Spam is no longer just an unidentifiable meat product in a can; it is also the term for that deluge of annoying junk email that clogs your inbox. And if you rely on Internet marketing tools to promote your products and services, you have probably realized the frustration of having your targeted emails not reaching your subscribers due to spam filters. It is a catch-22 in the online world: you seem to receive a never-ending barrage of spam emails in your inbox, yet the permission-based, legitimate publications you are sending to your contacts via email are filtered out. Where is the fairness in that?

Email spam filters and anti-spam filters are software programs that search for key words and phrases commonly used in spam emails. Some examples include click here, for free, great offer, guarantee, risk-free, special promotion, order now, winner, dear friend, and this is not spam. If your email is filtered through one of these software programs such as SpamAssassin and any of these key words or phrases are detected, the result could mean a negative “score” on the spam points system, and/or ultimately being blocked or blacklisted from the host. It causes one to wonder how many opt-in emails have not been received by the subscribers due to excessive filtering.

The good news is that there are ways to ensure that these filters will not prevent your emails from reaching your subscribers. The first and most obvious way is to avoid using the trigger words and phrases. You can also consider testing your outgoing emails by using free test services such as SpamCheck. You simply send your email to SpamCheck, and they will return a report of possible trigger words in your email that may alert the filters. Another way of ensuring that your emails are being received is to avoid JavaScript in your emails. Also, instead of displaying your email address on the web site, consider using a feedback form instead. If you are using an email campaign to send information to clients, you want to take certain steps so that your emails are being received and that your recipients are not going to be suspicious of any material that you are sending them. However, if your clients do not want to continue to receive emails from you, they can simply choose to unsubscribe to your emails using the unsubscribe link feature. This option guarantees that such information from you will no longer be received, and a confirmation message will be sent to the person or persons when they unsubscribe. Zoom Mailer ensures that no further campaigns will be sent after this action is taken. As far as your own mailbox is concerned, consider creating a special inbox just for spam emails. Sometimes known as bulk mail folders, they are generally provided by your email host (such as AOL or Yahoo!) and are effective at keeping your regular inbox from filling up with potentially useless and harmful junk emails. Any emails that are sent to your bulk mail folder should be considered as spam, though sometimes they are legit emails that simply contain those dreaded trigger words.

Unfortunately, spam is a recurring problem with the otherwise convenient and informative Internet. However, the Internet is still an ideal way to market your business and maintain contacts through quick communication. The aforementioned information should assist you in preventing your invaluable emails and online publications from being filtered out of your subscribers' inboxes and keep your good business name from being synonymous with spam