Over 40% of all emails within your marketing campaign\rare not being delivered. You may not even be aware of this,\ras many ISPs will not send back a bounce message. In fact\rif you are sending messages to AOL customers, AOL is now \rblocking over 80% of the messages that come into their servers.

One of the main reasons that this is occurring is that your\rIP or Domain may be Black Listed. All major ISP's and many corporate\remail systems now check against Black Lists and will refuse\rto deliver any emails that come from an IP that is Black\rListed.

But what exactly is a Black List?

DNS black lists are lists of domains and IP's that are known\rto originate Spam. Many anti-spam software programs used by\rcorporations and ISP's use these lists to control Spam by\rrefusing any email that originates from one of these domains\ror IPs.

Unfortunately there are many instances of false positives as \rthere are few checks and often little objectivity when listing\ra particular IP. In order for a black list to know that a \rdomain is sending Spam, the offence must be reported . \rIt may take only one report via a web form for you to be listed.

You may be listed maliciously through one complaint of a client, \ror that of a competitor. Many Black Lists, as well, \rwill list not only the IP that is suspected as spamming, but will\rlist any IPs in that range of addresses. If someone using the\rsame Internet provider as you is accused of spamming and is placed\ron a Black List, you may be listed as well.

DNS blacklists are usually maintained by anti-spam organizations\ror by individuals.

What are some of the most popular Black Lists that ISPs are using?

Some of these include:

MAPS - http://www.mail-abuse.com/\rSpam Cop - http://www.spamcop.net/\rSpamHaus - http://www.spamhaus.org/\rSPEWS.org - http://www.spews.org/\rORDB.org - Open Relay Database - http://www.ordb.org/

How do I know if I am on a Black List?

Unfortunately, you really can't be 100% sure if you have\rbeen black listed. You may be on someone's black list \rand not even know it. There are, however, ways to check\rmost of the lists.

One way is to check your server log when sending your\rcampaigns. You will often see an email bounce notice \rindicating that the message has bounced because you \rare on a particular black list.

Many of the major black lists also allow you to enter your IP\rinto a form on their site. These checks will tell you\rwhether you appear, or not, on their list.

A useful tool, is the Black List Monitor. \rhttp://www.blacklistmonitor.com. - It automatically checks\ryour IP against most of the major Black Lists and tells you \rwhich ones you are listed on. It also gives you help\rin getting removed. All your IPs are constantly monitored\rfor any changes, listings, or delistings.

But what is a White List and how can this help?

Many corporations and ISPs will create a white list. This\ris a list of trusted IP addresses that they feel confident\rwill not send spam to their customers. If your IP is listed \ron a particular white list then your email messages will be \rdelivered to the destination email address. It is\rimportant for reputable marketers to work with the major\rISP's such as AOL to ensure that you are on their white list.\rFor most, it can be a lengthy process, but well worth your\refforts.

Other third-party email certification programs now exist.\rBonded sender www.bondedsender.com is one such agency. By joining\rBonded Sender, senders improve deliverability rates and \rdifferentiate their brand. Senders go through a formal\rapplication process, adhere to email standards and post\ra bond against potential complaints. Major ISPs such as\rMSN/Hotmail now check against Bond Sender's white list and \rallow these email to pass.

Knowing if you are on a black list, getting removed if you\rare and getting established on white lists is critical\rif you are email marketing. The more messages delivered equals\rmore sales!

Author Karen Fegarty is with MailWorkZ the creator of Black List\rMonitor-- advanced service that continuously checks all the \rmajor blacklists for you, and then some. Don't be treated\runfairly! Keep a handle on who may have you blacklisted. Get\ra free trial and find out more at http://www.blacklistmonitor.com.