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Email Protocol
By Bob Osgoodby

Anyone who sends large amounts of email, must develop a strategy to ensure its’ successful delivery. You must not only consider who you are sending it to, and how they got on your distribution list, but also the actual content of your articles and their length.

Let’s examine a typical distribution list. Someone fills out a form on a web site and requests to receive the publication. If that is the method, the safest way is to send them an email to which they must respond to, to be included on the list. Another method is to establish a business relationship with someone, at their initiative, in other words they contact you first. You now have the right to communicate with them.

So far, all well and good, however equally important you must be able to remove bad addresses from your distribution lists. What’s a bad address? Simple, it doesn’t exist. It may be the result of of several things ­ it could be poor typing skills - a bored "miscreant" having fun at your expense, or someone who has let their free email account expire.

Why you might ask, what’s a few bad addresses, when you can simply filter the return notices to your trash. Big Mistake ­ Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) will keep score and actually block your email address. Now you can't send anything to anyone at that ISP. This is all done automatically with their computers without the benefit of human intervention, and is designed to prevent the "harvesting of addresses" off the web. This is a fact of life that must be dealt with in any emailing plan.

The next most important consideration is your content. If you’re writing about the care and nurturing of your flower garden or taking care of your pets, your only consideration is the quality of the information you provide. But if your articles cover Business, Online or Offline, or have anything to do with the Internet or Web Sites, or doing business out of your house, it’s a whole different story.

Because of the content, it is almost impossible to provide information without violating some anti-spam filters used by various ISPs. Some ISPs simply delete the email, and neither party is notified that it wasn’t delivered. Others return it as undeliverable and that email address gets removed from the distribution list. Others may "black list" your email address or your ISP. This is all done automatically with their computers without the benefit of human intervention. Is this fair? No - not to legitimate publishers. Does it stop some "spam?" Some, but the professional spammers quickly figure out how to get around their filters, and it really doesn't solve that problem.

How do the ISPs do this? They assign "spam points" to words typically used by spamsters, which I can’t use here as it would cause the email to be blocked, but you know what I mean. Spam Cop requires that legitimate publishers have an "opt out" method in the email, but many ISPs will impose "spam points" for doing that.

Some ISPs will not deliver an email if it exceeds the number or size of emails they allow. This is especially true with the free email addresses such as Yahoo or Hotmail. If for example, you go on vacation and don’t check your email address for a week or so, there is a good chance you will find it has been discontinued when you return.

Email is an important marketing tool for businesses and for communication with friends and loved ones. It is also a source of information that people wish to receive. Much of this legitimate email is being trashed by the ISPs, and not letting anyone know it was trashed. This is not right. At the very least, they should notify the sender and give them the capability of appealing their decision.

How are we attempting to get around this? We send a short note to our subscribers the day the Newsletter is published with the Table of Contents, and a clickable link to the publication. While it doesn’t solve the bad address problems, it should get by all the spam filters used by the ISPs, and those that wish to receive the publication, will.
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About the Author:
Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine the "Tip of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business at his Web Site? Great Business and Computer Tips - Monday. Wednesday. And Friday. Instructions on how to place an ad are in the Newsletter. Subscribe Here



 

  

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