by Edie Melson @EdieMelson
Things That Can Get Your
Email has become one of our society’s means of
communication. We use it for business interactions of course. But it’s also
replaced many of the things we used to send by the US Postal Service. Because
of this, it’s imperative that we do everything possible to make sure our
correspondence reaches its intended destination.
That goal leads me to mention one of the frustrations of
this medium—the seemingly arbitrary designation of spam for our missives. This
label takes our email from someone’s inbox, to the bottomless pit known as the
SPAM FOLDER. Because of this, it’s imperative that we do everything possible to
make sure our correspondence reaches its intended destination.
Truthfully, the designation of spam isn’t nearly as
arbitrary as it may seem. Spam filters utilize complex algorithms similar to
search engines that help protect email users. Today, I’m going to share some of
the things that take an innocent email from the inbox to the spam folder.
Email Labeled SPAM
1. THE USE OF ALL CAPS IN THE SUBJECT LINE. Irritating,
isn’t it? It’s also a common ploy of real spammers. Their goal is to catch your
attention and this is one way they do it.
2. The use of exclamation points in the subject line. Again,
an attention getting ploy that will also relegate your innocent email to the
spam folder.
3. The use of emoticons and videos in the body of your
email. Don’t make your signature line cute with extra images, this will
consistently get your email shunted to the spam folder.
4. Attached images within your signature line. If you want to
include a headshot or cover image of your book, be sure to imbed the image.
5. Composing your email (or a portion of it) in Microsoft
Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. This will add formatting that will often be
caught and labeled spam by email providers.
6. The use of words that are generally designated as Spammy, especially in the subject line,
but also in the body of your email. Words to watch out for include, but aren’t
limited to: Free, Guaranteed, Buy, Promo, etc.
7. Sending the email from a Yahoo.com or Hotmail.com email
address. I know for a fact that several publishers do not accept submissions
from either account. If you don’t have an email associated with your website,
stick with a gmail account. Although it’s not a perfect solution, it’s much
more widely accepted.
Avoiding these things won’t always guarantee your email ends
up at the right place, but it will greatly increase your success. Now it’s your
turn, what email questions do you have?
Don’t forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie
TWEETABLES
Wow, great tips, Edie! I was shocked recently when I checked my spam folder and found several very important emails in there. It made me wonder how often my legitimate emails end up in others' spam folders. Now I know how to decrease the chances. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteVonda, I've had to make checking my spam folder a daily occurrence. I was surprised and glad to learn there were things I could do to help keep my emails out of there. Thanks for stopping by, Blessings, E
DeleteI haven't done this, but it seems it would be good to compose an e-mail in Word,and edit it easily, like you do for a blog post. Why doesn't this work?
ReplyDeleteWhat does it mean to imbed an image such as a headshot? Why would one do that in the first place?
Ellen, when you compose something in Word, there are certain formatting defaults that get copied over into your email. Your email program isn't a word processing program and some of those formatting things can trigger a spam filter. I'm not saying don't ever do it, but be aware that it does raise the risk of email getting shunted to the spam folder.
DeleteAs far as imbedding an image, that means putting it in HTML language instead of attaching it as a file. Look for a future post on how and why to imbed an image into your signature line. I hope this helps a little, Blessings, E
Just curious, when I compose an article in Word, put it in a file and email it to a publisher, is that similar or no? These are really good pointers, Edie. Thank you I really like my little emotio thingys, I guess I'll have to forgo using them. :..
ReplyDeleteDonevy, good clarifying question! When you attach a word.doc file to send to someone that doesn't up the chances of being labeled as spam. It's only when you copy and paste something from a word.doc into the body of the email that the hidden formatting can get you into trouble. Thanks for stopping by! Blessings, E
DeleteGood pointers, Edie. I need to tape this on my office wall. Wouldn't hurt to bring a copy of this to hand out at our SC Chapter of ACFW on June 28. Hugs, Elva Cobb Martin, President SC Chapter, ACFW.
ReplyDeleteElva, thank you! I will bring this to group this month. Blessings, E
DeleteThanks for your information. It helps to know the tips that you give. Again, I want to thank you for a special time at BRMCWC. It was the highlight of my year.
ReplyDeleteMarjorie, I'm glad this was helpful. Thanks for your kind words about Blue Ridge! Blessings, E
DeleteEmails are critical in researching for my history books and articles. When my Emails to my resources are mistakenly placed into SPAM folders, I run the risk of not meeting deadlines. Your blog is a blessing. I'm getting into your VLOG, too! THANKS!~Piper Peters Aheron
ReplyDeletePiper, Thank you! Blessings, E
DeleteEdie--I am curious why yahoo is not accepted by some publishers. Yes, I've heard the admonition to not use yahoo mail, but I have probably close to 18 years of mail in folders in yahoo. I opened a gmail account but can't bring myself (yet) to switch to it exclusively. Yes, I do have a webpage e-mail address--but it is forwarded to yahoo. If I respond to one of those e-mails, it "sends" from the webpage address, via yahoo. Is that permissible, or do I need to get with the times and go to gmail?
ReplyDeleteVie, a high percentage of email sent from yahoo.com is spam. That's the main reason. But also, yahoo has had a history of poor security measures making it likely that yahoo accounts can be hacked, increasing the likelihood of spam even more. I'm sure with all the changes yahoo is implementing they are trying to change this, but it's going to be awhile before it's a trusted service. Blessings, E
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