Newsletter doesn't reach inbox

Legitimate suscribed users but lots of bounces

[silverbytes]

That's the scenario:
I have some suscribed users, they are enough as to make impossible to me sending emails individually.
They opted in to receive news about services and I'm using a software to send my newsletter to them. However I can't effectively reach them, I receive lots of Mail delivery system messages, others saying mail was considered UBE (unsolicited bulk email) and so on...

I really don't know what to do... I even receive complain of my own suscribed users saying whay they don't receive news!

How can I reach their inboxes? Does it make any differnce to use my server's smtp or the internal software relay?

Help!

[TimmyMagic]

I have the same problem but it is mainly from aol users. aol seems to be quite strict on this even though my subscribers have opted in.

The other problem I once had was that someone using the same hosted server as me was guilty of spamming and then this then affected me.

The other option is to send out real postal mail to your customers. I find it gets a better response rate but then again it's much more expensive and time consuming.

[silverbytes]

No can't send real post mail. I need to reach em by email...

[bcolflesh]

I have the same problem but it is mainly from aol users.

[postmaster.info.aol.com...]

[silverbytes]

Is there something similar for hotmail and yahoo users too out there?

[Corey Bryant]

You should use your SMTP server to help with the reverse DNS query.

And then go thru and make sure you do not have any "SPAM" words
remove
submission
credit
merchant account
finance
mortgage
free
affordable
click here
bargain
guaranteed
loan
investment
loan
low interest
new car
bank
debt
pre-approved
refinancing
congratulations
subscribed

Now these of course are some of the more "common" words that you might use at some point or another. There are some other words but I won't type them here :)

-Corey

[JonR28]

When users sign up for a newsletter on our site we send them a confirmation email to activate their email addess. If the user is able to activate their email address, it usually means we don't ever get blocked by spam folders. In addition we don't send out emails to someone who has mis-typed their email. If an email bounces back it is made inactive. Surprisingly we don't have a whole lot of innactive emails in our system.

Of course some people don't like to go through the extra hassle, so we offer a 5% discount as added incentive for signing up. This also helps drive a larger newsletter list.

[silverbytes]

So sending trhoug my own smtp would help?
I use a forwarding email address for newsletter (not a real email account, but emails replied come to my real email account, so I use the real account to set up my bulk email software.

Does that has anything to do with failures too?

In the other hand a way to be removed is always desirable but I guess that's the first thing antispams take in consideration to consider my email as spam....

How to avoid that?

[Corey Bryant]

Well the reverse DNS is used to check on the SMTP server. DNSStuff has an article on how reverse DNS works. Check on that to maybe help you understand it. I only know enough to get myself into trouble with it :)

-Corey

[Sunshyn]

We don't do mass mailing but are having trouble with emails regarding individual sales and inquiries. For sales problems, I put a message box in the order status page so I can leave personal messages there regarding orders. However, I am not comfortable leaving too much information regarding customer payment problems there as I try to make it relatively easy to access even without a password set.

The message box has helped some, but I just had yet another (AOLer this time) whom I spent a significant amount of time writing detailed responses to regarding her order problem even while she kept sending complaints about us not responding!

I have stern reminders on all user interaction pages instructing them to check their email spam filters and make certain they can receive emails from our domain. So are hotmail, yahoo, aol et. all now refusing to allow their users to check rejected mail and change their own filters or is it just another matter of customers who might as well be illiterate?

[onlineleben]

Don't know if it really works, but somewhere I have heard that when aol, hotmail and yahoo mail users, that have stored the email address of your newsletter in their addressbooks, are better enabled to receive your email.

[Corey Bryant]

Another thing, see if your mail server has SPF PO BOX. This might help you out as well.

-Corey

[silverbytes]

And what is that? How do I find out?
Any other tips on making your emails reach inboxes?

[Corey Bryant]

Google that term & you will learn more about that.

Not anymore that I can think of
-Corey

[silverbytes]

I did but no big deal
Switched to smtp using my hosting server for sending. No great improvement either... I'm very dissapointed.
How can I reach my sucriber's inbox?

[silverbytes]

Furthermore can't know if my emails are being readed or not... is the only way to outsource the task of sending emails? I saw some $150 monthly for a significtive amount of emails...

It's too much for me.

[Corey Bryant]

There are some email programs that can install a tracking image - but if you are using outlook 2003- that provides security and it can disable downloading images

-Corey

[silverbytes]

I don't know what to think... Streamsend com has a traking system (nice) but sending myself I validate my emails (suscribed) and 40% failed. Sent through Steamsend com and only a 4% failed...

What happens?