Spam-Proof Your Email

Spam-Proof Your Email

Most of us have experienced a huge increase in the amount of unsolicited commercial email (UCE) we receive, and many of us have turned to software and other services to help us manage the flood reaching our in boxes. These programs are useful, but imperfect. They rely on rules that result in some spam getting through and legitimate emails being identified as spam.

If you rely on email to keep in contact with your clients, you may find that your emails aren't reaching them because of spam filters. When I started using a filtering program, I was amazed at some of the criteria used to identify possible spam.

Here are a few things to watch out for when sending email:

Don't use an email address that begins with a number or has many numbers in it.

Don't use a series of asterisks to set off text.

Don't use "Click here" to identify links.

Don't use a subject that is all in uppercase letters or a blank subject line.

Be careful about using free distribution services, such as Yahoo Groups. They attach ads to your messages which may include phrases the filters will catch. One mailing list I am on uses Yahoo Groups and messages are often filtered to the spam file because of the ads included in the messages.

Even seemingly innocent phrases can cause email to be identified as spam. Words and phrases that may identify your message as possible spam include 'free quote,' and 'to remove.'

Get familiar with the rules used by spam filters, and make sure you are not inadvertently doing something that will cause your email to be falsely labeled spam.

As the IdeaLady, Cathy Stucker helps entrepreneurs, professionals, authors and publishers attract customers and make themselves famous. For a free weekly tip, subscribe to Bright Ideas! at http://www.IdeaLady.com/.

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