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Is Your Ezine Being Zapped?  by: Michael Southon About a year ago I wrote an article titled 'Winning The War On Sp^m'. Unfortunately, the war on sp^m is not being won at all. In fact, the problem is now so serious that sp^am is shaping up to be the greatest threat to online marketing. The threat comes not from sp^mmers themselves, but from the filters that are being used to block them. These filters are hitting hard at the very core of ecommerce - Ezine Publishing. Anti-sp^m filters operate at two levels: (i) client-side programs that reside on individual computers and (ii) server-side programs that ISPs are using to block incoming sp^m. The problem is that the filters are now so sensitive they are blocking even the most innocent of Newsletters. For example, if your Newsletter contains the words 'remove', 'unsubscribe' or 'click here' it will trigger anti-sp^m filters in many of the programs that are now being used by ISPs. The result? Your Ezine is zapped, deleted - and a large percentage of your subscribers will think you have stopped publishing your Newsletter. What can you do about it? Here are some tips to avoid sp^m filters: Post your Newsletter online and then email your subscribers to tell them that the latest issue is now available online. In your Newsletter carefully avoid (both in the subject line and the body text) all words that are likely to trigger anti-sp^m filters. Use the free service listed at the end of this article - it will flag any words in your Newsletter that trigger anti-sp^m filters. Instead of saying 'to unsubscribe' (which is a phrase commonly found in sp^m), say 'If you no longer wish to receive...' or 'If you wish to leave this mailing list...' or 'To take yourself off this list...' If there are trigger words that you simply cannot avoid, you can disguise them using carets (^) or other symbols. The 'F' word would become fr^e and the 'U' word would become uns^bscribe. Include the word 'Newsletter' in the subject line of your email - this will help the filters identify your email as non-sp^m. Avoid whole words in upper case. In many Newsletters the headers are capitalized - this will trigger the filters. If your Newsletter contains ads, scrutinize them carefully - ezine ads, by definition, contain words frequently used by sp^mmers. Here is a fr^e service that will help you avoid sp^m filters. Before you mail out your Newsletter, just send a copy of it to the email address below with TEST in the subject line: mailto:spamcheck@sitesell.net Within a few seconds you'll receive a report that analyses your Newsletter and gives you a score (0 to 5=no problems 12-16=over the limit for most ISPs). If you write articles, it's worth submitting them to this test as well, together with your Resource Box (I just sent this article to Sp^mCheck and got a score of 4.6). Sp^mCheck is operated by Sp^mAssassin, a filter that is widely used by ISPs - so this is a good test of whether your Newsletter will get through to your subscribers. © 2002 by Michael Southon About The Author Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3 years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this simple technique to get massive free publicity and dramatically increase traffic and sales. To find out more, please visit: http://www.ezine-writer.com This Article may be freely published in its entirety exactly as it appears above. No alterations or changes to the Article are allowed, without the express permission of the Author. The Resource Box must remain with the Article just as it appears. This article was posted on December 10, 2002 Read More Articles from the "Marketing" Category: Sell Feelings Not Facts by Alan Fairweather The Seven Traits Needed To Become A Leader In Network Marketing by Terry Stewart Do FFA Leads Work? by Matthew Meyer Commit A Revolutionary Act by Kim Klaver Newspaper Advertising by Anurag Batra Why Most People Are Afraid To Use An Outside Source by Aubrey Richardson How To Build Profitable Mini Sites To Sell eBooks, Software or Physical Goods by Jean Lam Marketing Tips- Who Are You Competing With? by Sue and Chuck DeFiore Top 10 Marketing Pitfalls by Stuart Reid Seven Ways To Put Show Biz Into Your Tradeshow by Susan Freidmann << Back to "Marketing" Index

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