When embarking on the path of email marketing, with DEMs and newsletters, many questions arise. Key issues include accurately identifying the recipient list and choosing the appropriate sending platform to avoid overloading mailboxes. However, the most frequent doubt is probably another one: how to avoid ending up in spam? Yes, because the risk of being considered junk mail is always just around the corner. Did you know that just one too many capital letters or incorrect use of punctuation can jeopardize the delivery of your emails? Seeing one’s work ignored is every email marketer’s worst nightmare, but with a few precautions it is possible to limit or even avoid this phenomenon.
Practices for not getting into spam
To avoid getting into spam, there are some textual considerations to keep in mind. First, the subject line of the email, which is your ID card for getting an opening. Remember to avoid the use of capital letters and exclamation points, which could be interpreted by both mail servers and users as a potential unwanted message. It is also a good idea to be direct so that the recipient immediately understands what you are talking about.
Message formatting is also very important, as the presence of some “suspicious” words (especially in the subject line, but also in the content) can cause mail servers to consider it spam. Avoiding words like “can’t-miss offer,” “free,” “buy now,” or excessive use of symbols like “€€€” is a good habit to make your messages less “spammy.”
From a technical point of view, it is important to pay attention to the links included in your message. Make sure all links are working and point to secure pages.
DEM and newsletters: what are SPF, DKIM AND DMARC
In addition, authentication is a key step that should not be overlooked. From a technical point of view, consider SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, the presence of which positively affects the credibility of your emails.
SPF, which stands for“Sender Policy Framework,” allows mail servers to verify whether an incoming email actually comes from the stated host server and is not simply a copy created to send spam or phishing.
DKIM, which stands for“Domain Keys Identified Mail,” allows a domain to associate the name with the email through a digital signature that ensures the security and integrity of the message sent.
DMARC, the“Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting & Conformance” protocol, is the last check: it verifies that the DKIM signature is valid and that the data contained matches the domain and IP declared in the SPF record.
Anti-spam verification tools for DEM and newsletters
To make things easier even for beginners, there are some free tools that allow you to perform checks on the emails you send. One of these is Mail Tester, which performs both technical and message content checks.
To use it, simply send a test email to the temporary address generated by the site, refresh the page, and wait for the calculation of a score from 1 to 10 that indicates how “spammy” your emails are.
If you score between 8 and 10, you have a very good chance that your email will reach the recipient’s inbox without any problems, however consider the suggestions provided by Mail Tester to improve further. If you get scores between 6 and 7, you may face blocking by some stricter mail providers.
Finally, if you get scores of 0 to 5, it is likely that your emails are not being received by recipients, and Mail Tester will recommend that you revise the message content or technical settings of your newsletter.
But how does Mail Tester assign these rankings? As mentioned, the platform performs various checks. With each pass, Mail Tester lowers the score by a few decimal points if it finds something wrong within the subject line or message content, such as the presence of suspicious or broken links.
By using a tool like Mail Tester, you can improve the quality and delivery of your emails and avoid ending up in recipients’ junk mail.