Clickz: Delivering the Mail

A look at what "ISPs, Web-based e-mail providers, corporations, and others […] identify and block spam with":

• Blacklists/header checks

• Whitelists
• Content-based filters
• Volume-based filters
• Customer-controlled features

And here are the questions you have to ask yourself to optimize your email delivery:

• Do we have relationships with the major ISPs, and, if they keep a whitelist, are we on it?
• Do we have the resources to monitor the many blacklists out there?
• Are we tracking how and when permission is collected, and are our permission practices standard across the organization?
• What tools do we have at our disposal to conduct data hygiene on an ongoing, real-time basis?
• Are our servers correctly identified and configured?
• Are we testing our e-mail content prior to sending so we can prevent any possible problems?
• Does our mail relay server have the flexibility to control the flow of volume depending on the receiving ISP or Web-based e-mail service provider?
• Are we seeding our lists and monitoring campaign delivery?
• Do we have a centralized log where we can pool and address delivery issues?
• Are we clearly communicating to our customers steps they can take to aid the delivery process?

Yes, this is lots more work than it used to, or should be.