Did you know that only 79% of emails sent reach subscribers’ inboxes? This is because spam filters scan your email before they reach the recipient in order to decide if you should end up in their inbox or not. However, sometimes normal marketing emails get stopped by the spam filters, which means that even though they’re not spam they end up in the spam or promotions folders, or don’t even reach the inbox at all.
This can be really frustrating for small businesses trying to reach new clients, so we have compiled a list of 12 things you can do and think about to avoid getting caught in the spam filter!
1. Use a recognisable sender name
– This means you should use your or your brand’s name in the email address, preferably both, like name@brand.co.uk, and not info@brand.co.uk.
2. Choose a reliable email service provider who manage their server reputations so that your deliverability is automatically improved
3. Test your emails before you send them off!
– By using Popcorn you can send your emails to yourself in order to see how they appear and where they end up
– You can also us Spam Checker, which tests the quality of your email and mimics spam filters so you can check if you email needs changing
4. Respect the unsubscribes!
– It’s against GDPR to send marketing emails to people who have opted out. Anyway the more times you get sent to Junk, the is risk of automatically getting flagged as spam increases.
5. Stay away from spam trigger words
– There’s numerous lists online of words that in combination can trigger spam filters, have a look and make sure you don’t over use them.
6. Your subject line should reflect the content of the email
7. Avoid attachments or video files.
– If you want to include these, link them in your email so they can be watched on another platform, for example your website.
8. Correct spelling and grammar before sending your email!
9. Make it easy to unsubscribe
10. Don’t use all caps, it’s like you’re yelling to people
– Research has been made into this that suggests 85% of people prefer lower case to upper case
11. Don’t use video, Flash or JavaScript in your email
– Instead, use an image that links to the video on YouTube or your company website.
12. Lastly, ask your subscribers to add you to their address book, this will make sure your emails reach them!
Hopefully this list can help you reach more people and increase your sales. If you want to track subscriber activity, you can use Popcorn Sales & Marketing to see what happens with your emails when they reach your subscribers’ inbox and more importantly track their engagement across your website. Click HERE to start your free trial!
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