How to Send Bulk Email Without Spamming?

How to send bulk email without spamming? When it comes to email marketing, this is a question every marketer have to deal with. Unfortunately, anyone can possibly be a spammer if he or she messed up the bulk email campaigns. When I say anyone, I mean anyone including the big brands. Go to your spam inbox, you can easily found some emails come from big brands, but they end up in spam. Email marking is very fair for everybody no matter how big your brand is.

Gmail marked Texas Health Resources as a spammer

Gmail marked Microsoft Movies & TV as a spammer

• Spoofed email addresses: An email address looks confusingly similar to the email address of a known sender. For example, the email address may replace the letter “O” with the number “0.”
• Phishing scams: The email may be trying to trick you into sharing personal information, like passwords or credit card numbers.
• Messages from an unconfirmed sender: Gmail can’t confirm that the email was actually sent by the particular person or company that appears to be sending it.
• Messages content is empty: Spammers often send messages with no content in the body or subject to check whether email addresses are valid. Then, they spam those addresses later.

Based on the guidance from Gmail, I compelled a checklist you should follow when you start the email campaign by sending bulk emails.

Sender Policy Framework (SPF) verifies identity. Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM) ensures the message wasn’t tampered with during transmission. And Domain Based Authentication Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) requires that both SPF and DKIM pass in order to authenticate. These are all protocols that prove to ISPs that you are who you say you are.

Learn more: What Are SPF, DKIM and DMARC?

A violation of the CAN-SPAM Act can subject to penalties of up to $41,484. Here are the CAN-SPAM main requirements from www.ftc.gov.

1. Don’t use false or misleading header information. Your “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.
2. Don’t use deceptive subject lines. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
3. Identify the message as an ad. The law gives you a lot of leeway in how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that your message is an advertisement.
4. Tell recipients where you’re located. Your message must include your valid physical postal address. This can be your current street address, a post office box you’ve registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox you’ve registered with a commercial mail receiving agency established under Postal Service regulations.
5. Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you. Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future. Craft the notice in a way that’s easy for an ordinary person to recognize, read, and understand. Creative use of type size, color, and location can improve clarity. Give a return email address or another easy Internet-based way to allow people to communicate their choice to you. You may create a menu to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to stop all commercial messages from you. Make sure your spam filter doesn’t block these opt-out requests.
6. Honor opt-out requests promptly. Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your message. You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days. You can’t charge a fee, require the recipient to give you any personally identifying information beyond an email address, or make the recipient take any step other than sending a reply email or visiting a single page on an Internet website as a condition for honoring an opt-out request. Once people have told you they don’t want to receive more messages from you, you can’t sell or transfer their email addresses, even in the form of a mailing list. The only exception is that you may transfer the addresses to a company you’ve hired to help you comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.
7. Monitor what others are doing on your behalf. The law makes clear that even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you can’t contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law. Both the company whose product is promoted in the message and the company that actually sends the message may be held legally responsible.

Send the emails to your subscribers or opt-in contacts who completed a signup form on your website and confirmed an email validation process. In this way, you can make sure all of your emails are send to valid email addresses and not generate high bounce. High bounce is a spamming red flag from the eyes of ISP or email service providers. Never purchased, rented, or scraped lists. These people are more likely to mark your email as spam as they may be not interested in it.

Even if you trying to send bulk promotional emails to your existing customers (or people they know you in person), you still need to get their permission first.

Attachment can be very suspicious. Because a lot of viri send via email attachments. Avoid files with suspicious titles, archives (especially password-protected ones), links for downloading a file from free file hosting services.

The same is with links. It’s OK to include links in the email. However, do not use links to s suspicious resource or shortened links. It may be a fraud.

Many email services like Gmail adopted large databases of spam-like words to filter out spam emails.

Email Spam Words to Avoid

(credit to hubspot)

Commerce

As seen on	Buy	Buy direct
Buying judgments	Clearance	Order
Order status	Orders shipped by	shopper

Personal

Dig up dirt on friends

Meet singles

Score with babes

Employment

Additional Income	Be your own boss	Compete for your business
Double your	Earn $	Earn extra cash
Earn per week	Expect to earn	Extra income
Home based	Home employment	Homebased business
Income from home	Make $	Make money
Money making	Online biz opportunity	Online degree
Opportunity	Potential earnings	University diplomas
While you sleep	Work at home	Work from home

Financial – General

$$$	Affordable	Bargain
Beneficiary	Best price	Big bucks
Cash	Cash bonus	Cashcashcash
Cents on the dollar	Cheap	Check
Claims	Collect	Compare rates
Cost	Credit	Credit bureaus
Discount	Earn	Easy terms
F r e e	Fast cash	For just $XXX
Hidden assets	hidden charges	Income
Incredible deal	Insurance	Investment
Loans	Lowest price	Million dollars
Money	Money back	Mortgage
Mortgage rates	No cost	No fees
One hundred percent free	Only $	Pennies a day
Price	Profits	Pure profit
Quote	Refinance	Save $
Save big money	Save up to	Serious cash
Subject to credit	They keep your money — no refund!	Unsecured credit
Unsecured debt	US dollars	Why pay more?

Financial – Business

Accept Credit Cards	Cards accepted	Check or money order
Credit card offers	Explode your business	Full refund
Investment decision	No credit check	No hidden Costs
No investment	Requires initial investment	Sent in compliance
Stock alert	Stock disclaimer statement	Stock pick

Financial – Personal

Avoid bankruptcy	Calling creditors	Collect child support
Consolidate debt and credit	Consolidate your debt	Eliminate bad credit
Eliminate debt	Financially independent	Get out of debt
Get paid	Lower interest rate	Lower monthly payment
Lower your mortgage rate	Lowest insurance rates	Pre-approved
Refinance home	Social security number	Your income

General

Acceptance	Accordingly	Avoid
Chance	Dormant	Freedom
Here	Hidden	Home
Leave	Lifetime	Lose
Maintained	Medium	Miracle
Never	Passwords	Problem
Remove	Reverses	Sample
Satisfaction	Solution	Stop
Success	Teen	Wife

Greetings

Dear [email/friend/somebody]

Friend

Hello

Marketing

Ad	Auto email removal	Bulk email
Click	Click below	Click here
Click to remove	Direct email	Direct marketing
Email harvest	Email marketing	Form
Increase sales	Increase traffic	Increase your sales
Internet market	Internet marketing	Marketing
Marketing solutions	Mass email	Member
Month trial offer	More Internet Traffic	Multi level marketing
Notspam	One time mailing	Online marketing
Open	Opt in	Performance
Removal instructions	Sale	Sales
Search engine listings	Search engines	Subscribe
The following form	This isn’t junk	This isn’t spam
Undisclosed recipient	Unsubscribe	Visit our website
We hate spam	Web traffic	Will not believe your eyes

Medical

Cures baldness	Diagnostics	Fast Viagra delivery
Human growth hormone	Life Insurance	Lose weight
Lose weight spam	Medicine	No medical exams
Online pharmacy	Removes wrinkles	Reverses aging
Stop snoring	Valium	Viagra
Vicodin	Weight loss	Xanax

Numbers

#1	100% free	100% Satisfied
4U	50% off	Billion
Billion dollars	Join millions	Join millions of Americans
Million	One hundred percent guaranteed	Thousands

Offers

Being a member	Billing address	Call
Cannot be combined with any other offer	Confidentially on all orders	Deal
Financial freedom	Gift certificate	Giving away
Guarantee	Have you been turned down?	If only it were that easy
Important information regarding	In accordance with laws	Long distance phone offer
Mail in order form	Message contains	Name brand
Nigerian	No age restrictions	No catch
No claim forms	No disappointment	No experience
No gimmick	No inventory	No middleman
No obligation	No purchase necessary	No questions asked
No selling	No strings attached	No-obligation
Not intended	Obligation	Off shore
Offer	Per day	Per week
Priority mail	Prize	Prizes
Produced and sent out	Reserves the right	Shopping spree
Stuff on sale	Terms and conditions	The best rates
They’re just giving it away	Trial	unlimited
Unsolicited	Vacation	Vacation offers
Warranty	We honor all	Weekend getaway
What are you waiting for?	Who really wins?	Win
Winner	Winning	won
You are a winner!	You have been selected	You’re a Winner!

Calls-to-Action

Cancel at any time	Compare	Copy accurately
Get	Give it away	Print form signature
Print out and fax	See for yourself	Sign up free today

Free

Free	Free access	Free cell phone
Free consultation	Free DVD	Free gift
Free grant money	Free hosting	Free installation
Free Instant	Free investment	Free leads
Free membership	Free money	Free offer
Free preview	Free priority mail	Free quote
Free sample	Free trial	Free website

Descriptions/Adjectives

All natural	All new	Amazing
Certified	Congratulations	Drastically reduced
Fantastic deal	For free	Guaranteed
It’s effective	Outstanding values	Promise you
Real thing	Risk free	Satisfaction guaranteed

Sense of Urgency

Access	Act Now!	Apply now
Apply Online	Call free	Call now
Can’t live without	Do it today	Don’t delete
Don’t hesitate	For instant access	For Only
For you	Get it now	Get started now
Great offer	Info you requested	Information you requested
Instant	limited time	New customers only
Now	Now only	Offer expires
Once in lifetime	One time	Only
Order now	Order today	Please read
Special promotion	Supplies are limited	Take action now
Time limited	Urgent	While supplies last

Nouns

Addresses on CD	Beverage	Bonus
Brand new pager	Cable converter	Casino
Celebrity	Copy DVDs	Laser printer
Legal	Luxury car	New domain extensions
Phone	Rolex	Stainless steel

Every email must contain an unsubscribe link as it makes possible for the recipient to unsubscribe but not mark as spam.

Take care of your subscribers. If a person subscribed to your bulk email, send relevant and valuable content, that is actual for every subscriber. Use segmentation for this purpose, as it is a customer-oriented method. Segment your subscribers according to gender, city, age, interests and preferences.

By keeping an eye on sender reputation (spam complaints, spam traps, unknown users, etc.) metrics you’ll get a good picture of how your emails are being received by subscribers.

Use these 5 Websites to Check Email Sender Reputation

Before sending a campaign, ask yourself: “Does my email meet all the CAN-SPAM Act requirements? Would I like to receive this email? What is valuable and useful in it?”

So, follow the checklist above, take care of your subscribers and you won’t send SPAM.