Email Best Practices

Email communications can be an essential tool in any project or in any web-based application. Here are some best practices:

1. With the continued proliferation of spam in recent years, you need to be aware that both ISPs and users will try to filter out messages they think are unsolicited. Ensure that your messages don't look like spam by avoiding the following in the subject line: all caps; unique IDs or nonsense strings; and multiple exclamation points.
   
   
2. Identify your company in the subject line or sender to improve credibility. It will help to show that you have nothing to hide.
   
   
3. Be sure to remove or deactivate every unsubscribe request from your mailing list before sending a campaign. Nothing degrades your reputation by sending unwanted emails to someone after they've explicitly asked that you not do so.
   
   
4. Tell recipients why they are getting the email: "You're receiving this message because you signed up on our site..."
   
   
5. If you have a Refer-A-Friend program on your web site, always make sure to refer to the referring person in your email.
   
   
6. Overall, a respectful, honest, and up-front email campaign will protect your credibility even if the user isn't interested in your message.

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