Best way/s to get your emails read?

[sammyc]

Ie, not go into spam or be ignored. Have read somewhere that an email sent 'from' your address, so that the from is freds.mailboxatsomewhere.com as per the address, is more likely to go to spam, is this a well known fact?

I have an address I use for enquiries &c so that if they're things that lead nowhere I haven't handed out my main. So my emails go out as freds.mailbox in the 'from', would the same thing apply? I don't necessarily want to hand my name out for what may just be a one-off enquiry, but at the same time I'm aware it doesn't look that good - also if the email does come to something & I then do need to give my details, I can't really use a pseudonym in the initial email either. What option is there for a non-dodgy sounding email 'from' that retains a bit of privacy?

Also are any email domains worse for going into spam than others? If I test out this particular address no-one else has trouble getting emails from me, but then they mostly aren't businesses etc. I do seem to be getting a high level of non-responses but I may just be being ignored/dealing with idiots.

[virtuo]

I think if the "reply-to" header and "from" header are different then the email is ranked down in trust (which is a shame as those headers have legitimate uses).

Where is your email hosted? I know some shared web hosting providers (read that as the cheap ones) have so much spam sent by their customers that their network is blacklisted (it has happened to me in the past).

[peterb]

Do you mean from sent from your own domain, such as sam@sammyc.net or sent from your own self hosted mail server, with your own domain name?

I haven't had any issues (that I am aware of) sending mail from my own domain via The domain host's server. I have had problems sending mail from other owned domains from my own server, so I now use that as a relay via my ISP (although not ISPs allow that). I do use a static IP address, and link the rDNS of the static address back to my domain name, although I'm not sure how essential that is.

As virtuo says, some mail service providers are known for being the conduit for spam, so they may appear on blacklists.

I guess it's a question of choose your providers carefully, and certainly monitor mail sent,mand if you get mail rejection messages, do analyse them, although often suspected spam will just be dropped silently, and no bounce message will be generated.

There is also a risk if your email address is used for sending spam, which is why a mis-match between the from address and the headers and/or rDNS can be used as a spam indicator.

[sammyc]

I think if the "reply-to" header and "from" header are different then the email is ranked down in trust (which is a shame as those headers have legitimate uses).

Do you mean from sent from your own domain, such as sam@sammyc.net or sent from your own self hosted mail server, with your own domain name?

No, less complicated than that, excuse my original explanation. I should have specified webmail, no own-domain sammyc.net scenario. All I meant is, if you send mail from sam@mailprovider.net & also have sam@mailprovider.net set as 'name shown in emails you send' eg in the 'from' field as seen by the recipient - I felt I had read that that looks more spammy than an email from a proper name, or company name, etc.

I actually use something more like this: sams.mail@mailprovider.net, & then have 'sams.mail' as the "from" - but it isn't ideal & is unprofessional looking as a sender field. Not as bad as 'sam1999spursfan' type thing, but not great. What I'd rather do ideally is have something more trustworthy-looking as a 'from' that avoids using my full name.

As to the worst providers, this is a bt address - may well be on the thumbs-down list - worst webmail seems to vary depending on what I read, but hexus may know better/different. Thanks.

I think it's just a matter of whether emails have been seen & ignored, or gone to spam & ignored. I did have one reply that excused their original non-response on "a number of email addresses being blocked by our server over the past few months" but that may or may not have been flannel.

[virtuo]

Might want to try something like this: http://mxtoolbox.com/deliverability and see if there are any differences between the two.

Note that I just googled "Free Email Deliverability test", back in my marketing days we used quite expensive solutions, but the free ones should be enough - they should tell you what services/engines will flag your message as spam, and why.

[Michael100]

You might want to use MailChimp Email Marketing?

[sammyc]

This is more a case of me emailing companies, as an individual, rather than trying to get marketing emails seen - but thank you.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Using your eyes is a good start. Not sure if a synthesised voice reading them would be useful though.

[Lucio]

Best bet, use a generic corporate term and actually send from that account, instead of sending on behalf of that account.

Typical options are "info@..., sales@, enquiries@ etc".

Handle the forwarding at the mail account end, and configure your prefered email client to send using the account in the event of replies.

[sammyc]

Best bet, use a generic corporate term and actually send from that account, instead of sending on behalf of that account.

Typical options are "info@..., sales@, enquiries@ etc".

This is simply me as fred bloggs, individual, human being/wouldbe customer - I'm just trying to a) not go into spam for enquiries (ie use whatever webmail least prone to being filtered out by companies), and then b) trying to sound more bona fide than sending as fredsmailbox@whatever.com - while not actually wishing to send as fred bloggs. I can't really send as an info@ type address.

Forwarding, configuring & sending on behalf don't really come into it. Think of it as yourself, enquiring about an item - whether to find out if something is in stock, item specifics, shipping costs etc - and not wishing to send as Lucio [Surname] for every little odd enquiry, that may be a deadend, & you may never deal with that company & therefore don't see the point handing them any more id than necessary. Obviously what I settle on as a better option is my call, just wondered if others have a similar separate-email-address-for-enquiries & what they use as a "from".

Using your eyes is a good start. Not sure if a synthesised voice reading them would be useful though.

eyeballs to you too, Moose

[Peter Parker]

I've implemented opt-in bulk e-mail (100,000+ emails a day), and have some comments relating to your situation.

TL;DR - potential minefield. Sales is hard.

1) Accept that you could be considered spam
But, but .... Not "spam" in the "millions of phishing/virus/viagra" message sense ... and I do admit that I don't know the full details of your situation and could be wrong. EDIT - I thought you were advertising your services, but just read your last message again. Sorry. Some of this still applies though.

I'm not a lawyer as they say. This describes some parts of UK and European law in a fairly clear way - http://www.seqlegal.com/blog/10-thin...mail-marketing . Especially take a look at :

* Point 4 about opt-in / opt-out for receiving
* Point 6 about hiding your identity

As far as I can tell your intended recipients didn't subscribe, and didn't go through a double opt-in (click a link in email to confirm your email address and agreement).

EDIT - (2) was some advice about sales that's irrelevant.

2) You can use a generic account
But use a real account though. We send from update@ and you could send from purchasing@ for example. But make it go to a real inbox. Not sure how your email is set up but most cheap hosting providers offer multiple separate email accounts.

3) Bulk email "best practice"
Search for it and read things like :-
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126?hl=en
https://econsultancy.com/blog/8054-1...eliverability/

Ideally you send from a dedicated server with SPF and DKIM records in the DNS. Then test your content using a spam scoring tool and a test receiving account (i.e. create test GMail, Outlook.com accounts). Rewrite it. Take out the tracking tags/pixels. Can you personalise the messages? By this point you might as well have used MailChimp or SendGrid or a similar tool as others have suggested.

[Lucio]

Frankly, if any individual emails a business and they're not getting a reply, then that business isn't worth bothering buying from!

If you're not making an enquiry which generates money for said business, then whether they reply or not has sod all with your email address, and far more to do with the tone of what you sent

[sammyc]

Frankly, if any individual emails a business and they're not getting a reply, then that business isn't worth bothering buying from!

If you're not making an enquiry which generates money for said business, then whether they reply or not has sod all with your email address, and far more to do with the tone of what you sent

I totally agree re they are not worth dealing with, but in some cases, if you want what they have & no-one else does, or possibly involves asking a minor favour, then I'll smile & count to ten over poor customer service.

The tone of my queries is always polite bordering on grovelling, professional, beautifully & clearly phrased & spelt . Rarely to never does it involve anyone putting themselves out or making an effort but it seems any effort is too much for a lot of firms. That includes not even sending the simplest 'No sorry' in answer to something they don't have/can't help with.

My expectations may be too high, & I may well be scrupulously conscientious in a way businesses can't afford to be; unless I had a huge postbag I'd email back if you asked me to look out of the window & tell you the weather if it didn't cost me anything but 2 minutes' time. But I ask valid questions that will most likely lead to my becoming a customer, and it is bugging me more and more that people will simply not reply, in the main.

Hence the element of doubt that people may not have seen an email, in which case, different matter. But it's more likely that the nature of email makes it easy for people to blank you. I should just phone ofc, but I prefer to give someone time to gather info, look into stuff etc, than put them on the spot & probably end up saying they'll have to call back. And then waiting for a call (if ever) which is way more inconvenient.

Having said all this.. some firms are the total, utter opposite, just to add balance, and are on my customer-for-life list.

Ideally you send from a dedicated server with SPF and DKIM records in the DNS. Then test your content using a spam scoring tool and a test receiving account (i.e. create test GMail, Outlook.com accounts). Rewrite it. Take out the tracking tags/pixels. Can you personalise the messages? By this point you might as well have used MailChimp or SendGrid or a similar tool as others have suggested.

Again, MailChimp et al are overkill for me as a customer rather than a business etc, but all good stuff and thank you as info is never wasted It's not impossible I'm going into spam but I'm not clued up enough to know why that might vary from one similar firm to another, & it seems more likely I'm being put on the 'footling query cba' pile.