Email Deliverability: Breaking through the Spam Filters
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Transcript of Email Deliverability: Breaking through the Spam Filters
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It’s Time to Get Smarter About SpamSalsa Labs, Inc.
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Today’s Agenda
• Why are we here?• How does spam software work?• An important reminder• Best practices• The most important thing you’ll ever
learn about spam
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Why are we here?
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According to the Radicati group, which studies such things, the world sends 247 billion emails
per day.
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That’s 2.8 million emails per second
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That’s 41 emails for every person on the planet…
and only 26% of the world has Internet access…
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• The worldwide volume of email would take us to and from the Moon more than a million times per day.
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And if that weren’t scary enoughWhat percentage of emails are
unwanted by recipients?
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97 percent. Seriously.
• A recent study by Microsoft found that 97 percent of email is unwanted by recipients.
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There’s just no way around it
Spam software rivals the alphabet, telephone, and television as the the greatest invention in the history of human communication.*• *(Don’t trust “New Media”. Twitter makes email experts cry.)
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But how does spam software work?
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First, it learns from you
• Every time you mark something spam, you’re teaching your mail server what words, phrases, and formats appear in spammy email.
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Second, it learns from everyone else.
• Spam blockers contain hundreds of rules about spam. These rules are the byproduct of 10+ years of identifying spammy messages.
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Finally, it assigns every email a score
• Every “spammy” element adds some number of points.
• Every non-spammy element scores zero or negative points.
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Spam blockers are like golf
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What scores points?
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Some are funny…
• Oprah!• Larger body parts!• CAPITAL letters!• !!!!!!!!!!!!!• Hey bro!
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Some are unexpected…• Dear (anything)• “You can be removed from this list.”• Mentions age > 20• Subject starts with “Do you”
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Some are downright unfair…
• Do you support gay rights?– We’re sorry, but you simply can’t use
the words “lesbian” or “lesbians.”
• Do you support policy reform?– Better not be “bank laws.”
• Do you like to raise money?– For your sake and ours, stop talking
about “millions of dollars.”
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Follow the Spam Assassin
Learn More at http://spamassassin.apache.org/tests_3_3_x.html
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Check Your Email’s Spamminess in Salsa
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BEFORE WE CONTINUE, A QUICK REMINDER…
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Write Well
• Be honest, clear, and direct.• Sound conversational.• Avoid gimmicks.• Be cognizant of word choice. Say
what you mean. Clichés in all writing should be avoided. Make them as rare as needles in haystacks.
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Format intelligently
• Don’t be cute with formatting, even if you can’t imagine anyone else in history using a format like yours.
• Don’t use weird spaces, all caps, odd characters, and the like.
• Never ever copy/paste from MS Word.
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Pick topics with thought
• Avoid email blasts that cover multiple spammy topics at once.– Opposition to Congressional regulation
of adult films whose actors are hooked on weight-loss pills, heroin and credit debt does not good email make.
• Make sure you’re blasting on topics your supporters want to read.
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Avoid common pitfalls
• Always use an unsubscribe link. Always double check it.
• Make sure your subject line makes sense and doesn’t contain spammy words or phrases
• Make sure your “From” address exists.
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Add an SPF record to your DNS
• If you control your DNS, or know who does, have them add a TXT record that looks like this:
v=spf1 a mx include:salsalabs.net ~all
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If you blast all the time…
• Pay extremely close attention to why people are leaving your emails. – Are they unsubscribing?– Are they declaring you spam?– Do their emails not exist?
• Check your replies, people who unsubscribe will often tell you precisely why.
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Soft and Hard Bounce
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Most Importantly…
DO NOT BUY LISTS!*
Opt-in Only*Note: this would be a spammy subject line
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Contact Us:Salsa Labs, Inc.1700 Connecticut Ave NWSuite 403Washington DC 20009202.558.2807