Avoid Survey Emails Looking Like Spam

These days, every email account is equipped with a spam filter. These filters look for various words, phrases, and programming, run them through an algorithm, and if they show up as high probability spam, they get sent to your spam filter. This filter is a great way to make sure your inbox isn’t filled with junk mail, but it’s also a great way for your survey email to not reach the recipient. Avoiding spam filters is an important part of getting a good response rate.

The reality is that your survey is a form of spam. Rarely does a customer want to fill out your survey with any amount of passion, and while most are more than willing to lend a hand, you should never expect that your surveys are going to be well received. Most people, even those that care about your company, simply don’t care about the inconvenience, and so in many ways your surveys are spam already.

The reason this is relevant is because “online surveys” are used as a form of spam. They’re a good excuse to get private information from people by getting them to click on links with the belief that if they fill out a survey they’ll earn money. So there are two parts to this: Online surveys are a type of pseudo-spam.

Online surveys are used as real spam. Add in the idea that far too many companies use their online surveys as a way to market their company and you get a recipe for spam filter disaster.

The key here is to avoid any keywords associated with sales. Keywords like “free,” “discount,” “win,” and “prize” are all spam keywords, and while including them may not guarantee that your survey will be seen as spam, using them may increase your chances of being caught up in spam filters. You should also avoid any harsh sales language, like “click here to learn more about our great products!” While the algorithm is not well known, it can be assumed that anything that could have easily been a part of a spam email may be caught up by the filter.

You should also test your surveys often. Send them to different types of email addresses and make sure that they all successfully receive the exact email you plan on sending. You can also send a pre-survey email, asking customers to prepare for the upcoming message.

The exact spam filter algorithms are not known, and each email address uses its own spam filter. But by refraining from terminology and words that are often used in spam and sales messages, you can increase the chances of having your customer successfully receive the email.