It's only Jan. 2, but chances are good that some of your pitches have already gotten snagged in spam filters. And you're no spammer—you're offering useful information to journalists, influencers and customers whom you've carefully targeted, whom you're pretty sure could use what you're sending.
It may have nothing to do with the quality of the material you're offering and have everything to do with some basic mistakes you might be making, day in and day out. Try applying some of these spam filter-avoidance tips from Myra Oppel, regional communications vice president for energy delivery company Pepco Holdings, and see if your ratio of connections to missed connections improves.
- Use your own company email address, not, for example, "[email protected]."
- If you're emailing a news release, label it as such in the subject line or in the body of the release.
- Make your subject line informative instead of an empty tease.
- Avoid the use of all caps in subject lines—and in body copy, for that matter.
- Avoid these common spam keywords and phrases: "urgent," great offer," "free [anything]," "amazing [anything]," "it's effective," "guarantee," "order now," "remove," "this isn't spam."
- And to get past the human spam filters and avoid getting a reputation as a spammer, only send pitches and releases when you have real news to share.
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