Mailing Campaigns & Staying off Spam Lists

Nobody likes a spammer. Companies aggressively fight spam and if you're not careful, you can end up on a spam list. Here are some tips for staying out of the spam box.

If you don’t have rDNS, DKIM and SPF records properly configured, a lot of email service providers will block your email. So that is step one. Here are some resources on configuring those:

• rDNS
• Intro to DKIM
• Intro to SPF

Beyond standard email server configurations like DKIM and SPF, there are some best practices you should following when conducting mailing campaigns.

Don’t Spam People

This might seem obvious, but not everyone has a great understanding of what defines spam.

Spam is defined as unsolicited email sent in bulk. To make sure you don’t end up in the spam category, never use a purchased email list. Always use an opt-in process to gather emails—not an opt-out process. Ideally, you’ll want to use a double opt-in. Here’s some more info on different types of opt-ins.

Make Sure You’re Compliant with CAN-SPAM

CAN-SPAM is legislation that was passed in 2003 to protect consumers from unsolicited bulk mail. Here are some ways to make sure you’re compliant with CAN-SPAM:

1. Clearly identify your business in the header of your email
2. Use an accurate subject line
3. State the correspondence is an ad somewhere in the email
4. State your physical address somewhere in the email
5. Include a working unsubscribe link
6. Update your mailing list frequently (CAN-SPAM requires email addresses who have unsubscribed to be removed within 10 days)

Using a Marketing Company for Emails

If you use a 3rd party marketing company for your email campaigns, their email practices are ultimately your responsibility. That means you'll need to verify they are following all the best practices listed above.

Still Having Problems?

If you’re still having problems, you may want to check to see if your IP address is on a block list.