If you use email blasts as part of your marketing campaigns, SPAM blockers such as Spam Assassin are not your friend. As a regular email user, you are probably thrilled that such products are in the background keeping junk mail out of your inbox, but, as a commercial email sender, you may be terribly frustrated by their efficiency. The problem with SPAM blocking software is that it is ruthless and stupid. Your double-opt-in mailing list is powerless against it, and even good friends and close business associates will routinely miss out on your newsletter or specials, even though they have specifically requested them. Have no fear, though, there are ways around anything.

Test Test Test
Before you send any mail blast, you must test it over and over for spam scoring. I recommend getting email accounts at a number of popular services, including gmail, EarthLink, AOL, Yahoo, and any place where you can get filtered email service for little or no cost. Make a special mailing group called "tests" and send every mailer to those emails first.

Learn to Read Headers
Once you begin receiving your test emails, look at the long or raw headers to see how you are scoring. If none of your accounts receive your mail at all, neither are your clients. If you do receive the mail, however, you must make sure to have an X-Spam score of under 2, because that is a common threshold setting for Microsoft Outlook, which is the most popular mail program currently being used.

Fix All Problems
If your mails receive spam scores, look at each violation and check online to see precisely what it means. The biggest things to watch out for are HTML-only mails, certain keywords such as "opt-out," "free," or "samples," and too many exclamation marks. All emails should have a text-version. Make sure to find a mailing program that allows you to make custom HTML messages with text-based alternatives.

Use a Service
If your mail isn't getting through, no matter what you do, you may have a blacklisted mail server. There are plenty of inexpensive remailing companies that will send mail for you, and also take care of blacklisting issues.

Don't be a spammer
Above all, though, you should be an honest marketer. Using tricks to get mail opened, duplicitous email systems, and other scam tactics will eventually get you banned. The key to success is to use email to form a bond between yourself and your readers, a loose tether that keeps you mutually informed. In the end, good email contact is a great way to increase both sales and satisfaction, so use it well.