E-mail Tip: Avoid Spammy Subject: Fields

Based on this week’s legit e-mail that ended up in my Junk/Trash box, I thought it would be a good idea to offer you these Subject: field tips to help avoid looking spammy.

ISP and networks across the Internet have spam filters and flags that look for certain criteria in an e-mail to give it a “spam score”. Do a bunch of things that are typical of spam e-mails and you do risk your e-mails getting blocked or landing in the trash of the person you are trying to e-mail.

What is in your Subject: field can decide your e-mails perceived “spamminess”. Here are some easy Subject: field tips to keep in mind:

• What you put in the Subject: field alone could decide whether your e-mail gets opened. 35% of respondents cited the “Subject” line as the most important factor motivating them to open emails — or not. So be clear and choose your words carefully.
• Do not send an e-mail without noting a relevant Subject: that reflects the real content of your e-mail. Never send an e-mail with a blank Subject: field — that’s very spammy!
• Do not use the recipient’s name in the Subject line which is typical of spammers or automated e-mail programs.
• Use proper punctuation and capitalization in your Subject: field and refrain from using multiple !!! or ???.
• The Subject: field is for the Subject of the e-mail. Not an http: link or the entire message (with nothing in the real message box — that’s über spammy!).
• Refrain from using Help, Hi or Please Respond type comments. As a matter of fact refrain from doing anything you see the spammers doing!
• When replying, take the extra step to type REPLY: at the start of the Subject field for an extra hint of clarity and detail letting the recipient know you are replying to their specific inquiry.

After the Subject: field, the From: field is next. Make sure your name is properly formatted in your settings both in case and punctuation. John A. Doe is correct. Not JOHN A. DOE, john a doe or jdoe@isp.com — all of which can increase your spam perception.

The tips above just may help to make sure your e-mail is not incorrectly identified as spam and blocked or unrecognized by the recipient as an e-mail they are expecting. By taking the above into consideration you may just avoid your e-mail from being deleted before read.

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