I found this cleaning up the desktop. Thought I’d put the content here for better keeping:

25 subject-line words and symbols that get filtered

Fwd
Free
Get
FREE
$
!
SPAM
You
Your
Norton
Credit
Save
000
Now
Check
Year
Make
Sale
Money
DVD
Just
Now
Lose
Software
Earn

Top 25 phrases in body text:

opt-in
now!
Offers
Most
Partners
999
fulfillment,
yamato
naviant
partner
removal
recurring
mailings,
free!
Assistant
Enjoy
Grocers
Mailing
Subscriber
Cash
Sun
Rewarding
Buy
today!
marketing

So IE 7 makes one step forward with CSS rendering and two steps back with HTML email.

This article on HTML email from Sitepoint breaks it down for you.

http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw02/papers/refereed/rettie/paper.html

I thought this was a nice bit of information. It’s worth a read if you do email marketing or have an interest in it.

Here’s a good example of more effective communication and direct mail testing. Check out the response when the writing style of a letter was changed.

For example, by rewriting one letter, the Department of Revenue tripled the number of businesses paying the “use tax,” the widely ignored equivalent of sales tax on products purchased out of state. That meant an extra $800,000 collected over two years by the department, which had started its own plain talk initiative before the governor’s order.

Wash. state workers tell it like it is

This is nice source to see how your email ranks before you send it.

http://spamcheck.sitesell.com/

In the past few months, my email account have been pounded by the lowest mortgage rates available, great stock buys and naughty Russian girls.

Not to mention the a slew of medications including Viagra and the various natural ways to make my friends jealous of my love life, or something like that.

Not of which mind you have I opted into. This is a violation of the CAN-SPAM act. How that is going, well, from my experience as a recipient of spam, not very well.

So in an attempt to stop the spam I have created an account at Spam Cop with the hope that at least some of the spam will end.

Here is the An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth by Bruce Mau.

For those of you who send out mass emails, here’s some information you might want to familiarize yourself with.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.

The law, which became effective January 1, 2004, covers email whose primary purpose is advertising or promoting a commercial product or service, including content on a Web site. A “transactional or relationship message” – email that facilitates an agreed-upon transaction or updates a customer in an existing business relationship – may not contain false or misleading routing information, but otherwise is exempt from most provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, is authorized to enforce the CAN-SPAM Act. CAN-SPAM also gives the Department of Justice (DOJ) the authority to enforce its criminal sanctions. Other federal and state agencies can enforce the law against organizations under their jurisdiction, and companies that provide Internet access may sue violators, as well.

I was fwd this email. I don’t know if it is true or not, but if it is, this could save you a few clams.

Subject: Do not call these Area Codes. Here’s Why.

We actually received a call last week from the 809 area code. The woman said “Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you–get back to us quickly. Have something important to tell you.” Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809. We didn’t respond.

Then this week, we received the following e-mail:

Subject: DON’T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809 (OTHER CARIBBEAN ISLANDS), 284 (B.V.I.), AND 876 (JAMAICA)

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T. DON’T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809

This one is being distributed all over the US. This is pretty scary, especially given the way they try to get you to call. Be sure you read this and pass it on to all your friends and family so they don’t get scammed!

MAJOR SCAM:
Don’t respond to Emails, phone calls, or web pages which tell you to call an “809″ area Phone Number. This is a very important issue of Scam Busters because it alerts you to a scam that is spreading *extremely* quick, can easily cost you $2400 or more, and is difficult to avoid unless you are aware of it. We’d like to thank Verizon for bringing this scam to our attention. This scam has also been identified by the National Fraud Information Center and is costing victims lots of money. There are lots of different permutations of this scam.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
You will receive a message on your answering machine or your pager, which asks you to call a number beginning with area code 809. The reason you’re asked to call varies. It can be to receive information about a family member who has been ill, to tell you someone has been arrested, died, to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc.

In each case, you are told to call the 809 number right away. Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls. If you call from the US, you will apparently be charged $2425 per-minute. Or, you’ll get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges. Unfortunately, when you get your phone bill, you’ll often be charged more than $24,100.00.

WHY IT WORKS:
The 809 area code is located in the Caribbean. The 809 area code can be used as a “pay-per-call” number, similar to 900 numbers in the US. Since 809 is not in the US, it is not covered by U.S. regulations of 900 numbers, which require that you be notified and warned of charges and rates involved when you call a pay-per-call” number. There is also no requirement that the company provide a time period during which you may terminate the call without being charged. Further, whereas many U.S. homes that have 900 number blocking to avoid these kinds of charges, do not work in preventing calls to the 809 area code. We recommend that no matter how you get the message, if you are asked to call a number with an 809 area code that you don’t recognize, just disregard the message. Be wary of e-mail, or calls, asking you to call an 809 area code number. It’s important to prevent becoming a victim of this scam, since trying to fight the charges afterwards can become a real nightmare. That’s because you did actually make the call. If you complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You’ll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong.

Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this scam.

Sandi Van Handel
AT&T Field Service Manager

http://masternewmedia.org

Here’s a nice source if you use rss, blogs, online marketing, search engine optimization, direct email, etc.