Newsletter Design: How to Avoid Spam Complaints

Sending out a business newsletter to an opt-in list is one of the best ways to market products or services online. Attached to your website, it can keep subscribers up to date on sales, special offers, and any new information about the business. Even though people must sign up for a newsletter to receive it, there are still people who will complain that they did not want the emails. Avoid spam complaints with the following tips to make your newsletter complaint proof.

Avoid Newsletter Spam Complaints - Double Opt In Strategy

People sign up for newsletters by filling in their name and email address on your website, or some similar method. This is a single opt in form of beginning a newsletter subscription. A double opt in strategy is much more effective to avoid spam complaints.

With a double opt in newsletter design, the interested person must first fill in their name and email address, and then click on a link in an email sent to that address. This verifies that they did sign up and that the email did go through to their box.

Avoid Newsletter Spam Complaints - Include Anti-Spam and Unsubscribe

Every newsletter you send out to your opt-in list should include a blurb at the bottom that tells the receiver that it is not spam, and that he or she opted in to receive this contact from you. This alone will not impress most complainers. True spam artists put this information on their emails as well. However, if you couple the anti-spam sentence with clear instructions how to unsubscribe from the newsletter, complaints will go down.

Avoid Newsletter Spam Complaints - Top Quality Newsletters

The number one way to reduce spam complaints on your newsletter is by sending out a quality newsletter. If subscribers get an email every week filled with links to your website, links to other people's articles, and advertisements, they will feel it is spam. Quality content makes subscribers happy. Write at least one article about your topic in the newsletter every week. If you do advertise a product, combine it with a personal review of your experience with it.

Avoiding spam complaints from your newsletter subscribers comes down to three things. First, be sure that whoever signs up is actually signing up. A double opt in strategy can help, as well as reduced bouncing email addresses on your list. Second, be sure to tell the people getting your newsletter how to unsubscribe. Saying the email is not spam is not good enough if you do not provide an out for those who do not want it. Third, write a quality newsletter. People will not complain if your information and presentation is good.