Tune Up Your E-Mail Program With SpamAssassin
A step-by-step guide to seeing your e-mail the way this spam filter does.
A step-by-step guide to seeing your e-mail the way this spam filter does.
Guess what this ClickZ column scored when we ran it through SpamAssassin? The popular open-source email filter program penalized it 2.543 points; not enough to get it blocked by most mail servers, but higher than normal.
That’s because this column talks about the spam indicators SpamAssassin is trained to detect. (Too bad SpamAssassin can’t tell the difference between real and demonstration spam.)
In part one of our SpamAssassin primer, we outlined the program’s basic features and how it can affect deliverability. This time, we’ll demonstrate how SpamAssassin works on real copy and how to use it to fine-tune your own email program, both to improve content and increase deliverability.
Example One: We Flunk a Test
Offending material: “The Utah Registry has been challenged in court by an adult entertainment trade group….”
This real-world excerpt came from The Intevation Report, our corporate newsletter. We opted to leave the content as it was because the message was otherwise clean. The details:
Whatever you do, don’t try to fool the filters by misspelling words or replacing letters with characters. It’s a classic spammer trick that filters are trained to catch, and it looks unprofessional.
Example Two: A Deliberately Bad E-Mail Message
Offending material: We created an HTML message for a fictional skateboard retailer and loaded it with potential test-flunking elements, such as malformed HTML code, spammy-sounding content, and a high-image/low-content ratio.
Here’s a screenshot of the email message:
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The details:
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Three SpamAssassin Strategies
We previously recommended running your email marketing message through a content checker, whether a free or promotional service, third-party solution, or proprietary application provided in your email service provider’s solution or in-house software, to spot and correct problems before you hit “send.”
These three strategies help you use the SpamAssassin tests to tune up your email program the right way:
Bottom line: A zero or low score is reassuring, but it’s just a start. Review the content one more time. Check the IP address used to send your message against a blacklist clearinghouse like DNSstuff.com. Monitor your reply mailbox for any filter or block reports.
And as always, keep on deliverin’.
Want more email marketing information? ClickZ E-Mail Reference is an archive of all our email columns, organized by topic.