Write E-mails that Get Opened, Pass the Filter Test
Marketing Tip, February, 2006
Did you know that 22 percent of nonspam e-mail doesn't get delivered?
That means two e-mails lost for every nine sent out. It's because the
spammers have killed e-mail both by burying the real stuff and by
causing most ISPs to filter the mail.
We've already talked about the From and Subject lines. The third key in
writing e-mails that get opened is to send e-mails that don't get caught
in spamcatcher filters--because if you want your post to be opened, it
has to be seen. If the filters grab it, your recipient may not ever have
the chance to see it.
In the above paragraph, I reworded two bits to avoid that trap. I said
"not ever" because the one-word version that begins with "n" and ends
with "ever" is one of the trigger words. So are the words you get if you
drop the first letter off "where" or "know.." And I did the word that
begins with "sp" and ends with "catcher" as one word, because the first
four letters would ring a filter bell.
And you may have wondered why you sometimes see spaces in the middle of
words in my newsletters--it's to avoid triggering these robots' appetite
for e-mail.
Learn to phrase things differently. Instead of the word that begins "fr"
and continues "ee," for instance, I might say "no-cost," "without
charge," etc. For me, writing to beat the filters has become automatic
(and given that I write about marketing and pro fit, it's a challenge).
I still run my stuff through a checker, and there will be a few items
that I miss, but even my first draft scores are pretty low.
Most filters will rank a piece of mail, and those above a certain score
will be blocked entirely or held for review before delivery. So,
typically, you can have a few of the filter hooks but not too many.
In addition to word traps, some filters are set for format traps.
Fortunately, those are easy to avoid--if you know what they are. This
isn't a complete list, but it'll get you started:
* Html formats (see next month for a full explanation)
* Strings of all-capital letters (this is why I am violating grammar and
not capitalizing every letter of Html)
* Multiple exclamation points and/or dollar signs
* Documents that are excessively long (yes, I'm guilty, I confess)
* Double-high priority flag
OK, so how do you know? Run it through at least one of these:
http://www.ezinecheck.com/check.html (this is the one I use most often,
because it's extremely easy to use and tells you the results right
away--but it flags fewer words than some others)
http://spamcheck.sitesell.com/ (follow the instructions *exactly*--and
you'll get a report by e-mail within a few hours)
http://www.lyris.com/resources/contentchecker/ (another one that e-mails
the report)
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