First things first, what is a blacklist?
Imagine trying to send important documents to a client or prospect, and they simply aren't receiving them. That's what happens when you are blacklisted – your emails are blocked before anyone has a chance to read them.
An independent spam organization creates a blacklist when they catch organizations sending mass emails to individuals who did not specifically opt-in to receive them. Avoiding blacklists altogether is the best way to run effective email marketing campaign.
Now, how do you avoid getting blacklisted?
Don't purchase email lists
This is the best way to avoid blacklists. By purchasing lists, you are potentially sending emails to people who didn’t ask to get them in the first place. Think about the amount of promotional emails you get in your inbox every day or the spam phone calls that bombard you with automated telemarketers. If people haven't opted in to receive information, offers, or general contact they typically view the marketing attempts as annoying and mark it as spam.
Many lists are also riddled with spam traps: an email address that looks legit but actually doesn’t belong to anyone. Those accounts only receive emails when someone purchases a list, and the sender's domain or IP address lands on a blacklist as spam.
Avoid sending duplicate content
No one wants to see similar content, or worse, the same exact email in their inbox from last month! To keep off of a blacklist, freshen up your emails with new and creative content that your audience wants to read.
Pay attention to quality and control
Keep your emails short, sweet, and interesting. Keep in mind that you’re sending emails to potential clients, so make sure the content is relevant and personalized. In addition, sending too many emails can get your company blacklisted. Try to keep it to a minimum when sending email blasts.
Pay attention to your grammar
Having good grammar not only makes you appear professional and authentic, but it can be a good way to distinguish a spam email from a real one. Using excessive exclamation points and question marks, using all-caps in your title, and using very sales-oriented verbiage will likely put you in the spam folder. Take time to write personalized emails and use content that your audience opted-in for.
Clean out your email lists
Make sure you regularly clean out your lists of people who have unsubscribed or bad emails. This will increase your open rate and ensure that you are not sending emails to people who didn’t opt-in.