Review: The Permission Emailer's Guide to Avoiding Filters. A MarketingSherpa Report.

Are your emails CAN-SPAM compliant?

How to stay within the law and avoid having your email and newsletter campaigns decimated by gateway, ISP and customer email filters.

More than anything else, this 84-page report brought home to me how dangerous it is to be ignorant about the fast-changing world of email filters.

As a publisher of a newsletter, I figured that I had the bases pretty much covered by being careful with the content of each issue. I think twice about the words I use, avoiding words like 'free' and other obvious red flags.

But even within the realm of 'safe content' this report showed me as being woefully ignorant. Did you know that some ISP content filters will count it against you if you use these words or phrases: 'opt-in', 'unsubscribe', 'guarantee' and 'click here'?

But safe content is just the tip of the iceberg. It's the least of your worries.

Things you should know about the world of filtering.

Here are just some of the scary things I learned while reading this report:

- Up to 75% of emailers identified as 'spammers' by blacklists are not spammers at all.

 

- Between 20% and 50% of your non-opened email and newsletters are not 'opened' simply because they were filtered before they even reached the recipient's computer.

 

- Each day 110,000,000+ emails are filtered before they even reach the recipient's ISP. And then the ISP will apply its own filters before the email appears, or not, on the recipient's desktop.

 

- If you are emailing to businesses, be aware that many corporations filter their employees' email with third-part blacklists that are grossly inaccurate.

 

- If your broadcast email service 'shares' IP addresses between clients, you might find yourself blacklisted because of poor practices by another emailer sharing that address.

 

- If you email people at AOL.com, be aware that they filter at least half of all incoming email at the server level.

And that's just the start of it. There is page after page of information in this report that you need to study and be aware of. The problem is only going to get worse, and unless you understand the nature of the beast, fewer and fewer of your emails and newsletters are going to reach their intended destination.

The good news.

While this report isn't shy about explaining all the problems and challenges we now face, it also serves up plenty of advice. In fact, close to half the report is devoted to a ten-point plan that shows you how to minimize problems with email filtering.

At whatever level you are involved in email or newsletter marketing, I strongly recommend that you purchase this report. This is one area where ignorance cannot protect you, and only a clear, informed plan of action can protect your investment in your email list.

And don't forget, the Can-Spam Bill is now law.

Click here for a more detailed description and a full list of contents.

=================================================

Don't miss out on future issues of the Excess Voice newsletter for copywriters. Sign up now:

(Your email address will be used only for the purpose of sending you this newsletter, and you'll be free to unsubscribe at any time.)

MarketingSherpa Reports on SEO Marketing

New Buyer's Guide to SEO Firms
121 search engine optimization firms profiled - including handy comparison chart and index by clients.

21 Ways to Maximize Your ROI from Google AdWords Select
Optimize your paid Google listings - Updated for 2003

Other MarketingSherpa Reports

Top 25 Case Studies on Marketing with Email Newsletters.
Steal proven tactics from your peers & competitors.

Customer Service Email Response Improvement Toolkit
Here's an easy Toolkit to train your customer service reps to write clear, helpful email responses that save you money and improve sales.