________________________________

(If you don't see our header up above, make sure that your browser is set to allow images from this site. Thank you.)

ooooooooooooooooooh noooooooooooooooooo

This message is with the compliments of my good friends Erwin and Marjan from www.CustomerServicePoint.com . Erwin just posted this, and it is so important that I want to share it with all of you.

......................[begin message] .......................

Hi everyone,

Here's a bit information, that I just recently learned myself, that can help you keeping responses you make, out of the junk mail folder of the person you mail.

Here's the issue.

If you have a contact form on your site, the notification you get in the mail is sent by your e-mail address, and it has a fixed subject that you set. I was in the habit of just replying to that e-mail, copying the e-mail address from the mail itself, and then typing a response just above the form.

Oftentimes I didn't get a response back, but I didn't think much of it, until a few days back I received an e-mail from someone who I had responded to a week earlier...

"Sorry that I respond so late, but your e-mail had landed in my spam folder. I think this is because you had as subject 'Re: Support Request', but I have never sent you a message with the subject 'Support Request', so I think this has triggered a spam filter..."

That hit me like a rock! Of course she hadn't send a message with subject 'Support request'. That's the tile I give every form message notification e-mail. So when I hit 'Reply', Gmail (which I use) puts Re: in front of that. But not being able to find an outgoing message that fits the ingoing Re: message, I can see how this may trigger a spam filter. If I look at my spam, there are many re: messages in there!

So, if you reply to a notification e-mail, don't only copy the e-mail address from the form, but also edit the subject! Make sure it doesn't say 'Re: Your form title' but something that matches the message. I've been doing it now for a couple of days, and people indeed seem more responsive.

I shudder to think that many of my messages have landed in the junk mail folder. What did these people think? "Grunt, what a load of baloney... this guy doesn't walk his talk!" or something to that affect.

So, please learn from my mistake. If you use a contact form... EDIT THE SUBJECT! (shouting intended )

Kind regards,

Erwin.
_________________
www.CustomerServicePoint.com
www.WijnandsGalaxy.com (the site that I build with my son)

................ [end message] ...................

I think I let out an audible groan heard all the way over the Rockies (and I'm in California). It is so simple. But I never saw it before.

This advice holds true for ALL contact forms, including plain old "Contact Me" forms on your website.

Well, we live and -- hopefully -- we learn.

Thank you, Erwin and Marjan!! This is priceless for lots of us.

I'll see you in the Forums.

Best,

MaryAnn