are most likely to deliver mail from the authenticated email into the inbox. So, make sure to validate your email with SPF, DMARC, and DKIM.
  
• Do Clean Your Email Lists: Some of your recipients will unsubscribe but some people who no longer want to receive your emails will simply ignore your emails instead of unsubscribing. Some people also switch their emails so the one you are sending to is no longer in use. High un-open rates and high bounce rates can land your emails in the junk box. Periodically clean your lists so you are not sending to people who won’t read your emails.
  
• Do Use Recipient Preferences: Some email marketing platforms will allow subscribers to determine how often they receive your emails and reduces the danger of them marking your emails as spam or even unsubscribing.
  
• Do Create Original Content: Including original content in your emails will give people a reason to open it, reply to you, and even forward it to their friends.

5 Don'ts to Avoid Email Spam Filters

• Don't use Spam Trigger Words or Symbols in Your Subject: The words money, free, earn, cash, save, or symbols like $$ or % off will usually send your emails straight to junk.
  
• Don't Send an Email with an Attachment: Sending emails with attachments to someone that doesn’t have you saved in their contacts can lead to a flagged email.
  
• Don't Send Unsolicited Emails: Don’t send emails to purchased lists or any contact who have not opted in to receive your emails. This is a sure-fire way to have your emails marked as spam
  
• Don't use Caps Lock: Writing your subject line or your email content in all caps can trigger the spam filter
  
• Don't Send Emails to Contacts Who Have Unsubscribed: People unsubscribe from your emails for a reason and sending them emails after that will likely only make it worse.

Email marketing takes finesse. Following the tips given above will position your email program to at least be in front of the people who you want to read it.

‍