Are Your Subscribers Receiving Your Newsletter?

In my e-mail one day, I received the following message: "Hello, I am a subscriber to your ezine and received the attached e-mail. Please advise if this is actually from your website. Thank you."

The attachment was from my mailing list program. It was informing my dear subscriber that since her mail kept bouncing, "I`m not going to try again; this message has been in the queue too long."

1. The Problem

Why was my newsletter bouncing? My mailing list program reports receiving this message: "...The information presently available to AOL indicates this server is transmitting unsolicited e-mail to AOL. Based on AOL`s Unsolicited Bulk E-mail policy at http://www.aol.com/info/bulkemail.html AOL cannot accept further e-mail transactions from this server. Please have your ISP/ASP or server admin call AOL at 1-888-212-5537, or visit http://postmaster.info.aol.com for more information."

Basically, I was being accused of sending unsolicited commercial e-mail. This was a double opt-in subscriber. I don`t do spam!

America Online, Inc. (AOL) had blocked my subscriber from receiving the e-zine she requested. About fifteen percent of my subscribers use an AOL e-mail address. Not only am I adversely affected, but my AOL subscribers are not getting their e-mails.

In contacting AOL sales and technical support, I found myself against a brick wall. Although, I was repeatedly offered a free trial to their service, they were unable to help me regain my subscriber.

"Why don`t you contact your subscriber and have them whitelist your e-mail address?" How? All I have is her AOL e-mail address and everything I send to her fails. Believe me, I`ve tried. (You could use another e-mail address, I suppose, to trick AOL, but why should you have to?)

Of course, they absolutely refused to remove the block against me. (If you would like to learn more about AOL, try the search terms "AOL" and "AOL sucks" in a major search engine.)

By the way, it isn`t just AOL that is doing this. Some other major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are doing the same thing. As well, some popular e-mail software programs also filter out wanted e-mails.

2. Some Solutions

If your subscribers are not receiving your newsletter, here are some things you can do to alleviate the problem.

1. Warn your subscribers. On your newsletter signup page, explain why they might not receive your e-zine. Explain about e-mail filters; ask them to whitelist your domain, not only to bypass the ISP spam filters but also to allow mail through any e-mail software they may have.

2. Try to avoid using words that trigger spam filters. Personally, I don`t like this one; it smacks of violating my right to free speech, freedom of the press, et cetera. (Yes, I know. With rights come responsibilities. However, I am acting responsibly!) As a practical matter, though, it`s something you have to consider. (I had my newsletter checked by a popular spam checker and it passed with flying colours.)

3. Send a text e-mail informing your subscribers that the current issue of your newsletter is available online at your website. (It could also be a good move to have an archive of past issues there, too, to boost your content and search engine rankings).

4. Consider using alternative ways of communicating. For example, you might try Really Simple Syndication (RSS).

Oh, by the way, my replies (with read receipt requested) to my dear subscriber`s e-mail address appear to never have made it. To her I say: "If you`re out there somewhere, please re-subscribe. You might want to think about using a different e-mail address, though."

RESOURCE BOX:

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.

For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/

---

Masterful E-mail Marketing

There are more than 100 million e-mail users in the... Read More

What Do Your E-Mail Messages Say About You?

There probably isn't a business person alive who hasn't at... Read More

Sequential Autoresponders Build Customer Relatonships

A powerful reason for making the switch from using the... Read More

10 Terrific Ways To Enlarge Your Subscriber Base

1. Create a unique selling proposition (USP).Developing a USP for... Read More

Track Customer Response With an Autoresponder Service

Another powerful reason for making the switch from using the... Read More

How to Start Your Own Mailing List

I remember reading time and time again when I first... Read More

Email Autoreponder ? How to Put your Business on Autopilot

Answering emails can take up a significant portion of the... Read More

The List Is The Thing

Many companies begin their online sales ventures with the wrong... Read More

Email Hosting ? Learn How To Use eMail To Grow Your Business

Email is a wonderful thing. It costs next to nothing... Read More

Heres Why You Dont NEED a Blog

The word "blog" seems to be everywhere, and what an... Read More

Email Marketing - Whats the Situation in April 2005?

Email is still the King in Internet marketing. Many people... Read More

A Little Secret That Produces BIG Results

What if I told you that with each passing day,... Read More

What Good Is An AutoResponder?

A term that confuses just about everyone is "autoresponder". When... Read More

Let The Email Wars Begin

Things just got a lot hotter in the hyper-competitive world... Read More

Lesson #1: Autoresponders 101

What the heck is an autoresponder?An autoresponder is much like... Read More

Are Opt-in Email Lists Still Valuable in this SPAM Age?

One of the things that the introduction of blogs has... Read More

Internet Tip of the Week: Mistakes Count Against You

Before the advent of email most of us, other than... Read More

The Fastest List Growing Secret

Are you running ads and marketing with tag lines that... Read More

Autoresponders = Automatic Internet Marketing Success

What if you could send out all the information that... Read More

Email Etiquette V

Further to my previous issues this subject continues ? as... Read More

Protect Yourself from Being Accused of Sending SPAM

Email is a vital part of doing business online, but... Read More

How to Structure Your Follow-Up Sequence for Maximum Profit

Before I do this, let me describe how autoresponders work.... Read More

Five of the Most Powerful Elements In Opt-in Marketing

Lack of trust is the biggest problem marketers have on... Read More

unorthodox email subject tricks -500% more responses!

5 unorthodox email subject tricks -500% more responses! (c) Copyright... Read More

How to Start A Money Making Newsletter

Writing and publishing a successful newsletter is perhaps the most... Read More

Successful Email Marketing

No doubt email is still the best way to get... Read More

Is Your Autoresponder Truly Promoting Your Company?

Getting other people to promote your web site is one... Read More

3 Essential Tools for Email Marketers

Marketing your business with email is an art.It's very easy... Read More

The Lazy Way To Build A Responsive Opt-In Email List

If you're in business on the Internet to make a... Read More

How Opt-in Email Marketing Helps You In Your Online Business

The consumer of today is increasingly bombarded by marketing messages... Read More

The Importance of a Name in the Sent from Email Address

When using an email marketing tool such as Adestra's Message... Read More

Building Relationships Takes Time: Overcoming the Overnight Surge Urge

Whenever we talk to a new or a "we hope... Read More

Protect Yourself Legally with an Autoresponder Service

Another powerful reason for making the switch from using the... Read More