BlackList Monitor Gives Businesses Options to Ensure Opt-in Email Gets Through

Email may be fast becoming the preferred means of business communications and marketing, but, according to Karen Fegarty, it is only an effective tool if your messages are getting through to your opt-in clients. This is not always the case.

"You can find a lot of data that shows that information is not getting through by email, and the impact that has on any given business. AOL currently blocks about 80 per cent of all email to its users, data from Return Path suggests, on average, 22 per cent of legitimate opt-in email wasn't delivered to user inboxes, and the costs to business of incorrectly blocked opt-in email is expected to reach $419 million by 2008."

Why is such a high percentage of business email not getting through? For the most part, it comes down to the growing phenomenon of blacklists. A blacklist is a database of internet addresses (IPs) that have either been identified as, or are being used by companies and individuals to send spam. There are many blacklists in existence and service and bandwidth providers (ISPs) subscribe to these lists to filter out the spam that their customers receive. In theory, it's a sensible solution to a significant problem, but the lists have their flaws, which means that many legitimate opt-in messages are being blocked from reaching business clients. Because it only takes one complaint, it is very easy for a company's IP to be added ? and erroneously ? to a high-use blacklist like SpamCorp. Also, many blacklists add IPs in blocks, so if one user of an IP is labeled a spammer, any business using it will be penalized. And there have been instances where companies have falsely reported competitors as spammers, just to gain a market advantage.

Fegarty's company, MailWorkZ, has come up with one of the most effective tools available to avoid erroneously blocked opt-in email ? BlackList Monitor. Launched in 2004, the web-based service actively monitors, on an hourly basis, 75 of the most popular blacklists, providing clients with automated email notifications if their IPs are found on any of these lists. It also provides clients with the best available information on how to contact and negotiate the removal of their IPs from any blacklist.

According to Fegarty, the genesis of BlackList Monitor came from problems that MailWorkZ and its clients were having sending email to clients.

"Not only do we have an email marketing software product Broadc@st - that companies can buy and use to send their own campaigns, we also conduct email campaigns on behalf of clients through our own servers."

Seeing the deliverability of a major client's email decline due to blacklists, Fegarty and her team knew they needed an effective solution, and fast: "We needed to determine exactly where we were listed on a real-time basis so we could take immediate steps to be removed. We didn't have time to check the lists daily, let alone hourly, or to find information to negotiate a way off the lists. It needed to be an instant, automated process."

With this in mind, MailWorkZ spent about four months of development work over the course of a year coming up with a solution using the .Net platform. During that time, the company conducted extensive research, wading through thousands of blacklists to determine the ones that were checked by the majority of major ISPs, how the lists determined legitimate email, and how to negotiate a way out of these databases.

Since its launch in June 2004, MailWorkZ has registered more than 400 active BlackList Monitor accounts, and is monitoring more than 1000 IPs. Client renewal rate, adds Fegarty, is over 50%, and feedback has been uniformly positive.

"Clients are indicating that this is a necessary tool, improving their email marketing success. They've also indicated that they appreciate the fact that it is easy to use, and how beneficial the removal information is for them."

Fegarty says that the company is focusing its marketing efforts on the UK and building greater market share in the U.S.

Mark Campbell is a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based marketing and communications consultant. He can be reached at krambell@ns.sympatico.ca.

More information about MailWorkZ (http://www.mailworkz.com) and the BlackList Monitor (http://www.blacklistmonitor.com) products can be seen by visiting their sites.

---

Five Profitable Ways To Use Your Follow Up Autoresponder

What? You are not using a Follow up Autoresponder? Then... Read More

Email Aesthetics- APPEARANCE is Everything!

Email AestheticsIt`s an old, old saying, but it`s true: you... Read More

Dirty Secrets Of Co-Registration Email Lists

Years ago, I listened to Internet marketing "gurus" share that... Read More

Five of the Most Powerful Elements In Opt-in Marketing

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

Lesson #2: Different (and Profitable!) Ways to Use Smart Autoresponders

So, autoresponders allow you to automate the process of instantly... Read More

Kick-Starting E-mail Profits Growth From One Single Shot!

Perhaps the most critical step in guaranteeing the success of... Read More

Achieve Success With Your Own Money - Making Newsletter

To be successful with a newsletter, you have to specialize... Read More

Youve Got Mail

It seems that Google is revolutionizing the Net in more... Read More

Should You Publish a PAID E-zine?

Many of my clients ask me whether they should publish... Read More

Why You Need a Newsletter

If you're a small business owner you definitely need promotion.... Read More

E-mail 101: The Dos and Donts

Even though many people have been writing e-mails for a... Read More

Choose Your Email Marketing Software Wisely

Successful online business can't be led without email marketing. Many... Read More

Is the IronPort Whitelist Actually An Extortion Tactic?

It appears that Mr. Gates' prophetic prediction that charging marketers... Read More

How To Get An Instant Response To Your Urgent EMail!

In the business world, "You've Got Mail" has turned into... Read More

An Aspirin or an Autoresponder!

Tired of silly old email enquiries? Say hello to autoresponders!If... Read More

Email Marketing Losing Its Effectiveness? The Alternative Is Desktop Marketing!

You've heard of email marketing, but it isn't what it... Read More

To Personalize Or Not To...That is the Question

If you are really interested in conducting a successful, effective... Read More

Three Phases to Email Sensitivity

The neurophysiological dynamics of understanding each email message are very... Read More

Is Your Email Address Blacklisted?

A lady emailed me yesterday very upset over the fact... Read More

Just Because You Can...

Just because you can communicate with hundreds of people virtually... Read More

Can You Win The Battle By Using A Toothpick?

Every business needs a low cost way to reach targeted... Read More

Keep Your Work From Home Newsletter From Being A Spam Filter Casualty

It's hard to get your email through to clients, friends... Read More

You DO Have an Email List Dont You?

No matter what type of business you operate, you need... Read More

4 Steps To 1,000.. 2,000..3,000 Subscribers In Days!

Everyone who has been marketing online for sometime already know... Read More

Wise Ways To Build Your Email List

Just about every successful Internet Marketer will tell you that,... Read More

How To Get People To Constantly Open Your e-Mail Promotions Or Your Newsletter

In this article I'm going to talk strictly from a... Read More

What Is An Email Signature And What Do I Do With It?

You hear it all the time... email signature, sig file,... Read More

Choose The Right Business For You In Less Than 15 Minutes

3 Characteristics Of "The Right Business" ModelThe business must service... Read More

Email Marketing Best Practices

Now that we've explored the importance of sending permission-based email,... Read More

Using Emotional Triggers in Ad Writing

Writing ads for either your own products or affiliate products... Read More

Autoresponders - One Simple Trick That Will Improve Your Results

Autoresponders, or responders, are simply programs that allow you to... Read More

8 Quick, Hot Reasons You Should Offer an E-mail Course Today

1. E-mail courses are generally quick and easy to create.... Read More

Creating A Newsletter And Making Your Website Magnetic

Creating a newsletter is an ideal way to drive repeat... Read More