• by daniel.c , Melinda Krueger , November 6, 2007

Dear Email Diva,

I work for a nonprofit and we use an old version of [email software] for our many lists. We continually run into trouble with spam trap email accounts subscribing to our opt-in lists, which causes us to be blocked by Spam Cop. Our aging system doesn't have an effective way of identifying these or other bad email addresses. Can you recommend a utility that will scrub our subscriber lists?

Dear Nonprofit,

You need to not only clean your list but also take steps to keep it clean. First, a quick definition: a spam trap is an email address that is not tied to a real person, may be published on the Web somewhere, and is used to identify spam, as the non-person could not opt-in for email. EmailDiva@kd-i.com could be used for a spam trap, since it is used only for gathering questions for this column. You would be surprised at the spam I receive, some from legitimate companies that, I hope, have no idea what unscrupulous practices are being used on their behalf.

How do spam trap addresses get on your list? Contrary to what you imply, it is unlikely people are subscribing to your lists with these addresses to thwart you. It is more likely that your organization acquired a list that was harvested, appended or otherwise built using poor permission practices. Inactive email addresses are sometimes converted to spam traps, and, since your "aging system" can't identify old or bad addresses, this could be another source of spam traps.

In this articleGeorge Bilbrey, vice president of delivery assurance solutions for Return Path, suggests that you mail segments of your list from a new server with a clean reputation. If the segment doesn't cause you to be blocked, you know that portion is free from spam traps. Consider also Return Path's hygiene services to correct errors and suppress known bad addresses.

You may also want to consider re-permissioning all of your lists, i.e., sending an email to subscribers, asking them to confirm their interest in hearing from you. Unfortunately, this will reduce your list size considerably, as not everyone will receive, open or respond to the email. If your email isn't getting through, however, this may be a necessary step and will give you the evidence you need to get off block lists and start anew.

Next, it would be worthwhile to take stock of your list-building practices. Habeas offers a super-inexpensive $200 audit for qualifying nonprofit organizations. Let the professionals evaluate your practices and set you on the path to a clean, scrupulously built list.

Finally, you need to use an email application that gives you the feedback you need to keep your list up to date. There are great Email Service Providers at all price points, so there is no reason to do it yourself, particularly when it is crippling your program.

Good Luck!

The Email Diva