Confirm the "From Address" and Subject Line are effective and not misleading:
- The Subject Line matches the overall message within the body of the content. Never create a subject designed to trick the recipient into opening your email.*
- The Subject Line is well branded and gets the main point across, so that if the message is not opened, but the subject is read and there still is value.
- The main focus of the subject is within the first 30 characters. Many mobile devices truncate subject lines.
- The "From Address" is recognizable and branded with the organization’s name. Do not use a no-reply@ or do-not-reply@ address.
Spend time on message content and design:
- Include only relevant content that offers value to the recipient. Long messages filled with ‘fluff’ are often ignored or marked as spam.
- Keep the HTML code simple. Use a table based layout with inline styles, and always specify margins and spacing, so the email client does not make them up.
- The HTML portion of the content has a nice balance of text and images. If the content is only one big image or series of images it is likely to be filtered as spam, or ineffective to recipients who block images. A good rule of thumb is to keep messages at about 60 percent text and 40 percent graphics.
- Include a text version of the message for recipients who view their email on mobile devices.
The following must be included in the body of the message:
- The sender's valid postal address must be included in the message.*
- There is a visible, functional one-click unsubscribe method in the message. The opt-out process must be streamlined so people can unsubscribe in one click and cannot be asked for additional information or a fee during the opt-out process.*
