If you dress, walk and talk like a spammer...

In Junior High a local police officer, Officer McCaslin, came to my very small school to talk about gangs. While I had never been involved with the small-town five member gang, there was something said by Officer McCaslin that stuck with me. He said “If it looks, walks, and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck.” So if you dressed, walked, and talked, like a gang member expect to get police attention. We can argue whether this is correct or even legal, but that is how it was.
 
In the email world right now there are many police out there. From organizations dedicated to identifying spammers like the appropriately named ‘SpamCop’ all the way down to individual users that click the “Report as SPAM” button at the bottom of emails. Just like Officer McCaslin, these “police” don’t always know or care if you are a spammer; they just know if you dress, walk and talk like a spammer. If you are perceived to be a spammer then you will be treated like one and your email deliverability will suffer. So here are some quick tips to avoid being labeled a spammer when you’re not.
 
Don’t dress like a spammer: Spammers often try to use crafty techniques to get through SPAM filters by changing characters in words. For example, a spammer might change ‘mortgage’ to ‘m0rtgage’ or ‘Free’ to ‘F.r.e.e.’ While this may seem like it will help you get through SPAM filters, it will only get your message labeled as SPAM. It does not take SPAM filters long to figure out these new words and give them even higher SPAM ratings than the real words. The worst part of this technique is that end-users perceive this type of “creative writing” as being associated with SPAM. With the amount of real SPAM people receive, they could very easily mistake your legitimate email as SPAM because it is “dressed” like SPAM.
 
Don’t walk like a spammer: Spammers don’t follow best practices. They buy email lists, harvest names from websites, and send emails without consent. The quality of your email addresses will determine if you walk like a spammer. It is tempting to buy lists. In many cases these lists are not legitimate opt-in lists and will cause you problems with your Email Service Provider and possibly the law. In the cases where these opt-in lists are legitimate, if it is not made clear to the people on the list that they will be receiving email from your company, you will look like a spammer. They did ask about information on products like yours, but they did not ask for it from the fifty companies that their name was sold to. Don’t be surprised if the “This Is SPAM” button starts getting clicked.
 
Don’t talk like a spammer: Spammers talk a lot! A typical spammer will send as much email as fast as he can. This in-your-face approach may work for some, but for most it is a great way to get reported to the “email police.” Send requested information in appropriate intervals. People request information on specific subjects or products they would like to learn more about. Only send them information on what they asked about. If someone has asked for information on a specific product, it is not a good idea to dump every piece of marketing material you have on them. Separate your emails into lists and only send information that is pertinent to each list. Don’t send more frequently than a customer expects. If they asked for a monthly newsletter, don’t send them an email every day. People will report you as a spammer just because they are sick of you cluttering up your inbox with irrelevant material that comes too often.
 
It is very easy for email recipients to push the “This Is SPAM” button. Whether it is correct or not, you can be labeled as a spammer very easily in the online world and getting unlabeled is not nearly as easy.

• Be smart in how you appear to your customers.
• Don’t try to mask your words - it will just end up looking like SPAM.
• Use quality opt-in email addresses. The best email addresses are those that come directly from your web forms.
• Make sure your content is targeted and timely. People want your information- they just don’t want it crammed down their throats.

All right kids- you are on your way to being upstanding email citizens. Go out there and do some good.

~Ryan Peterson – Email Systems Manager

New Release Features

We are excited to tell you how busy we have been working on improving the CRM!
 
Remember, you may experience up to 2 hours of downtime on November 6th between the hours of 9pm - 3am Mountain Standard Time, so that we can update the system. The next time you log into your CRM after this window of time, you will have automatic access to the upgrades.
 
This release will include the following changes in your CRM:
 
Continuity Program Changed to Recurring Order
The CRM label “Continuity Program” will now be changed to “Recurring Order.”
 
Email Batch Status Report Enhancements
CRM users will now click on a “View Reports” link in the Email Batch Status Report rather than the email subject line to view a report. A “Sent By” field has been added to the report allowing you to see which user sent the batch email.
 
Saved Search Management
Saved searches will now be included in the favorite links section of the left hand navigation bar rather than under each record bar.
 
Settings Management
CRM settings are now located in the drop-down menu of each applicable section of the CRM. Some settings have been moved from the main navigation in to the settings for that section. See the Knowledge Base for more details.
 
Marketing Links Management
Trackable links, double opt-in links, and opt-out links will now be managed from the merge field window located in templates, allowing you to manage links on the fly!
 
In addition to these enhancements, we have also developed some exciting new features. If you would like to learn more about these features, click here. Here’s just a teaser on what some of these new features are:
 
All Sales Itemized Report
This new report breaks down and shows you all the different parts of a transaction (product, shipping, etc.) and how much money each of those parts contributed to the total of the order.
 
As always, we recommend you use one of the following Web browsers for the best user experience:

• Internet Explorer 7+
• Firefox 2+
  
  
  

Featured Customer Comments

We love hearing from our clients all the time, and even more so when you have good things to say about us!

• Having been a reseller and implementer of other sales software packages, I can tell you Infusion CRM is the real deal. I have been a customer for over two years and can tell you I would be lost without it.  Infusion's automation of my marketing has allowed me to focus on my business and has allowed me to double my revenue since I installed it. Thanks Infusion!
  ~ Paul Galasso, REI Success

• Infusion Software is the best all around CRM software I've ever seen. We are very pleased with its capabilities and the support we receive.
  ~ Rick Armstrong, SPIB Insurance Agency

• I've been using Infusion CRM since early 2006. I could not have started my information marketing business without it and certainly could not continue at our torrid pace now without it. The software has grown as we have grown. My only regret is not taking enough time to sit down and figure out all the additional ways it could be helping me!
  ~ Ben Glass, Great Legal Marketing/Ben Glass Law

• Simply put, there is NO substitute for Infusion!  I can't imagine running my business without the functionality and versatility that this CRM powerhouse provides.  My admin team can slice and dice my prospect, client, and member lists with the efficiency of and Iron Chef with an apron full of Ghinsu knives!  I'm able to micro-target portions of my lists with ease. Your list is your most valuable asset...it deserves to treated as such.  If you want to take your business on a ROCKET RIDE to massive increased profits, saddle up with Infusion.
  ~ Chris Bowman, Dental Insiders LLC
  
  

Infusion User Community Coming Soon!

This is big- and when I say big I mean huge! We’ve had this in development for a while and are excited to finally announce the unveiling of your Infusion User Community!
 
As an Infusion CRM user, this is YOUR spot to login in and network with other users. You can:

• Set-up your profile and image

• Participate in forums to discuss Infusion best practices, questions you have, challenges you may be experiencing, and tips and tricks that you have mastered

• Upload documents you want to share with others

• Read and download documents that other Infusion users have posted

• Review the Infusion blog to see what our leadership team has to say

• Take advantage of free white papers and reports provided by Infusion

One thing we know for certain about our Infusion users is that you are not shy! You have been asking for a simple, convenient way to connect with other users and here is your answer.

Look for details in your email inbox later this month.

We Asked & You Answered

Our October customer survey results are in and we are happy to announce great scores across the board!  

Customer satisfaction rate – 88.2%
Customer loyalty rate – 88.2%
Product satisfaction rate – 88.2%