h-i-p email messaging design best practices

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H-I-P Email Messaging Design Best Practices

Graphic Development

To make sure that your HTML email looks its best in all possible email clients, have your designers follow these guidelines and best practices.

Use both HTML text and images in the message, not all images. That way, recipients can still read the message if the images are turned off.

Design images in .gif or .jpg format and include height and width parameters so the sizing remains correct.

Store images on a web server and link them to your message instead of embedding them in

the message itself. You must use the full URL and not just the local reference.

Use alt text for all of your images so recipients don’t need to turn the images on in order to see what is missing. Be as descriptive as possible, especially for your calls-to-action. You

may even include the offer in your alt tags so it remains visible to your recipients at all times.

Use background colors in both the body and the table in order to ensure the color shows up in the multiple email clients. Some will strip out the background color in the body, but the messages will render correctly if the color is also included in the table.

Remember that Outlook 2007 does not support background images in table cells but it does support background colors. If you use background images, make sure you also use a background color in the cell that will look okay for Outlook 2007 users, such as: <td background="/ images/listrak.gif" bgcolor="3366cc">

Don’t use image maps as they are not fully supported across all email clients. It is a better practice to slice the image, using alt tags for each section, and link each part separately.

Format fonts without CSS for the highest email client compatibility:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">My text</font>

Stop using invisible text (text that is the same color as the background) if you are using it for any reason. This is a tactic used by spammers and your messages won’t make it through the spam filters if they contain invisible text.



Email Size and Layout

Design HTML messages with a maximum width of 600 pixels so it can be viewed in the preview pane and by your recipients who still set their resolution to 800x600.

Keep important messaging, such as the main topics, calls-to-action, navigation, and logos,

within the top 300 pixels so they remain above the fold.

Limit the size of an email to 40k, including images, to prevent long download times.

Use tables in your HTML code for maximum control over placement of text, images, and the

width of the message. However, avoid nested tables if possible as they might not render properly in all email clients.

Limit the use of rowspans and colspans as they might not render properly in many email

clients.

Set the height and width of your images to help your message maintain its proper layout even if images are turned off.

HTML Code:

Check all HTML code to be sure it is valid and that all tags are closed.

Do not use CSS as many email clients strip it out or overwrite it. If your designers insist on using it, keep it to a minimum and only use simple attributes, such as text style and color, and

be sure they use inline styles.

Don’t use java, JavaScript, frames, ActiveX, ASP, PHP, cache busters, or Dynamic HTML as most email clients do not support them.

Don’t use form elements as they could be stripped out of the message.

Don’t embed Flash and other rich media files and videos in your messages. Instead, your emails should link to a landing page containing the files.

Use <p></p> tags instead of <div></div> tags for alignment purposes and <br><br> tags to separate paragraphs of text.

Be careful using <body> tags as they could be stripped or ignored.

Remove Meta tags from the code as they are not used by email clients. They are extraneous code that is unneeded and, therefore, should be removed.

Review HTML code for extra code that shouldn’t be there. Using programs such as

Dreamweaver or other WYSIWYG editors can add extra code to your HTML, which may cause some display issues.

If applicable, check personalization tags and dynamic content to be sure the code is

correct. If they aren’t, recipients will see the wrong messaging.

Use title tags in link URLs for better readability, such as: <a href="/" title="Site">



Do’s and Don’ts with Content

Don't:

...use capital letters in an unnecessary manner. Words that are written all in capitals is deemed

as SHOUTING and is a technique that spammers use; so this "technique" is looked for in spam filters.

...use lots of unnecessary punctuation. For example lots of !!!!'s will do you no favours. Couple

them with capital letters and you will be deemed as shouting even LOUDER!!!!! at your recipients.

...use lots of special characters. This includes the asterisk, the aforementioned exclamation marks,

question marks, dollar/pound symbols, percentage symbols etc. Your email may indeed include a

section to advise users that there is 10% off, but keep the tone down and use it just once or twice to

keep the spam score low.

...use lots of different text formatting. A mixture of various fonts, very large text, excess usage of

boldness, italics and multicoloured text are all frowned upon as these are all techniques that

spammers use. Keep the text within the email of a uniform style; i.e. one font for all of the text, larger

text only being assigned to headers/titles and perhaps two colours in use throughout the text. Keep

the email pleasantly appealing to keep the spam score low.

...make too many text alterations. Too many alterations to a piece of text via the WYSIWYG editor

will add more and more snippets of code around that piece of text to determine the format. For

example, highlighting a title, setting as bold and size 16 is fine - but dont then remove the bold, then

re-add it and then maybe set the size as 18, before reducing the size to 14, then back up to 18; then

adding italic and removing the bold etc etc - you get the picture. Each one of those changes will have

added a piece of code around that title, which, when considered across the whole email, can cause

spam filters to filter the email if they see a lot of "excess code" in the backend of the email.

...add too many links. Links within an email are of course one of the main elements of a marketing

email or newsletter. However, they can increase the spam score if too many are used or they have

been added incorrectly. For example a paragraph full of different hyperlinks will upset some spam

filters. Likewise if the whole paragraph is set as one single hyperlink. Use links sparsely and try to

avoid the spammers technique of a "click here" hyperlink with something like "View our shop for more

info" (with "shop" being the hyperlink).

...place white text on a graphical background. Although a technique required to make your

design visually pleasing, it is also a technique that spammers use to hide text from the recipient but to

help get around spam filters. When placing text against a background colour, contrasting colours are

recommended so the spam filters can see the text is presented clearly for the recipient to read.

...enter a form in the email. If you want to use a form, such as a questionnaire, then you would

need to place a link in your email to a page on your website that contains the form.


Do’s:

...make sure the email is populated with correct spelling and grammar. An email containing

typos and sentences that don't make sense can be caught by spam filters, as they deem the email is

unprofessional and therefore created by a lazy spammer.

...use a similar volume of text and images within your email. Too many images can upset spam

filters, as can emails with too much text. Striking a balance between the two is important and under

no circumstances should an email only contain just one large image.

...enter a relevant subject and friendly from value. The subject must be relative to the content

within the email and attract the recipients attention while the friendly from value needs to inform the

recipient who the email is from. These values are very important and can mean the difference

between your email being deleted or being saved to be read later on (if not immediately).

...personalize your email if possible. This gives a sense of personalization and importance to the

email, encouraging the recipient to open it and can please the spam filters. However, if you do not

have the recipients' names but still insert the tags, then a badly personalized email will only provoke

the user to delete the email or even unsubscribe completely.

...create a clean coded email. An email with lots of excess or redundant backend code can cause

your email to be filtered by some clients. This is very common when users copy and paste segments

of text from other sources such as a website or a Word document etc. Doing so copy's the backend

code of the source, which is irrelevant for an email as it upsets mail filters and can cause difficulty

when trying to edit that text when creating the email. Although easy to do and saves time, it is much

better practice to create the tabular structure of your email, then manually enter all the text/images

and leaving the formatting of the text accordingly to the end.

...have a professional custom template written for you. Having a custom template written

means your email will not contain any poor, excess or redundant code and will look its best in all mail

clients.

...encourage the recipient to add you to their white list. Just because they may receive one

email from you successfully, does not mean the next one won’t arrive in their junk filter. Your email

address or friendly from (if constant) values can be added to ensure future emails will arrive in the

inbox.


Common Content-Based Rules Flagged by Spam Filters

If you're having trouble avoiding a particular warning, here's an explanation of some of the more popular content-based filtering rules you might see along with some suggestions on how to avoid

them. Please keep in mind that some of these filters go against the grain of best practice email marketing, such as penalizing you for including a reminder about the subscriber having given you their permission. We don't recommend trying to avoid every rule listed below; it's just not possible.

Asks you to click below

Asks you to click below - in capital letters

Contains a tollfree number

Dear Friend? That's not very dear!

Contains 'Dear (something)'

Gives a lame excuse about why you were sent this SPAM

Tells you how to stop further SPAM

I wonder how many emails they sent in error...

Claims you opted-in or registered

Claims you can be removed from the list

Contains 'for only' some amount of cash

Message is 50% to 60% HTML




Images with 200-400 bytes of words

HTML has a big font

HTML font face is not a word

HTML font face is not a commonly used face

HTML font color is same as background

HTML font color is blue

HTML font color is gray

HTML Font Color Has Unusual Name

HTML font color is red

HTML font color is unknown to us

HTML font color not within safe 6x6x6 palette

HTML link text says "click here"

HTML included in message

HTML has "tbody" tag

HTML title contains "Untitled"

Image tag intended to identify you

'remove' URL contains an email address

Message-Id is not valid, according to RFC 2822

A WHOLE LINE OF YELLING DETECTED

2 WHOLE LINES OF YELLING DETECTED

3 WHOLE LINES OF YELLING DETECTED

Includes a URL link to send an email

'Received:' has 'may be forged' warning

Spam tool pattern in MIME boundary

Message Text in HTML Without Specified Charset

Message only has text/html MIME parts

Quoted-printable line longer than 76 characters

Message-Id was added by a relay


Can Not Be Combined With Any Other Offer

From: does not include a real name

Free Offer

Stop the offers, coupons, discounts etc!

Only $$$

Encourages you to waste no time in ordering

Risk free. Suuurreeee....

Save $$$

Contains a line >=199 characters long

Says: "to be removed, reply via email" or similar

Asks You to Click Below (In lower or capital letters)- Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking essentially for the phrases "click here" or "click below".

Example "Click Here for your great offer" | "Click on the link

below for details"

Suggestion Any phrase that doesn't include the words "click" should not trigger this rule. Try "visit here" as an alternative. This rule also looks for ALL CAPS as well, so "CLICK HERE" is caught as well as "click here".

Image tag intended to identify you - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for the presence of "web bugs" or "web beacons". A web bug is an HTML <IMG> tag that typically returns a transparent 1 pixel by 1 pixel wide image. The image is only returned after passing through a tracking program that informs the sender that the

message was opened and by whom. Web bugs only work in HTML email. Since HTML email is automatically rendered upon reading, any user online who opens their mail will trigger the web bug. Web bugs are seen by many as an invasion of privacy. A best practice is for those sending email

with web bugs to disclose the practice in their Privacy Policy and Email Policy.

Example http://www.domain.com/bug.cgi?id=1a2b3c45

Suggestion The only way around this rule is either to not utilize web beacons or dynamic images or to somehow create a web image tracking device that does not include any of the above "extensions". If you

disclose use of web bugs clearly in your privacy and email policy, you can feel better about using them - your recipients should know they are there. There seems to be no valid reason to use obfuscated URLs

http://www.domain.com/bug.cgi?id=1a2b3c45


in an email message.

In general, knowing whether a subscriber has opened a message is extremely valuable. We would

not recommend removing a web beacon unless it is the last, best way to reduce the "spaminess" of the message to a level that makes it likely to be delivered.

Dear Friend? That's not very dear!' - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the message body looking for the word "Dear" along with the word

"Friend".

Example Dear Friend

Suggestion Any phrase that doesn't exactly match the regular

expression above will not trigger the rule.

Contains 'Dear (something)' - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the message body looking for the word "Dear" along with a capitalized name

Example Dear internet candidate Dear Madam Dear Car Shopper

Dear Internet traveller

Suggestion Any phrase that doesn't exactly match the regular

expression above will not trigger the rule.

Includes a URL Link to Send an Email - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the message body for a "mailto:" tag.

Example [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Suggestion At the writing of this guide, this rule has only a very

low association with spam according to analysis.

The increased ease-of-use that is provided by the "mailto:" tag surpasses any delivery issues generated by having the tag.

mailto:[email protected]


Tells You How To Stop Further SPAM - Body Rule

Explanation Looks for the phrases "you do not wish to receive" or "you no longer wish to receive"

Example You do not wish to receive

Do the following if you no longer wish to receive

this mail

Suggestion Opt out instructions are required by law in the United States and considered an email marketing best practice. Whether this scores positive or negative toward your SpamAssassin score, opt out instructions should be in email marketing copy. If you can find an alternate way to phrase the

unsubscribe instructions other than the exact

phrases listed above, you can avoid tripping this rule.

Message-Id was added by a relay - Header Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the header looking

for the Message-Id header tag. Specifically the test looks for the Message-Id to appear before the "Received by" header.

Example None available

Suggestion In RFC compliant email deployment systems, the Message-Id will be in the original email as recommended. This test looks for the Message-Id

to appear before "Received-by" headers. If you don't properly apply a Message-Id before you send your messages you will likely trip this rule. You may want to consider changing your mailing setup.

The RFC for Internet Email Format - RFC 2822, indicates that messages SHOULD have a Message-Id: present when prepared and handed off to a recipient MTA. Still, many MTA's will simply add the Message-Id if one is not present. SpamAssassin

finds that in certain circumstances, if Message-Id was added by a relay it is consistent with much spam that has been analyzed.

Consider changing your email deployment system

to include Message-Id, however, if it is likely to be a difficult change in an email deployment system - consider the penalty of this rule on your overall spam score and whether it's worth any effort to avoid this rule.

http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2822.txt


Message-Id is not valid, according to RFC 2822 - Header Rule

Explanation The Message-Id uniquely identifies a piece of mail. The field is generated by the Mail User Agent (MUA)

or the first Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) that the message passes through. As a unique identifier it must be unique across both space and time. For that reason, it is structured similar to an email address - that is the unique value is split with an "@" sign. The left hand side of the value typically

uniquely indicates the message, usually by combining a date/time stamp numeric value with a process id of some sort. The right side typically identifies the machine in which the message originated, e.g. host.domain.com.

Some programs which are used to send junk mail insert a forged Message-Id: header which contains invalid information. Normal mail servers do not include this invalid information, and so this is a

strong indicator of junk mail.

Example [email protected]

Suggestion In RFC compliant email deployment systems, the Message-Id will be in the original email as required and should be formed according to syntax requirements set forth by Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). If this rule is flagged in your

results, first note where the message in question was sent to SpamAssassin from. If it was sent from a personal MUA, such as Microsoft Outlook Express, then you may consider ignoring this flag. Versions

of Outlook Express are known to create erroneous Message-Id's. Production email marketing messages are typically not sent via Outlook. If the

message was sent from your production email deployment system, you should contact your email deployment vendor or internal development group to investigate.

HTML has a big font - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for <FONT> tags. Specifically it looks for <FONT> tags whose "SIZE" attribute is either set to "+1" or

larger or "3" or larger. The rule also looks at size pt designations greater than 12 pt in <STYLE> tags as well.


Example <STYLE="font-size:14pt;>

Suggestion Large font size may be indicative of a spam sender

practice. Use larger font size sparingly, or consider using an image to represent the desired text with the appropriate size desired.

HTML font color is blue - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for

<FONT> tags. Specifically it looks for <FONT> tags whose "COLOR" attribute is blue.

Suggestion SpamAssassin rules are based largely on the open source rule set provided by SpamAssassin. SpamAssassin's genetic algorithm takes into account how often a particular attribute is associated with spam. Blue color font has been

historically associated with spam, however its score has fluctuated and decreased with successive releases of SpamAssassin.

Tells You To Click On a URL - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for

the phrase "click here".

Example http://www.domain.com>Click Here for your great offer

Suggestion Anything that doesn't include the phrase "click here" in an HTML anchor tag ("<a>") should not trigger this rule. Try alternate phrases for "click here."

HTML link text says "click here" - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for HTML anchor tags with the phrase "click here".

Example http://www.domain.com>Click This for your great offer

Suggestion Anything that doesn't include the phrase "click

here" or "click this" in an HTML anchor tag ("<a>") should not trigger this rule. Try alternate phrases for "click here" or "click this".

http://help.campaignmonitor.com/%3Ca

http://help.campaignmonitor.com/%3Ca


HTML Font Face is Not a Commonly Used Face - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for HTML <FONT> tags that use uncommon or

nonstandard fonts.

Example <FONT FACE="Universe" SIZE="1">Hello world</FONT>

Suggestion Any Font Face value not specified above will trip this rule. Email marketing best practice would be to use a common font for greatest compatibility for

recipients. Spam senders may attempt to utilize uncommon fonts to either draw attention or for some other reason.

"Remove" URL Contains an Email Address - URI Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines all URI / URL references in an email, looking for HTTP references

that include an email address.

Example http://domain.com/[email protected]&id=5

Suggestion A URL that references an email address is construed as passing that information back to a program. This typically occurs in email marketing in web beacons/bugs and unsubscribes/list modification links. While in some cases it may be considered an email

marketing best practice, it is also correlated to spam (according to SpamAssassin).

HTML Font Color is Same as Background - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines HTML tag "bgcolor" attributes and compares the value to the relative <FONT> color setting. If these values

match then this rule is flagged. This rule is also known as the "invisible HTML" rule.

Suggestion There does not seem to be any email marketing or other best practice need to include "invisible HTML" in an email message. This is a spam sender tactic and attempt to either hide key words or otherwise

circumvent spam filters.


Spam Tool Pattern in MIME Boundary - Header Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines an email message's MIME encoding boundaries. In general,

spam senders use deployment systems that use distinctive patterns.

Suggestion If you are using an outsourced vendor for email deployment, they likely will not be affected by this or will have already been alerted to it. If you have a proprietary email deployment engine, you may

arbitrarily hit this rule. Simply work with your vendor or internal development group to adjust the boundary to not flag this rule. The Regular Expressions listed above are all the current tests in SpamAssassin for Spam Tool checking - as of the time of the last update of this document.

HTML Font Color is "red | yellow | green | gray | blue | magenta | cyan" - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines HTML <FONT> tag color attribute for various colors. If the value is matched then this rule is flagged. Note that these colors can be set in HTML by using the color name or using a Hexadecimal RGB color code:

Red or #FF0000 Yellow or #FFFF00 Green or #008000

Gray or #808080 Blue or #0000FF Magenta or #FF00FF Cyan or #00FFFF

Suggestion According to analysis of spam, there seems to be enough of a correlation of certain FONT colors used

in HTML email such that there is a score penalty. In general, avoid these colors of text where possible. Consider using a graphic element if these colors of HTML text are required.


Contains a Tollfree Number - Body Rule

Explanation This message looks for "call" or " dial" or "toll free" followed by 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833 or

822.

Example call 1-877-433.2323 now!

Dial Toll Free - 1-888-222-3333 your offer now!

Dial Toll Free - 1-888-CALL NOW for your offer

now!

Suggestion At the time of the writing of this document, the "weight" of this rule is almost zero - indicating that it adds very little to the "spaminess" of the message. However, if you want to avoid this rule,

use a delimiter other than a dash ("-")

Risk free. Suuurreeee.... - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines the message body for "Risk Free" type phrases.

Example risk free

no risk

Suggestion Any phrase that doesn't exactly match the regular expression above will not trigger the rule.

Save $$$ - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines the message body for "Save $$$" type phrases.

Example Save $ now!!!!

Save $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Suggestion Limit excessive use of $ symbol relative to the word "Save". Note there are additional rules looking for verbose versions, such as "Save Money", "Save Thousands", "Save Millions", "Save up to".


Free Offer - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines the message body for "Free Offer" type phrases.

Example Free offer.

Special offer.

Trial offer.

Suggestion Any phrase other than the exact phrases above will

not trip this rule.

Stop the offers, coupons, discounts etc! - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines the message body for various offer type phrasing. See below.

Example Continue to receive this fabulous offer.

Receive this once in a lifetime discount.

Partner special.

Suggestion There are a lot of combinations, so if you hit this rule, pay attention. Any phrase other than the exact phrases above will not trip this rule - so

simple modifications to your sentence phrasing should work. Consider the overall score that this rule has on your message and it may or may not be

worth changing the matching phrase.

A WHOLE LINE (OR MORE) OF YELLING DETECTED - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule looks for sentences that are

in ALL CAPS. The rules attempt to evaluate lines of characters in ALL CAPS, taking into account and ignoring lines which might be newsletter section headers, which are often in all caps. To be safe, lines which have "!" or "$$" (spam often has a yelling line indent with spaces, but surrounded by dollar signs), or a "." which appears to end a

sentence, are kept.

Example !!! WONDERFUL UNREALISTIC OFFER FOR YOU!!!

*** ANNOYING HEADLINES AND NEWS THAT SHOUT AT YOU ***

Suggestion Limit use of all caps - general email netiquette considers ALL CAPS to be the equivalent of SHOUTING AT THE RECIPIENT.


Only $$$ - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines the message body for "Only $$$" type phrases.

Example Only for you! $500 Special Offer

Buy this wonderful product for only $99.99


Contains a Line >= 199 Characters Long - Raw Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for inordinately long lines for email messages.

Suggestion Best email practice for text messages is to "wrap"

text with a Carriage Return somewhere between every 50-70 characters per line. Doing so will ensure this rule is not triggered. For HTML copy it is trickier, as HTML white space is negligible. Because of this, it is possible for an entire HTML file to be contained on a single line, in pure text form, but

still render with HTML and tags as a well formed document. If you trip this rule, make sure your text and HTML messages both have carriage returns often enough - that is < 199 characters between each line return. In HTML copy, be sure to place carriage returns in between complete tags - that is, do not split a tag:

Correct:

Some Text Here... the next line here

Incorrect:

Some Text Here... the next line < /b> here

Contains "For Only Some Amount Of Cash" - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines the message

body for "for only x amount of money" type phrases.

Example For just $100 dollars you could make millions...



Quoted-printable Line Longer Than 76 Characters - Header Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking specifically for quoted-printable encoding. This encoding scheme encodes individual characters rather than groups of characters. The quoted

printable encoding scheme by protocol does not allow lines longer than 76 characters.

Suggestion If this rule is being flagged in your report, you should contact your email deployment team or vendor and inquire with them. Determination may be made that there is a problem with the email deployment system or operations leading up to

encoding by your deployment engine.

Message only has text/html MIME parts - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking specifically for the MIME components of the email message. Most personal email is sent as "text" or

as "multi-part" combinations that send text content and HTML content in the same message. Most email deployment systems do this as well - allowing the recipient email client to display the content type relative to capability and user preference. Sending email messages that are comprised of only an

HTML content type is common in spam.

Suggestion If this rule is being flagged in your report, you should contact your email deployment team or vendor and inquire with them. Depending upon the score for the rule in your report, you may just want to leave this as is.

I Wonder How Many Emails They Sent In Error - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for a statement indicating the email or message may have been sent in error to the recipients.

Example If we have sent you this message in error, please accept our apologies.

Suggestion If, at the time of this writing, the score is relatively

low, and you have a real need to make a statement that matches this rule, you may just live with it. Otherwise, attempt to rephrase.


Encourages You To Waste No Time In Ordering - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for statements encouraging the recipient to order

quickly.

Example Don't waste any time, order fast before these are gone!


HTML Font Face Is Not a Word - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines HTML <FONT>

tag "face" attribute. The "face" attribute indicates the typeface to use for presentation of the tagged text. Acceptable values are "arial" ,"helvetica", "verdana" and many others.

Example

Suggestion A <FONT> tag whose face value is not a word is

invalid HTML and should be corrected.

Gives A Lame Excuse About Why You Were Sent This SPAM - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for statements explaining why the recipient received the message.

Example You have received this message as a member of

our newsletter list.

Suggestion Laws in some states and general best practice for email marketing will require this statement. If you can find another way to phrase this statement without tripping this rule, do so.

"Received" has "may be forged" warning - Header Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the header looking specifically at the "Received:" header line.

Example "Received: from smtp.domain.com (smtp.domain.com [299.399.199.199] (may be forged))"

Suggestion The most likely reason for tripping this rule is that

the recipient SMTP server or any of the relay servers in between did a reverse DNS check on the IP address to the host and did not find a match. If


this rule if flagged, contact your email deployment

team or email vendor for discussion. Spam senders tend to "spoof" or forge a lot of header information, so something like this in your message header should be remedied quickly.

Claims You Can Be Removed From The List - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for statements explaining how to be removed from the list by replying via email.

Example To no longer receive these messages send email to [email protected]

Suggestion Opt out instructions are required by law in many US states and are considered an email marketing best

practice. Whether this scores positive or negative toward your SpamAssassin score, opt out instructions should be in email marketing copy.

Claims you opted-in or registered - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for statements explaining how the recipient came to be

on the list to receive this email.

Example because you registered with us long ago.

because you are opted-in with us.

Suggestion Many best practices for email marketing have included informing recipients how they came to be on your list. Federal law, the Can Spam Act, does

not require this. Consider the overall effect of tripping this rule on the spam score of the message in regards to whether you wish to change or disclude your opt in statements and phrases.


HTML Font Color Not Within Safe 6x6x6 palette - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines HTML <FONT> tag color attribute for colors within the "web safe palette". Most web designers have powerful

systems capable of displaying 16 or 32 bit colors. Represented in HTML, these colors will display poorly or dither when viewed in an 8-bit environment. Many web users and recipients of HTML email may be using computer systems that are limited to 8-bit color (256 colors). This means they can't see every color in the spectrum - and

that is where the browser-safe palette comes into play.

The browser-safe palette is sometimes called the 216-color palette. It is composed of 216 specific colors that are universally recognized by browsers and operating systems, even on 8-bit systems.

Example <font face="arial" size="1" color="#c9a1f3">Some strange colored text</font>

Suggestion As a general HTML best practice, more and more

users have graphic display capabilities beyond 8 bits, so the web safe palette is less of an issue. For email marketing, it may be a spam sender tactic for drawing attention to text that gives this rule some correlation with spam. Depending upon the overall score of your message, decide whether your

"unsafe" color reference is critical or not.

HTML font color is unknown to us - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines the HTML <FONT> tag color attribute. Basically, in all the analysis, if the color is not determinable by known HTML protocol, it is determined to be unknown.

Example Some strange colored text

Suggestion Flagging of this rule probably means your HTML is not totally compliant with protocol. Run your HTML through an HTML syntax checker and make appropriate changes.


Images with XXX-XXX bytes of words (200 to 400|400 to 600|600 to 800) - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule looks for HTML messages that are very graphic heavy. Spam senders have

employed tactics to elude spam filters that include strange and heavy use of Images to obfuscate their messages. The rule looks at the overall amount of HTML, the amount of actual text marked up by the HTML and the Image size and dimensions in the HTML portion of the message body.

Suggestion Have your creative; design, and/or technical team review the message content, before and after delivery. Ensure that there is not an encoding error with your email deployment engine. Otherwise, confirm if the use of mostly images and little HTML text is warranted for the presentation effect given.

Depending upon your overall SpamAssassin score,

edit your HTML or keep as is. Specifically, remove some images or add some relevant HTML text to change the level to which this rule is flagged or avoid it all together.

Message is XX% to XX% (50 to 60|60 to 70|70 to 80|80 to 90) HTML - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule looks for HTML messages

that are very HTML code heavy. Spam senders have employed tactics to elude spam filters that include strange and heavy use of HTML tags to obfuscate their messages. The rule looks at the

overall size of the message body and the ratio of HTML tags to that copy. It also attempts to identify

Image-only messages, which have a correlation to spam.

Suggestion Have your creative; design, and/or technical team review the message content, before and after delivery. Ensure that there is not an encoding error with your email deployment engine. Otherwise, confirm if the use of "heavy" HTML is warranted for

the presentation effect given. Depending upon your overall SpamAssassin score, edit your HTML or keep as is.

Can Not Be Combined With Any Other Offer - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the body looking for statements indicating this offer can not be

combined with any other offer.

Example This is a limited offer that can not be combined with any other offer.

Suggestion Depending upon your overall SpamAssassin score, consider rephrasing your statement.


HTML Font Color Has Unusual Name - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines HTML <FONT> tag color attribute. It essentially looks for color

values that are not syntactically correct in the hexadecimal RGB notation (e.g. #336699) or that are not navy, gray, red, or white.

Example Some default colored text

Suggestion Check your HTML as this rule may show that your HTML code is syntactically incorrect. If you are

declaring a color by "name" ensure that the name is valid. If it is, consider using its hexadecimal RGB notation rather than its name reference. Speak with your creative resource or email deployment team for assistance.

HTML included in message - Body Rule

Explanation This rule simply examines the email message and determines if it contains HTML content. HTML formatted email is a common characteristic of spam, which is why it is identified.

Suggestion The only way to not flag this rule is to not have HTML content in your email. The rule appears to look specifically for HTML tags and elements - as

opposed to email encoding instructions. If a minimum number of HTML tags are found, the rule will flag. The most basic, valid HTML will be flagged

by this rule, based upon the analysis. If you desire to send HTML formatted email, there is little you can do about tripping this rule.

HTML has "tbody" tag - Body Rule

Explanation This rule simply examines the email message and determines if it contains the HTML table tag <tbody>. This rule exists due to the common occurrence of the <tbody> tag in spam.

Suggestion The only way to not flag this rule is to not have the

<tbody> tag in your email. The rule appears to look specifically for this HTML tag. One or more

occurrences will match. The <thead>,<tbody> and <tfoot> elements are seldom used, because of bad browser support. Visit here for more information on this tag.

http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_tbody.asp


HTML title contains "Untitled" - Body Rule

Explanation This rule examines the HTML portion of a message for a <title> tag that contains the word "Untitled".

Example

Suggestion Most spam is created with poorly coded HTML. Having the <title> tag value set to "Untitled" is probably common to spam since there is little Quality Assurance in spam operations. Many HTML editing tools may default the word "Untitled" in the

<title> tags upon creation of a new document. If this rule is triggered, remove the word "Untitled" and update the value so that it is meaningful and appropriate.

Message Text in HTML Without Specified Charset - Body Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule examines the MIME

Content declarations. It specifically checks "text/html" mime sections for a "charset" value. It does not appear that RFC standards require this, though in terms of documented syntax it would be a best practice to declare the encoding character set to allow for recipient email applications to properly render and represent the data.

Suggestion Contact your email deployment team or email vendor for discussion regarding setting the charset for text/html MIME sections in email.

From: does not include a real name - Header Rule

Explanation This SpamAssassin rule scans the header looking

specifically at the "From:" header line. Most "non-spam" and personal email communication comes from individuals, where the "real name" portion of the From: line has the senders real name. Spam sending tools may likely leave this out, in which case it becomes an identifying characteristic of spam. Most marketing communication utilizes the

"real name" portion of the From: line to denote the name or type of the communication.

h-i-p email messaging design best practices

Technology

use of rowspans

html email

background images

html text

dont use java

design images

invisible text text

possible email clients