How to send millions of emails without getting into the Spam folder

[Lord777]

Today I want to talk to you about the thorn many marketers call "Spam". In this article, I tell you how to make mailing lists correctly and not become a spammer by accident. Enjoy your reading.

Every day, 122 billion spam messages are sent by email in the world — this is 85% of the world's email traffic. The scale is impressive and upsetting. No one likes spam, especially mailing list services. Therefore, many systems are waging a war against spam, but bona fide companies can also fall under their sanctions. How can such an injustice be prevented?

What is spam?​

Spam — unsolicited mailing via email or other sources: SMS, social media messages. Spammers send such mailings without the recipient's consent to a large number of users. Emails usually offer products or services of questionable quality.

How spam appeared​

In the 40s of the last century, the word "spam" did not have a negative meaning. SPAM is the name of a trademark for canned food from the company Hormel Foods Corporation, which produced it for the meat ration of soldiers during World War II. After the war, there were a lot of products left, and they had to be sold before the end of their shelf life. So canned food appeared in advertising, which was everywhere. The product was aggressively imposed on people.
When "junk" mass mailings appeared on the network, they began to be referred to by the word "spam". In the beginning, this method might have been effective, but now spam messages are annoying, and people stop noticing them in a large flow of information. But the spam market is not losing momentum.

Spam has penetrated almost all means of communication. Spam was added to the email:

• on forums that use hidden ads in their responses to users;
• in the comments and private messages in social networks;
• on review sites;
• in instant messengers and SMS.

Automation has accelerated the distribution of spam and increased it significantly. A spam bot can replace a person, for example, when spamming in social networks. The user will think that they are communicating with a real person. However, bots are "not very smart", and you can break their logic with an unexpected answer.

Spam ads are ordinary advertising emails that are sent to the contact database.

Fake messages are letters from ordinary people who can tell their tragic story and ask for money, or promise to give a large amount of money just like that.

Phishing emails are disguised as well-known brands. In this case, the address contains fake mail that the end user doesn't see. And he understands that he was deceived after clicking on the link. The goal is to get personal and confidential data. A link from such an email leads to a fake site where the user leaves their full names, passwords, bank card numbers, and other information.
Malware mailing lists are emails with viruses that get to the user's computer when the user clicks on a link in the email.

Why do users get spam?​

The reason for spam in Yandex. Mail is data that fell into the wrong hands. How spammers get user addresses:

• Data leak — the address was stolen from the contact list of the hacked account.
• Parsing email addresses from websites.
• Through the mail generator, which sorts through possible options. Some may turn out to be workers.
• Purchased databases — they are sold by unscrupulous companies or individual employees.

What are spammers?​

Both professionals and random people, such as inexperienced company marketers, can spam. Spammers are divided into:

• Pros are mailing list services that send a huge number of emails. Such teams know their business well, and there may even be programmers on staff for more advanced solutions.
• Address collectors use the software to check and sell databases.
• Inexperienced and random spammers are often company marketers who do not understand what a newsletter is and do it incorrectly. A novice spammer does not delve into the details of the mailing list, for which his letters fall under the sanctions of the services.

In order not to end up in the ranks of random spammers, you need to prepare for the newsletter — you need to know the legal, technical and other features.

How to avoid getting emails in spam​

The spam folder for your email is a sentence. Why? The client won't find out about you, and the consequences may be more serious: domain disconnection, lawsuits, and fines.

To find out why emails end up in spam, you need to evaluate many factors:

• validity of the mailing list;
• domain reputation;
• technical settings for mailing lists;
• whether the mailing service's regulations are being followed.

Let's analyze each item.

Validity of the mailing list​

In Russia, any mailing list must comply with the laws:

The Federal Law" On Advertising " of 13.03.2006 N 38-FZ prohibits mailing without the prior consent of the addressee. Also, the mailing list must be stopped at the first request of the addressee.

Federal Law" On Personal Data " of 27.07.2006 N 152-FZ — each company that is going to make mailings must submit documents for registration of a personal data operator.

When you don't need to sign up for a newsletter
Such cases are also spelled out in the laws. You don't need to get the user's consent if the newsletter is sent to you.:

• it is assumed by federal law;
• necessary for the implementation of international treaties of the Russian Federation;
• conducted for scientific or statistical purposes;
• important for protecting the life and health of the addressee;
• for delivering email messages;
• It is made for scientific, journalistic, or literary activities, and the data is used in accordance with federal law.

How not to break the law
Create a subscription form with consent to the newsletter and provide the user with the following documents on the site:

• "Privacy Policy".
• "User Agreement".
• "Personal Data Processing Policy".

Domain Reputation​

The reputation of a mailing source depends on: the presence of an IP address and domain in blacklists, the quality of the database, the availability of authentication, unread emails and the percentage of clicks, spam complaints, and the intensity of mailings.

Database quality​

"Bad" addresses in the database also affect the mailing list, so you need to observe mail hygiene: clean duplicates and inactive addresses.

What problems can there be with the database?:

The address was not validated. The user left an inactive or incorrect email address.

You didn't use the database right away, so your contacts become outdated. This happens when a company collects the database in different ways for a long time, but does not send it out immediately. For example, it waits for a certain number of users.

Errors in the database
The list of addresses may include those that were unsubscribed, but the mailing list continues for them. The risk of receiving spam complaints from such contacts increases, and in the worst case, you can get a lawsuit.

Spam traps in the database
These are robot addresses that check all incoming mail. DOI (Double Opt-In — confirmation of an address by clicking on a link from Yandex.Mail) does not work on such mailboxes. If a mailing list is sent to this address without consent, the service may consider it spam. Spam traps are sometimes converted from abandoned addresses of users who haven't logged in to their account for a long time, or the service has blocked them. Another type of spam trap is created specifically. If there are a lot of such addresses in the database, then the sender's reputation worsens.

Spam complaints
People complain even when they initially gave their consent. What are the possible reasons for complaints?:

• an unfortunate or possibly offensive email subject.;
• mailing list error — the user received the email again, although he unsubscribed;
• changing the mailing list subject — "I didn't sign up for this";
• partner offers in emails.

User behavior
Mailing services calculate how often users open emails and click on the links inside. The fewer clicks, the more likely you are to get into spam with the following mailings.

Mailing list design
The service may block the mailing list due to invalid HTML structure. It is forbidden to use elements: JavaScript, VBScript, Frames, IframeS ActiveX, Java applets, connecting from sites via CSS or Meta Refresh, and others. Also, the services do not accept all links after shortening in special tools.

Mailing rate and volume
Services like predictable actions. Sharp increases in mailing lists and irregular mailing lists are signs of spam.

Blacklists​

There are private and public ones. Private users collect information within the service, while public users collect information from different sources. The IP address and domain can get there in a few seconds.:

• mailing lists to irrelevant addresses;
• a large number of spam traps in the database;
• just for sending a newsletter without confirmation.

Therefore, it is important to check if you are not in the blacklists. For example, you can view a document's reputation using Postmaster Tools.

How to save your reputation​

1. Use the two-step Double Opt-In option and continue mailing only when the user has confirmed their email address.
2. Monitor IP address and domain ratings in special services regularly.
3. Clear the database of inactive contacts and check for errors.
4. Warm up addresses — increase the mailing list base gradually.
5. Monitor the quality of content and test different engagement techniques if your emails are no longer opened. But know the measure and do not reach dubious techniques, for example, clickbait.

Technical settings and email message architecture​

All mailing services support the same standards for anti-spam protection. There are technical headers on the servers from which the newsletter is sent. This section contains data about the email that determines the reliability of the mailing source.
What parameters should be included in the "correct" email?:
RFC — Request for Comments) - a document that contains technical specifications and standards.
DNS (rDNS and PTR records) — all servers that send mail must have valid DNS records. No automatically generated rDNS or PTR records. If the reverse DNS is not specified, then the mail service will not miss such a newsletter.
IP Addresses (WHOIS) You cannot hide IP address data in WHOIS. This is especially true when the hoster has been hacked and spam is sent from your IP address. If there is no data about you, the service can't tell you about the problem and will simply block all mailings.
Proxy and Relay are protection against sending spam on your behalf. The server must not have an open Proxy server or an open Relay. Then anonymous and unauthorized users won't get to it.
DKIM (DomainKey Identified Mail) - the email digital signature protocol determines whether the sender has the right to send mail. The mail provider identifies it using a special key.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) — a record that shows which domains and / or IP addresses mail will be sent from. This setting must be enabled in all DNS servers, otherwise the mail service will send you a spam message or warn you about a threat.
FBL (FeedBack Lookup) - a standard that displays information about spam complaints. Each sender of emails with FBL can find out which user complained about which email.
List-Unsubscribe setting up an unsubscribe address or URL — the user can unsubscribe from the mailing list and not even open the message.
DMARC policies are standards that help domain owners assign rules for email services. Using them, the mail provider will know what to do with emails that were sent from the owner's domain, but they were not authenticated. This will protect you from spoofing DKIM and using services where you can simply put someone else's domain. DMARC also helps you control technical settings.

Administrative requirements for mail services​

To check your email for spam successfully, you must respect the requirements of the mailing list services. Otherwise, sanctions are possible:

• limit on the number of emails;
• blocking sending data;
• mark it as spam.

What requirements services may have: using Gmail as an example

• Reverse DNS entries for IP addresses are configured.
• Separate addresses by content type. Promotions are sent from one address, receipts are sent from the other, and alerts are sent from the third address.
• You should not send phishing mailings from your domain.
• You can't send emails on behalf of another domain if you don't have the rights to do so.
• Authenticate messages.
• Send mail only to interested users who have given their consent to the mailing list. The service also offers to periodically renew your subscription consent.
• Make unsubscribing easy.
• Send mail on a specific schedule and start sending small batches. The more emails you receive, the slower you need to increase their number.
• Monitor the reputation of IP addresses: see if they are blacklisted.

Important! Always review the service's requirements before sending a newsletter. Even a small violation of the rules can send your emails to spam.

Conclusion​

The path of email newsletters is thorny and difficult, and every company has a chance to get into spam. But you should not abandon this channel because of the complexity. A competent approach and good service will help you get your newsletter right and increase sales.