The Complaint Department

The number one complaint about the Internet is the receipt of unsolicited e-mail known as "spam". Many of my clients tell me that it is both annoying and time consuming to wade through all the unwanted e-mails that flood their in-boxes every day. It detracts from the usability of Internet service, wastes their valuable time and is nearly impossible to get rid of. The challenge for the business community is to find a way to send and receive legitimate e-mail from interested potential customers while filtering out the spam. There are several methods, some of which can provide that much-needed relief, which I'd like to discuss.

Filtering Spam

Internet Service Providers (ISP) filtering is becoming a popular response to the huge increase of spam in the last few months. The ISPs are installing software that reads each e-mail and looks for certain wordings and other characteristics they consider unique to spam users. These messages are then blocked from your inbound mail at the ISP and never reach your computer. Most providers will deposit any spam or spam look-alikes in a mail box on their site. Subsequently, you can visit the site to check that legitimate mail you are interested in has not been labeled as spam. Many ISP systems also provide methods to allow you to specify particular e-mail addresses you want to allow and others you want to block, an excellent way of cutting down on known spammer attacks. The disadvantage of most types of filtering software is that following up on the system requires a "log on" to your ISP's management system. In itself, this is time consuming and easy to put off or overlook, allowing perfectly legitimate, time-sensitive, even important, messages to be lost. Of course, if you have your own server, you can purchase these same filters and provide spam protection for yourself, acting as your own system administrator in managing and maintaining your own system and its updates.

A much more usable, flexible system is available for small- to medium-sized companies (or home use) who operate PCs. Personal computer filtering systems are installed individually on each machine. This allows the user to review and control the e-mail directly from his or her own computer without accessing the ISP's site management web page or performing other administrative functions. I personally prefer this approach, since it lets me review the filtered mail much more quickly. If there is something on which I want to receive delivery, a simple mouse click will add the address of that e-mail to a list, usually called a "friends list". Any unwanted e-mails that make it through the filter and appear in my in-box can just as easily be added to my blocked list so that I never see them again.

There are many such programs available on the market and you can review them by searching the Web using any browser and the phrase "spam filtering software". In general, this will result in about 1400 references. I personally use the program called "I Hate Spam". Click here to read about it.

Don't be a Spammer

The first rule of responsible Internet use is to not become a spammer yourself. There is some debate over what actually constitutes spam. There are those who contend that any e-mail sent without direct invitation from the recipient is spam. There are others who feel that mutual interest or common goals is a reasonable enough basis on which to send out an initial communication. For instance, most people would agree that sending e-mails about your products to company buyers in your prospective market is not spamming, while sending blanket messages to individuals, all employees, unrelated corporations or unknown recipients is.

In the business to business environment, it is entirely acceptable to contact current customers and prospective clients (those with whom you have established some form of contact and whose name and e-mail address you have personally obtained) with e-mail containing information of mutual interest. This is not spam and can be of immense benefit to both parties.

Avoid Having your Message Blocked

As mentioned above, there are certain characteristics unique to spam that you must avoid in order to ensure that your message will get to the intended recipient. There is a wide range of words, backgrounds, colors, e-mail links and other specifics that will cause your message to be trapped by an ISP filter, even if the recipient is wanting to hear from you and expecting your message. Unfortunately, this list of e-mail spam triggers is an ever-changing one. It takes constant monitoring to keep up with the newest spam systems, whose parameters can sabotage even the best mailing campaign. My research has led me to many of the same conclusions reached by Pencil Dude in his recent article. Click here to read what he has to say and then let Anglia Consulting help you apply the latest research solutions to the ongoing spam problem.

Please accept my invitation to subscribe to our newsletter for further tips, tricks and information on getting the most from your Internet use. You'll receive it automatically at each publication and, as always, it is free.

Stephen W. Walker