Internet Marketing Tips: Avoid Becoming Spam

Some basic tips to avoid your email landing in the recipients spam folder.

Email marketing is one of the most effective forms of internet marketing. It is however prolific and many companies sending 'spam' email have caused email hosting companies such as Google to choose what is worth reading and what's not by using mail filters. There are a number of measures you can take however to avoid your all important email being sent to the Spam box and instead hopefully being read and enjoyed.

It is thought that a huge amount of marketing emails end up in people's spam folders, never to be read at all. This is a massive shame for companies who have spent time and money getting the emails just right as well as time collating the email addresses of recipients. However it's a necessary action to help people avoid huge amounts of unsolicited 'junk' landing in their inbox. Sometimes it's worth enlisting the help of an online marketing agency who can advise you on how to create great emails.

Layout and Font

The way the email looks can have a great effect on whether it ends up as spam. They may end up as spam if the subject line is in capitals or a very large font is used in the email. Excessive use of colours, images and flash can also cause emails to end up in spam. This is a shame for marketers who like to create great looking emails- but emails can still look good by looking clean and tidy. You can often tell the difference between an email which has been created with the help of an online marketing agency who already know the rules of email marketing. If you are not sure you have the skills to get it right this could be an avenue worth taking.

Wording
Emails tend to end up in spam because there is too much 'spam' wording such as 'free' or 'no obligation'. Proofread your email a number of times to ensure there are no spelling errors as this is another way the email filters decide an email is Spam. Avoid exclamation marks too as this is a fast route into the spam file.

Keep a Clean Subscriber List

Try to make sure your emails are going to those who want to read it. Have a clear opt out option for those who are not interested as this will keep the list 'clean' and stop you being flagged as spam by those who don't want the emails. Also try to add useful content into your emails, the hard sell alone won't always be enough but if you can add something more such as news stories or style tips, customers will actually look forward to receiving your mail and won't flag it. However don't include a massive amount of content as this again may be considered Spam, it's all about balance.

These are just some of the ways you can try to prevent your email ending up as spam. Further tips include staying on top of the law regarding email marketing and also reviewing the reasons why people have unsubscribed to your mail. Email marketing can be very successful and many companies now depend on it entirely but it's not always easy to end up in the right inbox.

AUTHOR BIO

Peter Smith is a business writer who specialises in internet marketing. Peter used to work for an online marketing agency before breaking into freelance business journalism.