If your messages look like regular private mails and you use tags to make them different you will get much better results. Or you can use 'Bonded Sender' https://www.bondedsender.com/ or 'Habeas' http://www.habeas.com/ so you message will be recognized as legitimate.

Also you can run your email through some of the spam filters available online, or install some end-user antispam applications on your own computer, and send an email to yourself before attempting to email end users.

There are some services you can use to test the spam quotient of your e-zines and e-mail offers before sending them out.

- SiteSell SpamCheck Report tests your message at no charge using SpamAssassin and sends you a report. Send your test e-mails to sales-spamcheck@sitesell.net. Be careful, however, that you put the word TEST as the first word in the subject -- and make sure it is capitalized. Otherwise, the system will delete the mail, thinking it's spam. Following the word TEST, add the subject line that would appear in the email normally.

- Assurance Systems offers three functions as part of a paid service. (1) Message Checker rates your e-mail message for spam. (2) Mailbox Monitor checks test addresses for each of the major ISPs to make sure your e-mail is being delivered. (3) Blacklist Alert lets you know what blacklists you are appearing on so you can work to get your domain or IP number off the list. http://www.assurancesys.com

In addition current MaxBulk Mailer includes several documents about this issue well worth a read and v4 a built-in Spam checker.

It has been reported that Yahoo! blocks as much as 22% of email, AT&T blocks 12% and AOL, with some 30 million subscribers, blocks 18%.

Marketers themselves estimate that as much as 15% of their legitimate e-mail communication (emails for which recipients have opted-in) is getting labeled as spam. Spam filters are far from perfect and often times they err on being "over protective."