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There is nothing worse than a perfectly legitimate business email getting tossed in the junk mail folder because it was inappropriately deemed spam by the recipient's system filter.

Here are some basic strategies to follow when writing email messages in order to ensure that your message will arrive in your intended party's mailbox.

-HEADER: Make sure your 'from box' contains an actual name or word before the @ sign as opposed to a hybrid of letters and/or numbers. Any indication that the message was sent directly from dynamic IP addresses is a major alarm for spam filters.

-SUBJECT LINE: Words like "FREE" and "GUARANTEE" in all caps will create a yelling effect and therefore trigger a spam filter.

-SALUTATION: Try to get an actual name as opposed to writing a general "Dear Customer" Don't use the person's email address as part of the salutation. If you don't have the name, simply using "Greetings" will work fine.

-UNSUBSCRIBE LINE: Do not use the words "remove" or "unsubscribe," or the phrases "list removal information" or "to be removed from list."

-Avoid the phrase "click here to" or "click to be removed." A safer alternative would be: "If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, please visit this link," or "Use this link to stop receiving emails from us."

-BODY: Use plain text instead of HTML. Spammers often use HTML computer code to hide "beacons." These are small graphics that, when a user opens up a spam, send a type of "message opened" acknowledgment back to the sender.

-Don't put too many different photos in the body of your email. Less is more.

-Be conservative when it comes to capitalization.

-Avoid the phrases: what are you waiting for, while supplies last, while you sleep.

-Don't use a tracking ID number.

-Keep the number of blank lines to less than 1/3 of the entire message.

-Refrain from large blocks of hexadecimal code.

- Writing "This message is NOT spam" will have the opposite effect of what you intended: it will make your message an even more likely target for a spam filter.

Much to the delight of all of us struggling to beat the spam filter game, there is a website that, for free, scans your message and lets you know if your content contains anything that may trigger the alarm of a spam filter. It is: http://www.lyris.com/resources/contentchecker/

I hope that these tips ensure your message arrives at the correct destination!