You’ve been waiting on a customer order that you could really use but haven’t heard any response to your invoice yet. You finally contact the customer to follow up, and they say they never received your email.
Turns out it went to a junk folder causing you to have to spend more time trying to get the mail through, and in the meantime, your accounting department is still waiting for that payment.
This is a common scenario in companies in Wisconsin and around the world. The unfortunate volume of spam and phishing has caused companies to use more stringent business email policies. These policies can often block completely legitimate mail.
It might surprise you to know that the percentage of spam as overall email volume has actually declined from 65.7% in 2014 to 45.1% in 2021. Spam filters are a big reason.
When your company emails are blocked it can delay your business transactions, causing you to miss out on closing deals. I can also cause unnecessary time spent trying to get messages through.
Knowing some best practices for your email activities can help you avoid the frustration and costs of having your company emails sent to junk folders.
Tips for Getting Your Company Emails Delivered
Check the Reputation of Your Email Server
The first thing you should do is ensure that a bad IP address reputation isn’t to blame for your emails being rejected. Sometimes if you sign up for a new website and mail server that has been recycled, you can inherit an IP address that’s been blacklisted.
Here are some instructions on how to check your server’s IP address reputation.
If your IP address is seen as unsafe due to past spamming by mail services, it’s often a detailed process of contacting each one to get it cleared up.
Avoid Using Spam Trigger Words in Your Subject Line
There are lists of hundreds of spam trigger words that mail filters use to identify a potential spam or phishing email. Many of these are so common that they’re easy to accidentally use in your email subject line.
Knowing what the most common spam trigger words are can help you avoid them in marketing and other customer emails.
Here are several of the most common words to avoid:
- #1
- 100%
- Amazed
- Cheap
- Clearance
- Discount
- Money
- Offer
- Order Now
- Risk-free
- Limited
- Lowest price
- Quote
Don’t Add Too Many Hyperlinks
Another thing that can get your message rejected by mail filters is if it has too many hyperlinks in the body of the email. Try to keep it to just 1 or 2 at the maximum.
If your company signatures have several social media links in them, you might want to rethink that and instead just list the @handle without adding the hyperlink.
Use Email Authentication on Your Mail Server
Email authentication is becoming more of a business standard due to stronger mail filters and the tactic phishing attackers use of email spoofing. This is when they add a legitimate company’s name as the sender to trick people into thinking the email is real.
Email authentication involves adding a few protocols to your mail server that verify:
- The email is coming from an IP address approved to send mail for that domain
- The email hasn’t been altered in transit
These protocols can help ensure your emails aren’t sent to spam as well as provide protection against having your domain spoofed.
Keep Image File Sizes Small
When you’re using a lot of images in a marketing email, it’s easy for the file size to get large. Most companies have limits on the message size they’ll accept, so having too many large images can mean your marketing emails are rejected.
Make sure to optimize all email images to keep file sizes as small as possible.
Avoid Using All Caps
Another spam trigger is if you use all caps in your message or subject line. This is a tactic often used by spammers to get their messages seen, which means that spam filters look for that.
Send a File Sharing Link Instead of an Attachment
File attachments have become a major risk area of company email and many mail filters are specifically designed to look at these with increased scrutiny. This means that if you send a file attachment it can be more likely for the message to be classified as spam and not delivered.
Use file sharing links to send files rather than attaching the file to the email.
Get Efficient & Affordable Business Email Solutions
Business email is one of the most important applications your company uses. Make sure yours is optimized. Quantum PC Services can help your Sturgeon Bay area business with effective and affordable email solutions.
Contact us today to learn more! Call 920-256-1214 or reach us online.
