In an effort to stand out from the email crowd, our strategy as email marketers is to target the right people and provide them with relevant and compelling content. Well, what happens when you feel as though you’re doing just that, but the spam blocks never stop coming? How do you know if what you’re doing is really worth the time and effort?

Well, first let’s think about what blocks are and why they can happen. Blocks are one of the ways ISPs can protect their end-users. If they feel that a sender isn’t legitimate, or if they are seeing numerous spam complaints, then there is a high possibility that a block can be put up.

As an email marketer who follows best practices, you should only be sending to your most active, subscribed email list members with relevant content, and on a strategic timeline. But if you’re just starting to put these email marketing practices in place, you might notice that after every send you are still seeing blocks. Why is this? Well, some blocks are put up when a certain spam threshold is reached, so the people sent to after the threshold is hit may never see that email. But with your next send, they may receive the email, and now also have the opportunity to report it as spam. However, as time goes by the number of people reporting spam should decrease – given that you are effectively targeting and optimizing your email campaigns.

But what do you do if time has passed and you are still seeing blocks due to high spam complaints? It’s probably a sign that you should revisit how you have obtained your addresses (granted you should have done this before your very first send). Knowing the source of your addresses can make or break your email sending reputation. If your source is not relevant to the content you are sending, or even if people didn’t expect to get emails from you, you’ll just heighten the possibility of someone hitting that dreaded button. Make sure you start with a subscription, informing them of the expected frequency, and then email consistently without over-whelming inboxes.

I know what you’ve read here may seem redundant, but as an email sender one of your greatest priorities is to strive for superb sending. And in no case would a spam complaint or a block be helpful to your cause.

Your email service provider should be able to provide you with your block/bounce reports, so take a gander every time you send out an email. What you find can prove beneficial for your overall effort.

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About the Author

Ghia Espino is an account manager at Lyris. She strategizes with clients to improve their online marketing performance and works as their Lyris advocate.

Related Resources:

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• Download free online-marketing guides, tools and webinars in the Lyris Online-Marketing Resource Center.

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