Most of us who are in business get a ton of spam. It’s not unusual to get up to 100 unsolicited e-mails a day… and that’s a drop in the bucket compared to what many people receive.
Many people try to limit the number of spams by responding and asking to be removed from the e-mail list. All this does is confirm to the spammers that they have a valid e-mail address.
The only way to deal with all this unwanted mail is to delete it. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to accidentally delete a useful or important message by mistake.
This is an especially tough problem if you are the sender. Your message can get ignored or be mistakenly reported as spam.
How to avoid being mistaken for spam
However, there are steps you can take to avoid being “deleted” without being read.
Unless the recipient is very familiar with your e-mail address or name, avoid subject lines written in ALL CAPS or with $$$ and >>> signs.
Many people mistake a message as spam if the subject line talks about earning money or in any way mentions direct mail.
Don’t be ambiguous with the subject line. Make sure it is to the point and references a specific topic. Don’t leave it blank.
Always start your message with the recipient’s name. Try to say something specific about the recipient in the first line. “I just called and talked with Ron in your office” immediately separates your note from spam.
