Putting together an effective enewsletter or marketing message takes knowledge, skill, and time, so you want to be sure that the messages you and your team put together reach their intended destinations. But how do you maximize deliverability? The best steps you can take towards this end are to: 

1. Make sure that users and spam filters won’t peg your messages as unsolicited commercial emails (UCEs or spam)
2. Ask your subscribers, and in some cases, their ISPs, to “whitelist” you
3. Keep clean mailing lists: unsubscribe or remove addresses that turn up hard bounces after the third hard bounce

Aspects of spam filtering and mailing list maintenance have been addressed in other papers that we have put out, as noted below. Much of the information on whitelisting is brand new in this publication. In this paper, we have done what we can to gather all of the relevant information about deliverability into one place without repeating too much. If you find that you need more of a refresher on any of the prior topics, please refer to the other papers cited.

AVOIDING SPAM PITFALLS

One of the best ways to make sure that your messages get to your subscribers is to make sure that your subscribers don’t label them as spam. That’s accomplished through:

• Making sure that you have explicit permission to send to the people on your lists
• Increasing message relevance through customization and personalization
• Reminding users, at least in your preliminary messages to them, when and where they subscribed for your mailing list
• NOT sending so frequently that you annoy readers
• NOT sending so infrequently that readers forget having signed up for your mailings

These suggestions are addressed in greater detail in our various papers on spam filters, frequency, and  personalization.

Another way to avoid having your messages get junked before they are read involves avoiding spam filters, which match certain characteristics of your emails against known features of unsolicited commercial emails. Here’s how to keep the spam filters away:

• Keep filter-triggering words and phrases out of your messages and subject lines
• Include a working unsubscribe link in your messages
• Include your organization’s physical address, phone number, and other relevant contact information, too
• Comply with all anti-spam legislation
• Maintain strong HTML coding, and use ONLY HTML, no script languages
• Create a privacy policy that clearly and accurately reflects how your organization gathers and uses information, and link to it from your messages

The aforementioned tips also feature prominently in the paper on spam filtering. 

WHITELISTING

In some cases, getting whitelisted is fairly simple. Other email programs require that users take more steps. If you would like to instruct your readers as to how to whitelist you in some of the most common email applications, here’s what to tell them, by program or filtering type:

AOL Version 9.0 or Higher

• Click on Mail Center
• Under Mail Preferences click Customize your e-mail, then Next
• Under Essentials click on Spam Controls, then Next
• On the right panel, check Mail filtered by AOL's Advanced Spam Filter 
• Underneath, uncheck Mail with clickable Hyperlinks (URLS) and Mail containing words and phrases on my Custom Word List.
• On the left panel, make sure that Block mail containing pictures or files is not checked.
• On the left panel select either:
  1. Option 1: “Allow mail from all senders” (allows ALL email) or
  2. Option 2: “Use a Custom Sender list” (allows selective email)

(Note: other options are too selective to allow many of the messages your readers will want)

If readers select Option 1: “Allow mail from all senders,” whitelisting is complete.
If readers select Option 2: “Use a Custom Sender list,” ask them to follow these instructions to add email from you:

• Click on the blue link: Custom Sender List
• Select the second option Allow only the domains and senders listed below
  • In the space provided, enter [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com] and click Add
  • Click Save (on the Custom Sender List screen)
• Click Save to Apply these Mail Controls (on the Mail and Spam Controls screen)
• Close any remaining open windows

AOL version 7.0, or 8.0

• Click on the Mail Menu in the Menu Bar
• Click on Mail Controls
• Click on Next
• Select Customize Mail Controls for this Screen Name, and click Next
• Select Option 1 or 2 below:
  1. Option 1: Select “Allow e-mail from all AOL members, e-mail addresses, and domains.” (allows ALL email) or
  2. Option 2: Select “Allow e-mail from all AOL members, and from the listed domains and e-mail addresses. Block e-mail from all others.” (allows selective e-mail)

If readers select Option 1: “Allow mail from all senders,” whitelisting is complete.
If readers select Option 2: “Use a Custom Sender list,” ask them to follow these instructions to add email from you:

• In the space provided, enter [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com] and Click Add
• Click Next
• Select Allow this Screen Name to send and receive mail with pictures and files.
• Click Save to Apply these Mail Controls.

Yahoo!

• Open your Yahoo mailbox
• Click Options
• Click Filters
• Click Add Filter
• In the filter name box, type [your company name]
• In the top row, labeled From header, make sure contains is selected in the pull-down menu.
• Click in the text box next to that pull-down menu and type [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com]
• At the bottom, where it says Move the message to: select Inbox from the pull-down menu
• Click the Add Filter button again.
  
  

Hotmail

• Click the Options link
• Click on the Mail link
• Click on Junk E-Mail Protection
• Click on Junk E-Mail Filter
• From the selection list, choose Enhanced, then click OK
• Click on Safe List
• In the space Type an address or domain:, enter ez-llc.com
• Click the Add button.
  
  

McAfee spamkiller for Outlook

• Click the Friends tab
• Click Email Address or Domains tabs as indicated below to add us to your list
• Click Email Address tab
• Click the Down Arrow to view your Personal Friends List
• Choose Add A Friend (right side)
• In the Address box, enter: [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com]. Your readers will need to name the link… they can refer to it by your company name. Then they will need to select Single e-mail address as the type and click Add.
• Click on the Domains tab.
• In the Address box, enter ez-llc.com, and name it [your company name]. Choose all users at domain as the type, and Click Add
• Click Save
  
  

EarthLink

Using TotalAccess Mailbox (Windows):

•  
  • Open TotalAccess and choose the Mailbox
  • Click on the Address Button.
  • From the File Menu, choose New Company (Domain)
  • In the space provided, enter  [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com] and Click Add
  • Click OK
  • From the File Menu choose New Contact
  • In the space provided, enter [your company name] as the name and [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com] as the email address:  then click Add
  • Click OK to add our contact name information

Ask your readers to also make sure that you are not in their Blocked Sender List!

•  
  • Click the Protection button in the TotalAccess Task Panel, select spamBlocker, and choose Settings
  • Click the Edit Blocked Sender List button
  • Look through the list and click on [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com] if it appears there
  • Click the Unblock Sender button to unblock this address
  • Click the Apply Changes button.

Using Web Mail (Macintosh or Windows Online):

• • Sign in to Web Mail
  • Click Address Book
  • Click the All Categories pull-down menu and choose Companies (Domains)
  • Click the Add button
  • In the space provided, enter [your company name]
  • Click Allow This Company (Domain) button
  • Click the All Categories pull-down menu and choose Contact.
  • Click the Add button.
  • In the space provided, enter [your company name] as the name and [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com] as the email address:  then click Add
  • Click Save Button

Ask your readers to also make sure that you are not in their Blocked Sender List

• • Click the spamBlocker in the left menu pane, below your Inbox and other mail folders.
  • In the list of tabs along the top part of the screen,click on Settings
  • Click on Blocked Sender List (in the lower right part of the screen)
  • Look through the list and click on [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com] if it appears there
  • Click the Unblock Sender button to unblock this address
  • Click Save Button (lower right part of screen)

MSN

• Click Help & Settings
• Click Email Settings
• Click on Safe List
• In the space provided Add an item to this list, enter ez-llc.com
• Click  the Add button
• In the space Type a single e-mail address (or domain):, enter  [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com]
• Click Add

NetZero

• Log in to your NetZero Web Mail account.
• Click on Options (along the second row down, next to Address Book).
• Click on Safe List (in far right column, the third option down under Filtering).
• In the space provided, Add Address to Safe List, enter  [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com], then click Add
• Click the Save button (bottom right of screen) to Apply these Mail Options.

Norton AntiSpam with Outlook and Others

• Start up Norton AntiSpam, Click the Status & Settings tab
• Click AntiSpam (middle of the screen).
• Click Yellow Configure Button (bottom right of screen).
• Click Allowed List tab (the 2nd Tab on the list of tabs).
• Click  the Add button (lower left).
• In the Email Address box, enter  [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com]  (Use [your company name] in the Name field)
• Click OK (bottom of screen).
  

We don’t advise that you send all of these whitelisting instructions to your subscribers in an email, but you may want to construct a web page that includes tagged links to each set of instructions, and make it available from your signup page. Don’t forget to swap your ez-newsletter From address wherever it says [yourFromaddress@ez-llc.com] in the instructions, and place your company or organization’s name wherever the instructions say [your company name].

Note, too, that some internet service providers (ISPs) maintain whitelists. Many respond to requests from legitimate companies to be added to their whitelists, but be aware that they may charge you if they receive a spam complaint against you, and too many complaints will result in blacklisting. Refer back to the section on spam pitfalls and to the section below for more about how to stay on an ISP’s good side.

MAINTAINING CLEAN LISTS

Repeatedly sending to addresses that reject your messages, or sending to addresses that have unsubscribed from your list, could give your company a bad reputation with the Internet Service Provider that hosts those addresses. Since ez.newsletter automatically unsubscribes anyone who uses the unsubscribe link you place in your outgoing marketing messages, you need not worry about those. But you do need to pay attention to hard bounces, and remove them from your list after three bounced attempts in a row.

Bounces can be monitored from your newsletter report pages. To see a report on any newsletter, just click report management on the main page of your account, then report.newsletters, then click on the mailing you wish to see a report on. You can click on the View Details links below any spam or hard failures to see who isn’t receiving your communications. Compare these to reports from prior messages and unsubscribe any addresses that have three failures in a row.

If you notice that the bulk of your bounced messages are coming from one Web domain (i.e. bobsuniversity.edu or sillymonkey.com), or if it seems that no one at a given domain is getting your messages, that probably means that the internet service provider for that domain is blocking you. You may want to try to contact the email administrators at that domain and request that they whitelist you. But be diplomatic: it’s an email administrator’s job to make sure that your company is legitimate before whitelisting you, so it’s also that person’s job to ask questions. Be prepared to discuss how you gather addresses for your mailing list, maybe even have specifics on how and when some of their users signed up. And of course, be ready to tell them about the kinds of goods and services your company provides, and anything else that may support your case, such as membership in the Better Business Bureau.

Follow these guidelines, respect subscribers’ wishes, and respect ISPs, and you will maximize deliverability of the email messages that you and your team work so hard to create.

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