The best email offer in the world won't accomplish much if it never reaches your intended recipient. Beware:  there are strong forces at work these days trying their best to block your messages! In a recent MarketingProfs article, Debra Ellis discusses three distinct deliverability hurdles faced by today's email marketers. Meet the spaminators:

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that err on the side of caution when determining whether an email looks like spam or not. "[A]void all spam triggers," she advises. "They include specific words and characters in the subject line, low text-to-graphic ratios, and repetition of target words within the body of the email."

Junk Box Filters (JBFs) with settings that are likely left by recipients in a "suspicious" default mode; the most effective way to evade this snare is to get recipients to whitelist your email address. "If you want this  ... you have to ask for it, and provide quality content," Ellis says.

Much-Needed Individuals (MNIs), aka your subscribers. "This is your toughest spaminator," she admits. They can terminate you with a couple of clicks. "Your survival depends on your ability to entertain, engage, and enlighten."

How can you heighten the chances that recipients will open your email, click through and—most importantly—close the sale? With good ol' engagement. "If your emails are engaging," says Ellis, "your customers will look forward to them and even pass them along to their friends."

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