The list of dos
This is a list of items you should always aim to achieve within your email to help prevent it from being marked as spam.
Provide a unsubscribe link within the email – You should always ensure you provide an unsubscribe link within your email. The unsubscribe process should take no more than three clicks to complete. Don’t make your subscribers jump through hoops to remove themselves from your mailing list.
Thirty days or more – The unsubscribe link within your emails should be valid for at least thirty days at the very least. Again your subscribers shouldn’t find it hard to remove themselves from your list.
Use links not attachments – Where possible use links to resources in place of sending attachments. A link that points a single file on your website is a lot better than sending the same file out to a number of people.
Keep in touch – When someone subscribes to your mailing list it’s generally assumed they have given you permission to email them within a period of up to six months inactivity. If it’s been over six months since you last contacted your subscribers it’s generally a good idea to reconfirm your list. So keep in touch.
Use correct formatting – When sending HTML emails is always advised to create correctly formatted HTML, it helps the mail server understand the email content.
Use the correct service – If you intend to send out mass emails or a high volume within a short period is always best to ensure you have the correct email service that meets your providers email policy.
The list of don’ts
Here we will provide a clear list of things you should try to stay clear of when creating an email for your mailing list.
Use deceptive headers – You should never use deceptive headers this includes but not limited to From name, subject line or reply-to address. If the server believes the email headers are deceptive this will increase the chance of the email being marked as spam. e.g. The email comes from domainone.com but has a reply-to address of domaintwo.com.
Use third party acquired lists – You should only ever email subscribers you have obtained yourself through your website. Don’t purchase mailing lists from third parties.
No shouting – The use of all capitals within an email is the equivalent to shouting at the person you’re speaking to. Try to avoid doing this within the subject line or the body of the email.
Sounds like spam – Avoid the use of phrases such as “Once in a lifetime opportunity!” or “Click here!”, these scream spam to the email server.
A single image – Single image emails may look all nice and attractive to your subscribers but the email server can’t read the image, with little or no text to score your email on its going to lean the email being spam.
Don’t use your email client – Its advised you don’t use a standard email client to send out your mailing list. It would be a good idea to use software that can manage your subscribers list such as phplist
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Last saved: 2021/05/17 at 11:58 by Jamie