Avoiding Spam Filters

There's no sense spending all that time designing, coding and writing your email newsletters, only to get them trapped in your recipients' junk folders. Make sure your newsletters go straight to your subscribers' inboxes by learning how spam filters think. Spam filters look at a long list of criteria to decide whether or not your email is junk. The list of spammy criteria is constantly growing and adapting, because spam filters learn more about what junk looks like every time someone clicks the This is spam button. Spam filters even sync up with each other to share what they've learned. There's no magic formula, but these tips will help you avoid common mistakes that often send email marketing to junk folders.

Avoid these common mistakes:
  • Using spammy phrases like "Click here!" or "Once in a lifetime opportunity!"
  • Going crazy with exclamation points!!!!!!
  • USING ALL CAPS, WHICH IS LIKE SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS VIA EMAIL (especially in the subject line)
  • Coloring fonts bright red or green
  • Coding sloppy HTML, usually from converting a Word file
  • Creating an HTML email that's nothing but one big image, with little or no text (since spam filters can't read images, they assume you're a spammer that's trying to trick them).
  • Using the word "Test" in the subject line
  • Sending a test to multiple recipients within the same company (that company's email firewall assumes it's a spam attack)
  • Designing HTML email in Microsoft Word and exporting the code to HTML (That code is sloppy, and spam filters hate it.)

Inbox Inspector

MailChimp has a spam filter checker (look for Inbox Inspector under your Campaigns tab) that'll tell you exactly what your email's spam score is, and what you need to change if you want to improve your chances with spam filters. Inbox Inspector is free and unlimited for paid, monthly customers.
For more information, visit mailchimp.com/features/inbox-inspector.