Free email marketing is a branch of bulk email marketing – a method of advertising on the net, which unfortunately also comprises of a more sinister part called spamming. Spamming is a type of bulk email marketing that we all get to see whenever we log on to our email clients and look in the spam folder. There is no reason why we should get it, there is no reason for us to even look at it, and, worst of all, we don't even ask for it. We end up getting spam because somewhere on our daily internet browsing activities, we left our email addresses out there to be picked up by some kind of spider software or we simply were part of a lottery of email addresses. This occurs when a spammer simply mails people from a certain domain at random with address combinations and what doesn't bounce back becomes a valid address to spam forever.

The really unfortunate part is that regular bulk email marketers end up being categorized in the same vein not just by the internet community but also by spam filters, which are indiscriminate in their filtering. Therefore, there are some simple tips that you should follow to ensure that you keep the line of distinction between you and a spammer clear.

Free email marketing professionals must first of all ensure that they acquire email addresses legitimately. This means getting opt-ins from potential recipients. This is a simple procedure of asking a user during a registration operation whether he or she would like to receive updates and sales promotions at a particular address. This is the best method of getting your email addresses. To further enhance this technique, you could also enter into a meaningful tie-up with a larger entity in terms of user numbers and then get opt-ins from those users. Never make the mistake of transacting databases with a known spammer or using spider software as they do.

The next important tip is to avoid spam filters. This can be done by understanding how spam filters work in the first place. Spam filters work by finding patterns of keywords or phrases in mails, computing a score, and then sending a mail into the spam folder. This means that you must change the way you present information and make your mailers sound more like informational pieces rather than bland sales spiel.

Another important tip is related to the design of mailers. Most free email marketing campaigns tend to go over the top with the use of text or they end up using colors that most spammers do. Therefore, use mellow hues and not loud garish colors. Try and place more of the text of your mailer inside an image, especially those that have a maximum number of keywords.

Most of these guidelines can only be practiced by consciously understanding that today's internet users are hungry for information and not for the best deals in town and therefore the change in content style to informational.