Security software vendor AppRiver, a leader in email security, reported that unsolicited emails, or SPAM, was up 28 percent in the month of October even though the amount of malware transmitted through email was down.

The fact that email marketing spam is on the rise is especially troubling to marketing professionals who do things the right way because recipients tend to ignore legitimate emails and email filters become more strict causing a higher number of false positives.

Don’t Get Labeled as a Spammer 
People who send unsolicited bulk email do so from a number of different mail servers and ISPs. That’s why they can continue to send spam. For a company accused of sending email marketing spam, the results can be a disaster.

To avoid having to clean up your name with your ISP and your customers make sure you keep these best practices in mind:

• Don’t send unsolicited email in bulk. This includes newsletters, mailings, coupons, etc. Make sure every bulk mailing you send is to people on a double opt-in list.
• Space out your mailings. Sending too many messages at once alert email filters. Good bulk mailing software will let you send messages out in small groups that are spaced apart.
• Be careful how you write your emails. Make sure the subject line is written appropriately, don’t overuse punctuation, and avoid using all capital letters.