Clever Geek Handbook

How to start emails and not get into spam?





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Email marketing is an effective tool for interacting with the audience, if you work with it correctly. After all, it makes no sense if your letters immediately fly into the Spam folder. There are many reasons why they can get there. Today we will talk about preventive measures that will help to avoid this problem.



Introduction: how to get into the inbox



Not every letter falls into the Inbox. This is the result of the operation of mail system algorithms. In order for the algorithms to miss the letter in the Inbox, it must meet a number of requirements that it is advisable to familiarize yourself with before starting the first mailings:







Also, when starting email newsletters, special attention should be paid to:





Let's consider each item in more detail.



Technical settings and domain reputation



You need to send mailings on behalf of the company only from the corporate address - no free domains like companyname@mail.ru



. Therefore, be sure to set up a corporate domain and an email address on it. Mail.ru and Yandex , for example, provide the opportunity to place corporate mail on them for free.



An important role in launching mailings is played by the so-called domain reputation. If earlier spam was sent from him, then the mail services could blacklist him. Before starting mailing lists, make sure that your domain does not fall into them. For example, in the DashaMail service, such a check automatically occurs when you configure your sending domain. If it turns out that your domain is listed in one of the blacklists, you will see recommendations on how to get out of there.







You can also use services like Cisco Sender Score or Talos Intelligence to check your reputation.



An important point: mail system algorithms analyze not only the domain from which letters are sent, but also the link domains in the messages sent. If the letter contains links to sites from the black list, then with high probability the sender himself is a spammer. The consequences will be appropriate.



In addition to domain reputation, mail systems analyze domain security settings. In particular, the presence of customized records SPF, DKIM, DMARC. That's why they are needed:





After setting up your sending domain, be sure to set up the post offices of the main providers (postmasters) to track exactly where your letters go and what the recipients do with them.



Here is a list of the main postmasters:





After the technical settings are completed, you can proceed to work with the subscriber database.



Improving the quality of the subscriber base



Of course, buying address databases instead of legal collection using the double opt-in approach is the right way to problems, so you don’t need to do this. But problems can arise even if you legally collected subscribers, but it was a long time ago and you did not make mailings or there was a long break in working with this database.



Firstly, non-working addresses and spam traps could accumulate in such a database. It must be cleaned before starting mailing lists on it.



Manually clearing the subscriber database is difficult. But there are tools to solve this problem. For example, the validator built into DashaMail checks the subscriber database, removes invalid addresses, as well as addresses from which there is a high probability of complaints. Working with the database after cleaning with a validator reduces the likelihood of damage to your reputation and getting into Spam.



Secondly, subscribers could forget that they agreed to receive the newsletters and start actively complaining about spam. What this will lead to is understandable. Therefore, the first email campaign requires particularly careful preparation. In the first letter, it is appropriate to recall how the subscriber agreed to receive the newsletter, as well as give reasons why the newsletter is worthy of his attention in the future.



Work on content



Mail’s hit / miss in “Spam” is also affected by its content. For example, mail systems do not like an excessively large number of pictures in letters. At least 20% of your email should be text.



Also, spam filters react sharply to words that are often found in unwanted letters, for example, "earnings", "cryptocurrencies", and to write capsloc. You should not use full links in the text, they should be made in the form of text with a hyperlink. You should definitely not use shortened links and attach files to the letter (if you need to attach them, it's easier to give a download link).



As for the layout of email templates, you should not use JavaScript, Flash, ActiveX and external CSS styles. Nothing better than tabular layout in terms of spam filters have not yet been invented. It is also a good idea to send two versions of letters: HTML and plain-text.



To help email marketers, DashaMail offers the built-in StopSpam service - it automatically checks the content of the message and reports whether it will go to Spam in the Mail.ru and Rambler mail services.



It is also important to timely analyze user interactions with newsletters. If after each letter many people unsubscribe from messages, this is a sure sign that the subscription does not meet the expectations of the recipients. Need to change the content.



What else: "warming up" the domain



The three points described above are like three whales for a competent start of newsletters, but this is far from all that needs to be taken into account. When starting mailings, it is necessary to carry out the so-called domain warming up. Let's talk about this in more detail.



If you start mailing from a new domain or a domain exists for some time, but there have not been any letters from it for a long time, you need some preparatory work. It comes down to starting to send out letters gradually, increasing the volume of messages sent.



That is, at the very beginning the newsletter receives a limited segment of the most loyal subscribers. Step by step, the volume of sending can be increased, but smoothly, avoiding jumps in activity. Every day, message traffic can be increased by no more than two times (preferably less): 500 letters were sent on the first day, 1000 can be sent on the next, then 2000, 3000, 5000, and so on.



An important point: the degree of “warm-up” of the domain must be maintained. Mail systems do not like sharp spikes in activity, so it is worth observing the regularity of mailings.



Conclusion



In conclusion, we summarize the main points that will help you get started with mailing lists and not get into Spam on the move:





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