Test spam

In Acumbamail you can now test against the most popular spam filters to determine deliverability before sending your campaigns.

• Introduction
• How do I take the test?
• What information do I get in the test?
• How can I see my last test taken?
• pending status
• Frequent questions

Introduction

Until your email is sent we cannot know if it will be considered spam, so before sending an email marketing campaign, make sure that your emails arrive in the inbox and not in the spam folder.

By taking our test you can get information from the most popular spam filters such as Barracuda, DKIM or Spam Assassin.

How do I take the test?

In the last step of creating your campaign, you will be able to take the test. Click on the "Start test" button in the Spam test section. A window will open from where you can launch the test.

What information do I get in the test?

Apart from testing our email on different devices , it is also important to perform spam tests to verify the delivery potential of your email.

The test analyzes the content of your email and where you send it from.

The percentages on the delivery capacity are graphically represented according to the classification of the filters: B2B and B2C, as well as globally.

The information offered by the different filters will be displayed, this time classified by the type of information obtained: Feedback and Pass/Fail

How can I see my last test taken?

If you took a test and want to watch it again, it's very simple. Just click again on the "Start test" button in the Spam test section of the campaign, where you consulted it, and a window will open from where you can access the test performed.

pending status

The Pending status means that you have not yet received a response from the filter. Some filters may be slow to respond, so it is preferred to show a preview and not make the user wait when the timeout exceeds a limit. But do not worry, you can access the test after a while and you will see how the results are completed.

Frequent questions

• What does B2B or B2C mean?

  Spam filters are classified into two categories: B2B and B2C, abbreviations for business models.

  B2B is also known as Business to Business, whose translation into Spanish could be "from business to business"
  B2C or Business to Customer, whose translation into Spanish would be "from business to customer or consumer"

  A B2B or B2C tag is displayed next to the name of each filter.



• Why does my email fail in certain spam filters?

  If you send email campaigns, you will usually run into spam filter issues. On average, between 10 and 20% of your emails will be blocked due to spam filters and overzealous user settings. The best way to succeed is to understand how filters work and minimize the chance of your email encountering these issues. Spam filters analyze a long list of criteria and assign points based on those criteria.

  This list is constantly growing and adapting because spam filters learn every time someone clicks "This is spam" in your email program. Spam filters even sync with each other online to share what they've learned.

  Some tips to prevent your emails from arriving as spam:

  • Do not buy or rent email lists
  • Don't capitalize everything and use coherent sentences
  • Don't abuse exclamation points or special characters
  • Avoid using inconspicuous colors (or on the contrary, strident) in your texts
  • Don't forget to perform a spell check
  • Do not fill your email with keywords
  • In proportion, there should be more text than images. Avoid using large images or flyers or that take up the entire message
  • Keep your mailing list up to date and clean
  • Use double opt-in emails
  • Ask your subscribers to add you to their directory
  • Include a clear unsubscribe link and a physical email address
  • Use a familiar sender name
  • Keep your emails short and cordial
  • Avoid common spam topics
  • Beware of links to third parties
  • Include a link to your website's privacy policy if you have one
  • Test your emails before sending them

• Why are my spam test results poor or content poor?

  The companies that create and maintain these filters do not provide more information on how they work, to prevent spammers from circumventing them. Some, such as SpamAssassin share information about the spam score but many others, however, only return a pass/fail.

  SpamAssassin scoring example:

  

  The process is very simple, each attribute of the email is checked and it is scored. All the scores are added together and it will be what determines whether or not you pass the test. A score above 5 will indicate that it will be treated as spam.

  Example of Barracuda score:

  

  The Barracuda spam filter is one of the most well-known and effective in B2B email communication. There is also a major network-managed block list, which is known as the Barracuda Reputation Blocklist (BRBL). Like other email spam filters, Barracuda has a method for giving messages a score that qualifies their likelihood of being spam. It will check block lists and scan for viruses before examining smaller spam signals.

• Why does my email pass the test but arrive as spam?

  Deliverability is a complex aspect in which several factors are involved:

  1. Email server reputation.
  A sender's reputation is made up of a combination of IP Address + Domain + sender email address, so it's important that you maintain consistency.

  2. Local configuration settings
  Users who receive email can have their own local settings and settings for spam. Our test is based on a default setting.

  3. Blocked senders and address book
  Some mail clients use different levels of spam blocking depending on whether or not the sender is in the address book.

  4. Email content and subject lines
  Spam filters look for words in the subject line and body of the email that may look like spam. Most work with a point system.

  5. Quality of the mailing list
  If you have multiple subscribers on your mailing list who no longer have valid email addresses, you risk being blocked.

  6. Configuring the Sending Server
  If you have your own domain, we recommend setting up DKIM/SPF to increase your open rate.

  Other reasons why they can end up as spam:

  • Your recipients marked your emails as spam.
  • You're not following HTML best practices.
  • Your subject lines are misleading or contain spam triggers.
  • You do not have permission from your recipients.
  • Your content activates spam filters.
  • An unsubscribe link is not included.
  • Your information "from" is incorrect or misleading.