You are writing the best content in the world, but no one sees it because your emails end up in spam.

How can you stop that?

I know this topic is super boring but very important. I will try to keep it as simple as possible.

1. Make sure you have your subscriber’s permission

This seems obvious but many times I hear people say that they use the email addresses from business cards, add their network unknowingly to their email list or even worse pay for an email list.

If you are lucky, no one will ever complain, and you won’t get a large fine for breaching the Spam Act law.

However, if you send emails to people who don’t want to receive your emails, they are likely to unsubscribe. If the number of unsubscriber’s to your emails is very large, this will be noted, and your emails are likely to be categorised as Spam.

Tip: Include a permission tick box to your sign-up forms on your website.

2. Double Opt-in

Let’s go a bit deeper into this.

If you want to be super professional and be completely sure that your subscribers are keen on receiving your emails, you can ask them to double opt in.

What is a double opt-in?

Double opt-ins mean that the subscriber signs up via your website for example and once he’s done that, he will receive an email that asks for his permission to be emailed.

How do you do this?

Mailchimp for example makes this super easy with their sign-up forms. Read more here.

Note: If the subscriber does not take action on that email, he will not be subscribed.

3. Subject line

Your subject line is obviously key to a successful campaign and as much you need to make this subject line interesting there are certain words you should avoid.

If you do use those words, chances are high that your email will end up in spam.

Here is a list of words to avoid.

4. Footer

If you are with Mailchimp, you have no worries. A footer with all the Spam compliant information is automatically included with your email.

What is the essential information in a footer?

• An unsubscribe link
• A physical address

5. Clean your list

Every six months you should go through your subscriber list and see who has been inactive and send them an email to check with them if they would still like to receive emails from you.

I have received these emails a few times and they always caught my attention and I become more active with emails from the sender.

Why should you do this?

It’s another spam trigger. If your campaigns get good engagement, it’s less likely that they are spam.