Delivery Audit lists multiple filters that will block your mail. You will get blocked; here are 30 basic tips that are a starting point for all email marketers.

1.Monitor your mailing results. If you notice a drop in response rates from a specific geography (ISP), or a specific domain name (somecompany.com, yahoo.com, aol.com), then you are likely blacklisted.

2.Monitor blacklists to ensure your domain name and the IP address of your email server are not listed. Use Delivery Audit.

3.Dedicate staff to use Delivery Audit to monitor ISP and blacklist relationships, or work with an email service provider that will do so for you.

4.Identify when you are blacklisted, and negotiate with the list manager to be removed from the blacklist(s).

5.If you send high volumes of email you can ask to be white listed by major ISPs.

7.Avoid scripting and non-.PDF attachments in your messages because virus filters will block your messages from delivery. (#1 problem for emails with scripts or non .PDF attachments)

8.Avoid common words in your subject line and message body that make your message look like SPAM. (Use Delivery Audit to diagnose suspicious content).

9.Secure your mail server's IP address. Make sure it's configured for reverse DNS lookup. This may involve your email service provider if you use an ASP service.

10.Beware of rented lists, and only work with reputable sources. Rented lists are the #1 source of SPAM complaints.

11.Provide clear unsubscribe options in every single message.

12.Never, never, never send unsolicited emails. Having a clear opt in policy, and respecting your lists preferences is the best way to ensure your messages are well received by recipients. One of the most common sources of SPAM complaints is from people on your lists who didn't realize they opted in, or who think they don't have a safe method of opting out.

13.Don't send bulk email using the BCC field.

14.Keep your lists clean, and avoid bounces. The more bounced messages a server sends, the more likely it is to be blacklisted.

15.Avoid email service providers with low barriers to entry. Web based mail services that allow online registration and free trials often attract spammers and unprofessional marketers. If someone else's messages get flagged as SPAM, then your messages will most likely be blocked too because they are delivered from the same block of IP addresses.

16.Make sure your "abuse@" and "postmaster@" addresses are valid and can receive e-mail. Get access to those addresses and review the incoming mail. These addresses are recommended Internet standards set by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for complaint reporting.

17.Register the above addresses with abuse.net. It's a clearinghouse for registered abuse addresses used by many network administrators and tools to route complaints to the proper destination.

18.Register for a feedback loops. See the table below for some ISPs offering feedback loops. AOL's feedback loop, for example, is set up as part of its white listing process. ISP Report Spam Button Feedback Loop AOL Yes Yes Yahoo! Yes No Hotmail Yes No EarthLink Yes No NetZero Yes Yes Juno Yes Yes

19.Provide complaint instructions in your privacy and anti-spam policies. Often, less tech-savvy recipients want to complain to you directly, but don't know how. Link to your privacy policy from the e-mail's footer.

20.ISPs use complaints for many reasons. Complaints contribute to ISPs' content filters, especially the learning filters, to help improve their predictive algorithms. They also use complaints as a sort of voting system to deem whether e-mail coming from a certain IP address is good or bad. Too many complaints may lead to a message being filtered into bulk folders or rejected entirely. ISPs may then require the sender take specific steps, such as reconfirming a mailing list, before allowing more traffic from the sender.

21.Spam complaint percentages (spam complaints divided by messages sent, multiplied by 100) can vary widely based on list composition, opt-in approach, content type, frequency, your brand, and more. AOL recommends keeping spam complaints below 1-3 percent of traffic, depending on volume. This figure is unique to AOL's user base; it's too generous when applied as a general standard. Be at or below the range of one complaint per 6,000 to 8,000 messages, or 0.013 percent.

22.Minimizing complaints always starts with practices used to collect e-mail addresses. It should be obvious by now sending unsolicited e-mail only gets you in trouble. Mailing lists with the lowest complaint rates are either confirmed opt-in or properly managed single opt-in. If you have a solid permission-based list but still find incoming complaints are higher than the optimal rate or are rising, consider the following: Brand your subject lines. Mail systems with spam complaint buttons offer it at the inbox level. A recipient need only to scan subject lines and decide which messages not to delete immediately. A subject line such as "Exciting offers for you, Bob!" will surely be marked as spam. Consider using your company or newsletter name in brackets at the beginning of your subject lines.

23.Consider including unsubscribe instructions at the top of your e-mail, in addition to the footer. Some users use the "report spam" button as an unsubscribe method and won't scroll through an entire message to find that link.

24.Include instructions for users to white list your domain. This prevents a user-based filter from mistaking your message for spam and either diverting it to the spam folder or prefixing "[SPAM]" to the subject of the message.

25.Provide a preference update page. Disclose how your organization will use a subscriber's e-mail addresses, and how often. Allow subscribers to select preferences on the opt-in form, and link from e-mail to a preference or profile update page.

26.Avoid spammy looking content. Try not to use garish, bold fonts; large, red letters, and the like. Avoid images with poor compression quality. A clean, readable design isn't as likely to be mistaken for spam. Use delivery audit on your messages to diagnose bad design and content.

27.Don't over e-mail. If recipients expect to receive a few informational e-mail messages each month from your company, don't suddenly start sending two or three each week.

28.Don't send unexpected e-mail. If subscribers opted in to receive your "Trends & Tips" newsletter, don't send them your hard-sell e-commerce messages, unless they clearly requested them.

29.Include opt-in information. If possible, add to your e-mail admin area information, such as the subscriber's e-mail address, date of opt-in, and how she potentially subscribed (product registration, white paper download form, sweepstakes entry, etc). With many subscribers receiving dozens of commercial e-mail messages daily, it's easy to forget signing up for your newsletter -- and then to file a complaint.

30.Spam complaints are an unavoidable and important aspect of e-mail marketing that can't be overlooked. In most cases, above-average complaint rates suggest poor e-mail practices that over time lead to decreasing open and click-through rates. In the short term, too many spam complaints simply get your e-mail filtered or blocked.