For marketing professionals who have been around for a while, specializing in lead generation and email marketing, some are starting to notice that their jobs are getting a bit tougher these days. However, it’s not necessarily because of any problems within the industry itself. The challenge that’s popped up in recent years is actually spam filters. They’re making it harder for marketers to create successful email marketing funnels.
This has actually become such a wide-spread challenge for marketers that a recent study estimated that 21% of legitimate emails that are sent to subscribers for legitimate marketing purposes end up in users’ spam boxes. So, what can you do when spam filters are killing your open rates? Let’s take a look at some tactics that you can start to employ to make sure that your emails stop triggering those dreaded spam filters:
- Watch out for keyword triggers: Pay close attention to which keywords trigger spam filters. Some are more likely to trigger these filters than others, and many trigger words are fairly commonly used. Fortunately, modern spam filters have a better understanding of context than past filters. But, even with these newer filters in place, it’s still a good idea to use known trigger words sparingly. You wouldn’t want to accidentally get your emails blocked. Some of the most common accidental spam triggers include: Month Trial Offer, 100% Free, Mail In Order Form, Meet Singles, and Reverses
- Pay close attention to grammar: When it comes to filters, sentence structure and spelling greatly matter. Modern spam filters really focus on readability even more so than keyword triggers. So, make sure that all copy is carefully crafted and edited. Also, content spinners are a definite no-no; you will be penalized for sending spun content. If you want to repurpose any existing content for your email marketing strategy, it’s best to make it as high-quality as possible.
- Start using a reputable email server: Unfortunately, once an email is flagged, the IP address of the sender is recorded, and the consumer may never get another email from that address again. So, you must be careful when choosing email servers. You don’t want a service with lax content policies; that’s a sign that spammers have likely been abusing it to get around other servers with higher standards. You want a more trusted email marketing service. When you get stuck with a bad server and share the same IP address, legitimate marketers trying to use the service will get filtered by reporting users along with those abusing it.
- Opt for custom authentication: If you want your users to know for certain that your emails are legitimate, it is vital that you add a custom authentication to all of your emails. Every email should have a verified SPF and DKIM setting.
- Always send a test first: Before you send any email out to your users, send a test email first, even if everything appears in-check. Something tiny could still get caught in a spam filter. But, if you send a test first, and it gets flagged, you can go back and figure out what caused it before it’s too late.
- Avoid repetition: Two of the main reasons marketing emails get flagged is because the copy was overly aggressive and too sales pitchy, or the content was too repetitive. Users will flag these emails, and when they do the spam detection algorithms take note and remember, thus, they will block any future emails that come from your address.
So long as you make these few small changes and keep a lookout for these common pitfalls, you can still create a successful marketing campaign. However, if you still feel unsure about your email marketing tactics, give us a call!
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