Copyright 2003, The Write Exposure

For those of us who receive way too many unsolicited emails, Spam filters are a blessing. Switch to publisher's side of desk, though, and Spam filters can become problematic.

Before you can keep your opt-in newsletter out of Spam filter's reach, you have to learn a little about kinds of Spam filters available. Currently, options range from those installed by an ISP, like Spam Assassin, to those that run with another program, like Microsoft's Outlook, as is case with cloudmark's SpamNet. Spam Assassin uses a point system to determine whether or not a piece of email is Spam. The more points a particular email collects, more likely it is to be Spam. SpamNet not only filters based on key words (free!, for instance), but also allows users to submit Spam to then be blocked for other users. Most Spam filters use some sort of blacklist of known Spammers to block emails.

The other component you'll need to be aware of is blacklist. As mentioned, most of available Spam filters use one or more of these collections of email addresses and domain names that send out a lot of Spam. Blacklists are primarily compiled by volunteers. In other words, you mail them Spam you receive in your inbox, they take a look at it and then decide whether or not to add sender to their list.

Because Spam filters have both a computer component (such as points system used by Spam Assassin), and a human component (such as blacklists and new system from SpamNet), you'll need to make sure your newsletter doesn't raise flags in either camp. Here are some suggestions for avoiding problems.

So your newsletter convinces people

1. Never send your newsletter unsolicited, not even to current or past customers (it's easy enough to ask them if they'd like to be subscribed with a personal email). In fact, it's a risk even to send your newsletter to a list you've purchased no matter what you've been told about intent of list's subscribers-can you be sure all of subscribers expected to receive your email on widgets just because they checked a box saying they were interested in widgets? This will help keep you off "blacklists" that are available to Spam filters.

Copyright 2003, The Write Exposure

If your newsletter's in HTML or print, you need a nameplate (the banner that displays name of your newsletter).

Designing a nameplate is similar to creating a company logo. Typically, you'll want a design that's memorable, compact (size-wise), and classic enough to last two or more years.

We'd like to share five steps we've found ideal for creating great nameplates. They'll save you time and help you produce nameplate just right for your company newsletter.

Make Time 1. Set aside enough time. Never designed a nameplate before? Then schedule at least seven hours for project spaced out over at least one full week. Whatever you do, don't wait until night before your first issue is supposed to be published to start design! Remember, nameplates work best when they're consistent over a span of many, many issues.