Five Reasons to Stop Worrying About Spam Mail Complaints

To decrease spam Email abuse reports, deliver your Emails to people who truly want to receive your message Remember the days when double opt-in mailing lists didn’t exist? It was easy to add subscribers to receive your online communications. Just type their name into a box within the program’s administrative area, and the job was done.

Now there are numerous complications to getting your message delivered. That’s why the article, How Marketers Can Prevent Spam Complaints, commanded my attention in DMNews‘ Essential Guide to Email Marketing.

Ben Chestnut of MailChimp.com explains in this article how marketers’ actions can send their Emails to spam folders, even if it’s legitimate, and ways to stop (or at least lessen) spam abuse reports.

Like you, I concentrate on increasing Web site traffic, and that also increases the number of subscribers to my online newsletters. That can also increase the number of people who report abuse rather than press the unsubscribe button. It’s happening to me more often, and I’m concerned to a point. Are you also in this position?

Here are five reasons to not let the problem overshadow your success.

1. You follow the rules. You’ve read and comply with your online communication program’s terms of service as well as instructions to include certain language at the top and bottom of your Emails to show its legitimacy.

2. You cannot control subscribers’ actions. Some of the unsubscribers will report you as a spammer, and you can do nothing about it. They’ll hit that button without care. As my Email list grows, so do the spam complaints.

3. You clean the mailing list at least once a month. Enlist your program’s search function to look for and delete unsubscribes and undeliverables on your list. I do this before mailing each communication.

4. You do not randomly add Email addresses found on business cards. Just because someone exchanges cards with you doesn’t mean they agree to be included on your list. I recently gave my card, which doesn’t include my Email address, to someone and he looked up and added my Email anyway. That’s a definite no-no.

5. You concentrate on the 99 percent of people on your list who genuinely want to receive your message. The few people who falsely complain are not the focus. Your mission is to continue delivering quality content and offers to interested subscribers.

Your marketing campaigns will yield more customers, and alas, more spam mail complaints. It comes with the territory.

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