Are you a Spammer?

Spam uses up bandwidth. It clogs mail boxes. And people don't want to receive it. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have become aggressive in filtering emails.

As a professional business person marketing online, it's a given that you don't Spam your customers. But, are you wondering why your emails get filtered out, since you are sending them to a legitimate opt-in list? You may have even ended up on a blacklist through no fault of your own, even though you were attempting to follow the rules for responsible email marketing.

The problem could be Spam filters. With the increase in Spam has come ever more powerful spam filters that try to guard against unsolicited emails. These email "watch dogs" are used by most ISP's as well as their customers. While this software does block out Spam, it can also block legitimate emails as well.

Understanding how Spam filters work can help prevent non-delivery problems and keep you from being labeled a 'spammer' unfairly.

Increasingly Sophisticated Filters Mean Less Emails Get Through

Many ISPs can automatically block emails that come from certain addresses (those on a "blacklist" of known spammers), and they will also filter out emails that contain certain trigger zwords in the subject line that have been frequently linked to Spam messages.

Even if your email gets past your customer's ISP, it may also have to get past the spam filter on your customer's email box. With increasingly sophisticated email programs, people can tell their mailboxes to automatically delete messages that have trigger words in the subject lines, or that come from the "wrong addresses".

How Spam filters work

Normally, email filters examine the words in the email "subject line". This is the header that you see when an email shows up in your email box. A good subject line can encourage people to actually click on and open an email (more on this in lesson seven), but you need to exercise care when creating your subject headings to prevent filtering.

More sophisticated anti-spam methods used by ISPs use a "point system" that identifies trigger phrases commonly used by Spam. If an email goes over the "points" it is filtered out and is never delivered to a customer.

Some of the more commonly used phrases that ISPs and mail clients filter out include:

Free!

50% off!

Click Here

Call now!

Subscribe

Earn $

Discount!

Eliminate Debt

Double your income

You're a Winner!

Reverses Aging

"Hidden"

Information you requested

"Stop" or "Stops"

Lose Weight

Multi level Marketing

Million Dollars

Opportunity

Compare

Removes

Collect

Amazing

Cash Bonus

Promise You

Credit

Loans

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Serious Cash

Search Engine Listings

The following problematic phrases can trigger some spam filters, or start adding "Spam points" to emails sent out, and should be avoided. These include:

Act Now!

All New

All Natural

Avoid Bankruptcy

As Seen On…

Buy Direct

Casino

Cash

Consolidate Your Debt

Special Promotion

Easy Terms

Get Paid

Guarantee, Guaranteed

Great offer

Give it away, Giving it away

Join millions

Meet Singles

MLM

No cost, No fees

Offer

One time

Online pharmacy

Online marketing

Order Now

Please Read

Don't Delete

Save up to

Time limited

Unsecured debt or credit

Vacation

Viagra

Visit our web site

While Supplies last

Why pay more?

Winner

Work at home

You've been selected

Using quotation marks, dollar signs and exclamation points in subject lines will frequently trigger mail filters, as well as using all capital letters (shouting). You should also never put a toll-free number in the subject line, since that will also cause your email to be labeled Spam. And never use a large font size.

The above lists aren't meant to be comprehensive, and only identify some of the more common words and phrases that trigger Spam filters. How to check? Send an email to yourself and some select friends with Spam filters first, before sending it out to your customers, and see if it makes it through. Or, go out and buy one of the better software programs that will highlight words that could be identified as Spam. If you depend on email marketing to bring traffic to your web site, it is well worth the investment.

Getting off of Blacklists

Even the most legitimate mailings may cause some customers to cry "Spam". They may forget signing up for your newsletter, or have selective memory about signing up to receive email
promotions in return for downloading that great free software at your web site.

In these cases, it can help to keep careful records of your opt-ins. If you get blacklisted by an ISP (or even yours, if you are accused of spamming!), show them your records: “on January 15, 2002, a customer using the email address memyselfandI@anyISP.com signed up for my newsletter from the IP address (give IP address)”. This lets the ISP know that you are responsible, and that someone from that ISP DID sign up to receive emails from you. In most cases, the "blacklisting" will be dropped.

By paying careful attention to subject lines and avoiding typical spam words and phrases that trigger email spam filters, your emails have a better chance of reaching your customers.

Again, having your own autoresponder on your own domain is the best way to stay clean of spam problems and blacklisted ISPs. See Parabots for our recommendation. These guys will even set it up on your domain for you in short order. See webhost for our recommended webhost. Most for less and super responsive and reliable!

Fred Raley
Fred@ABC-Success.Biz
Woodbridge, VA
(703) 730 1079

Are Your Emails LEGAL?

They better be!

Congress has taken an interest in making sure that email marketers CAN send legitimate emails IF they follow the rules.

What are the rules? They are outlined in the “Can Spam” act (funny name for anti-spam legislation, isn’t it?) which can be (and should be) reviewed in numerous places on the net such as http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.shtml

I do suggest you read and understand the entire thing if you are planning to market using email.

Here are some highlights that are most often abused and will get you shutdown, banned and or prosecuted.

Falsify Headers
What does this mean? It means if you put fake info in your email header to make it look like it came from somewhere or someone that it DID NOT come from, that is falsifying headers. If you know what this means, don’t do it. If you don’t know what this means, you probably can’t do it anyway.

Opt-Out instructions
Marketing emails must contain instructions on how to STOP getting your emails. This is known as “Opt-ing Out”. It is usually via a weblink at the end of the email, or instructions to send an email to a specific address (i.e. ‘To stop receiving our messages, send an email to OptOut@MyISP.com (don’t send to that address… it’s fake.)

Inclusion of a valid physical postal address
The “Can Spam” law (I just love that name) says you HAVE to put a valid physical postal address in your marketing email to make it legit. Pretty clear isn’t it?
In general, if a person sends a “remove” request to opt out, you have up to 10 days to do so. NEVER wait that long. Do it immediately or program your weblink in your email to do it immediately.

Again, read the text of the law at http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.shtml to get the full info.

Basically, exhibit good etiquette, be honest, and follow the rules the rules and you will be fine. I send out thousands of emails a month from my personal autoresponder and have not received a spam complaint ever.

Again, having your own autoresponder on your own domain is the best way to stay clean of spam problems and blacklisted ISPs. See Parabots for our recommendation. These guys will even set it up on your domain for you in short order. See webhost for our recommended webhost. Most for less and super responsive and reliable!

Fred Raley
Fred@ABC-Success.Biz
Woodbridge, VA
(703) 730 1079

Be Less Annoying

Tips for writing e-mail that actually gets read.
Steve Bass - From MSN!

I've come to the conclusion that everyone needs to take a test before being able to use e-mail. No, I'm serious. You have to take an e-mail test. If you pass, you get an e-mail license. Proudly hang it on the wall. Screw up--send lots of messages with blank subject lines, say--and your license is pulled. You go on probation and attend mandatory remedial e-mail training.

Why am I being so hardnosed? I have a laundry list of ways people drive me wild with e-mail. I wrote about a few in "Get Relief From Annoying E-Mail," my July "Hassle-Free PC" column.
I ran out of room in the print column, so here are some more--and how to stop being obnoxious with your e-mail.

To Whom Am I Speaking?
Sometimes I have absolutely no idea who's sending me an e-mail, and this is a problem. I mean, I'll say something to another guy that I wouldn't dream of uttering to a lady my mother's age. [Sorry, Mom.]

Don't share
If you and your live-in (spouse, significant other, whatever) use the same e-mail address, stop it. Extra e-mail addresses are free and consolidating e-mails into one mailbox is confusing the dickens out of me because I never know who I'm writing to.

Use a sig line
Make life easier for me: Add a signature line with your name and e-mail address using the hot-linked mailto:steve_bass@pcworld.com format. It's easier to reply just to you if your e-mail was sent to many people; it's also great for when I forward your e-mail--the new recipient doesn't have to cut and paste your address.

Use your real name
Don't get me wrong, I love your beerbelly49832@yourisp.com. The problem is, I haven't a clue who you are. Be a champ and add your real name in the signature line. And a favor? Don't use initials.

Do I Need to Read This Right Now?
Look, I'm a very busy man (or so I tell my wife and editor), and I get tons of e-mail every day. I need to do e-mail triage--you know, scanning the inbox for the hottest messages and reading them first. But honestly, I can't do this with most e-mail I get. So here's what I recommend:
The subject is…Tell me, clearly and briefly, what your message is about in the subject line. I delete all messages with vague subjects--Hi, Hello, or worse, an empty subject line (oh, do I hate that!). And make sure you don't trigger my spam filter by using all capital letters, exclamation points, and words you typically see in junk e-mail, like "free," "spam," "mortgage," or "Viagra."

Exec summary
Give me a one- or a two-sentence overview at the start of your e-mail. "I have a complicated issue," you might start out, "involving a Dell, memory cards, and SP2. If you have time to help, I've provided details below.'

Save time
Use [NM] or [EOM] (they stand for "no message" or "end of message") in the subject line as a shorthand way of responding with a simple "thank you" or an acknowledgement. This helps reduce the number of e-mails I need to open; many of the people at PC World use the trick and it's increased everyone's productivity.

Once I actually open an e-mail, I need to get the point quickly so I can reply to the sender if necessary, then move on to the next one. But lots of the missives I get are, how to say it?, a mess.

Use paragraphs
Obvious, right? Nope. I get e-mails with one long paragraph the length of the Gettysburg Address. Break it up into three or four smaller ones. By the way, my limit is three or four paragraphs; after that I start dozing. And send a test message to a buddy to make sure your e-mail program isn't removing paragraph returns.

By the numbers
If you have more than one question or point, number them. It makes replying a whole lot easier if I can refer to the numbers.

Subject shorthand
When you reply or forward an e-mail, it's helpful if you stick one or two descriptive words in front of the original subject so the recipient has an idea of what's in store. For instance, I use tags such as "Update," "Confirmation," or "Really Dumb."

Miscellaneous Gripes
Think I'm done kvetching? Nope, no such luck.

Attachment don'ts
Don't attach anything executable--period. If on the off chance I've asked you to send a program, stick it into a zipped file.

Keep it private
Don't reply to a mailing list with "great idea" or "I agree." Reply privately instead. Select a small part of the original message for context's sake.

Stay plain, Jane
Avoid fancy formatting, gaudy colors, and flowery backgrounds. Two reasons: first, what's cool on your monitor looks like hell on mine; and second, that extra coding increases the download time for folks with slower connections.

Dear [InsertName]
Private note to PR flacks: If you can't use mail merge properly, don't.

Again, thanks to Steve Bass from MSN for this great article!

Fred Raley
Fred@ABC-Success.Biz
Woodbridge, VA
(703) 730 1079

How Long Should your Marketing Emails be?

What is the optimum length of a successful marketing email?

As short as possible.

Get the reader to take action:

• Click a weblink
• Click an autoresponder link
• Read through and order
• Get a "free bonus" or something similar

Don't spend time in your email describing features, benefits or anything but a short message to get them to take an action.

See Parabots to find out how to automate your email marketing!

Fred Raley
Fred@ABC-Success.Biz
Woodbridge, VA
(703) 730 1079

Followup Or Die

How to Fix the Biggest Mistake in Marketing that Almost Everyone is Making

You Will Jump Ahead of the Crowd by 80% or More with This One Simple Change

It took me over three years to learn why I had been successful and also why I had been failing so bad in sales. It all boiled down to one thing: My ability and determination to follow-up with prospects and with new customers and associates after their initial introduction to my product line!

Why so long to do a "duh" you might ask? Very simple! My trainers and mentors did not know to follow-up either! This is part of the reason that salesmen have a very high failure rate. People do not understand marketing and thus the strategic importance of following up on prospects.

This statistic shows the importance of following up. This shows that the most sales by far are made from the 5th through the 12th contact!

2% of sales are made on the 1st contact
3% of sales are made on the 2nd contact
5% of sales are made on the 3rd contact
10% of sales are made on the 4th contact
80% of sales are made on the 5th-12th contact

Realizing that, don't you think it would be good to go out and learn how to be good at FOLLOW-UP correctly? 80% of all sales are made from the 5th through the 12th contact! Wow! Are you beginning to see why your closing rate is so low?

Here is another example of why repeated exposure is important. How many times a day do you see or hear about Coke or Pepsi? You would think those companies don't need to advertise; haven't we all made our decision on which soft drink to buy?

Actually NOT. Repeated exposure to soft drink ads increases your chance of buying one of those products. Coke and Pepsi would NOT advertise if that were not the case.

Coke and Pepsi understand the importance of FOLLOW-UP.

Gil Cargill, a former VP Sales from IBM who now is a sales management consultant provided the following statistics from the Sales & Marketing Management Institute that are interesting relative to how all buyers identify and pursue buying plans:

(1) 87% of all leads are never pursued
(2) 45% - 63% of the all leads eventually buy the product or service from someone
(3) 48% of all sales leads that are pursued are dropped after the first call/meeting
(4) 80% of all sales close after the fifth contact/meeting (see above)
(6) 73% of sales people do not have a growth plan for their top five accounts

His main point was that effective business development methods ensure we are "in front of the customer" when he/she make the sales decision. Tenacity and planning are more important than eloquence!

Fortunately for you, technology has solved 90% of your follow-up chores. Devices known as autoresponders send out message campaigns from one to dozens of messages spaced out at intervals you specify. Go to http://www.fredraley.com/ to get on my Success Path Marketing email list so you can see one at work.

You can also search out "autoresponders" on the net to look for one you can use to suit your purposes. I use Parabots for all of my needs. It is a bit advanced for many but if you are serious about marketing, you should get it. See Parabots for details. It is a steal with free installation.

Remember, if you are not following up between 5 to 12 times with your prospects, you are losing up to 80% of your potential sales.

That's a LOT OF MONEY for YOU to LOSE.

See a complete, integrated marketing system at
http://www.fredraley.com/Postcard.htm

(Ask me how even your Mom can put audio on her site to skyrocket her sales.)

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Fred Raley
Author, Trainer, Speaker and
Online Marketing Expert
Fred@ABC-Success.biz

(703) 730-1079
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How to Double Your Sales with Proper Follow

It is a documented fact that it takes anywhere from 5 to 12 exposures for someone to decide to buy. Over 80% of all sales are made after the 5th contact.

If you are willing to give up an extra 80% of your sales, then don't followup with your prospects.

If you would like to explode your sales, then followup with your prospects.

Key Characteristics of your Followup:

• Followup must be related to the initial information request.
• Followup must be consistent and persistent but not overbearing.
• Followup should be automated as much as possible to take the burden off of you.
• Followup by different methods can increase your closure rates.
• Followup with related products or services is ok.

Obviously, the followup you do should be related to what the prospect initially requested. Don't try to sell golf clubs to prospects asking about parenting topics! But, someone asking about parenting topics might be interested in a new detergent that always gets kids clothes clean better than anything else. Related products or services can be offered to your prospects but don't lose sight of what they originally asked about. Make sure you do plenty of followup on that topic without fail from 5 to 12 times at least.

I try to space my followups about 3 days apart. 1 or 2 days apart seems too overbearing and more than 3 might be too long between contacts. I've never had anyone complain about a 3 day interval in followup correspondence.

Automate your followup as much as possible. With email, it is easy by using a tool known as an Autoresponder. An autoresponder is an automatic email program that is triggered by sending an email or filling in a website form with an email address. The autoresponder sends back an email response to the email address from which the email to it came or to the one put into the form on a website.

Some autoresponders can send email attachments but I don't recommend doing this unless you are SURE that the person wants to get an attachment, CAN get an attachment (many email programs and virus checkers can and do block email attachments) and knows how to retrieve an attachment. Also, many email programs have a size limit on individual emails so if your attachment is too big, it again will not get through.

Autoresponders come in many sizes and shapes.

1. Your web host probably has a rudimentary capability to send an automated response. Many can send back one email but not multiple emails.
2. There are numerous free and fee-based autoresponders that you can find. A simple Google search will yield hundreds of choices. A free autoresponder might be something to consider to get your feet wet, so to speak, with autoresponders. The fee-based autoresponders tend to get black-listed by major internet service providers (ISPs) pretty quickly. This means your messages won't get to the recipients! So, although their features are good and the automation is well done, if your messages are not getting to your prospects, you are not getting what you are paying for!
3. Having your own autoresponder on your own domain is your best bet if you are serious about getting your message read. I use Parabot on my domain. They will set it up for you (for a small price) and is the most features I have found for the reasonable price. If you are going to use an autoresponder for more than a couple of months, Parabot is the answer. You can read more about autoresponders here.

Followup by different methods. This will really increase your sales closure rate. What can you do?

• Call the prospect. Introduce your self, your service/product and see what questions they have. Be ready to take the order and don't forget to ASK for it.
• Send a postcard, thank you card or a letter by mail. You can get a ton of information in front of your client by sending something through the mail. Just make sure it is personalized and not some piece of marketing material that will go in the trash before it gets looked at. Again, automation is the key to saving time and energy on your part. We use the SendOutCards service to automate that part of our followup with good success.
• Send a sample. Want to make sure your prospect likes your product? Send them a sample.
• Send them to a website with more information.
• Send them a fax with more information.
• Send them to an 800# info line for more information.

You can never have enough different kinds of followups. Each prospect responds to different stimuli so it is your job to give them many types!

Remember, followup at least 5 to 12 times with each prospect in as different many methods as you can to maximize your sales prospects.

Fred Raley
Woodbridge, VA
(703) 730 1079
Fred@ABC-Success.Biz

EMail Marketing - Extra Profits for Small Effort

"Email Marketing Success" is a compilation of my articles and links to others which outline the ins and outs of successful (and some unsuccessful) email marketing techniques and processes.

My goal is to help you understand what is legal, what is not; what works and what doesn't in the realm of email marketing.

My expertise in this area comes from using email to market on the net since 1993. A lot has evolved since then!

One of the basic premises of email marketing is to get the permission of the recipient to receive your emails. This can be done in a number of ways.

1. Use an "opt-in" form on your website. This form asks permission to send information to the recipient. The recipient puts his contact information in a form (name, email, etc.) and hits the "submit" button to get the information. This authorizes you to send the information to the person.
2. Use an 800# info line. These are superb marketing tools that let you put your short marketing message on a voice-mail type system and then give callers the 800# to ring for info. If they like what they hear, they can leave their phone # or email address for further information. This usually requires a bit more thought because you want to make sure that you have the person's permission to send information to him. Do this by confirming his request in your initial email to ensure you have his permission. This is known as a "double opt-in"
3. Use an email link on a website or written advertising. ' "Click Here" to get my marketing report' This construct lets the user send an email to your autoresponder (or any email account) to request the information. You can use the "double opt-in" technique here by going back to the sender with a confirmation request via your autoresponder or email program.

These are just some of the key ideas about getting permission to send information to a person via email.

In future articles, I will explore the legal ramification of email marketing, followup techniques and systems and establishing relationships via email.

If you have any suggestions or questions about successful email marketing, EMail Me and let me know!

Fred Raley
EMail Marketing Expert
Woodbridge, VA
(703) 730 1079
Fred@ABC-Success.Biz