Content Consultant User Guide

1. Introduction
2. Getting Started
3. Reports and Tools
4. Report Section Details

1. Introduction

Delivery Detective's Content Consultant is designed to get more of your email messages into the inboxes of your customers by helping you identify and fix problems in your email that cause it to be treated as spam. Every Internet Service Provider (ISP) and many of your customers employ anti-spam filters that check email content and the reputation of the sender to determine whether the message should be put in the Inbox, the Bulk Folder, or rejected altogether. Many filters also check whether messages are compliant with email standards and protocols.

After analyzing the content of your email message and testing it against rules and filters employed by ISPs and anti-spam software, Content Consultant provides clear recommendations on how to modify your email so it won't get blocked. With Content Consultant, you can proactively improve delivery, open, click-through, and conversion rates by testing and revising your messages before launching your campaigns.

2. Getting started

1. Obtain your Content Consultant test seed email address from TowerData. This is the address you will use to invoke Content Consultant and was sent to you when you registered on the TowerData web site. If you can't find your test address, please contact us.

2. Modify your own spam filter to allow messages from Content Consultant so you can receive your reports. All Content Consultant messages will have the following characteristics:

a. From Name: Delivery Detective
b. From Email:
c. Subject Contains: Content Consultant

4. Send the message you want to test to your test seed. For the most accurate results, send your message from the same system that will be used to mail your actual email campaign.

5. You should receive a detailed Content Consultant report within 15 minutes. If you do not, please contact us.

3. Reports & Tools

Content Consultant will provide the following reports and tools to you via email:

1. General Report - This is your results report and includes the following five sections:

A. Summary: results of all the sub-sections.
B. Content: evaluation of words, phrases, HTML, and images in your email that filters may associate with unsolicited email or spam.
C. Filters: results of how various anti-spam filters will likely treat your email message.
D. Reputation: whether IP addresses corresponding to your message appear on any blacklists.
E. Compliance: analysis of header and sender information in relation to standards and best practices.

2. Highlighted HTML version of your message with any content violations highlighted. This report is sent as an attachment.

3. Highlighted TEXT version of your message with any content violations highlighted. This report is sent as an attachment.

4. HTML Validation report for your message. This report is sent as an attachment.

4. Report Section Details

4.1 Summary
The summary has a score between 0 and 5 for each of the four categories; content, filters, reputation, and compliance. The score is a measure of to what degree your message resembles spam. A low score means the likelihood of your message being treated as spam is low. If you have a high score then many recipients will likely block your message as spam.

The score is calculated by passing your message through a series of rules for each section. Each rule represents a test done by a spam filter. It is not necessary to resolve every rule violation; however, we recommend addressing ones with higher significance. They will have the greatest affect on your overall score and the deliverability of your message.

The following color legend for scores should assist you in assessing the significance of rules and their potential impact on your message delivery:

	High		Low
	Medium		Very Low / Positive

4.2 Content
The content section identifies words, phrases, HTML, and images in your email that filters may associate with unsolicited email or spam. The higher the significance of a content rule, the more likely that content will cause the email to be treated as spam. You can lower the content score by modifying the words, phrases, and images in your message.

Content Consultant provides the following information depending on what type of message you sent:

1. Content Matches: list of all words and phrases in your email that are triggering each spam rule.

2. Content Highlighting: triggering words are highlighted in the attached HTML and TEXT versions of the original message.

3. Content Suggestions: suggestions on how to change your message to avoid triggering a spam rule.

4.3 Filters
This section tells you how various anti-spam filters may treat your email message. ISPs, corporations, and consumers use different types of anti-spam filters to evaluate your messages and determine whether to deliver them, place them in a Bulk Folder, or block them altogether.

One of the scores below is from SpamAssassin, a commonly used spam filter. If your SpamAssassin score is above 5 it is considered spam and we recommend you revise your message by addressing failed rules in the other sections. Most of those rules contribute to the SpamAssassin score.


Content Consultant checks the following filters: SpamAssassin, Razor2 and DCC to see whether your messages are delivered to the inbox, the bulk folder, or missing from mailboxes.

4.4 Reputation
This section shows whether the IP address from which your email was sent or the IPs of links embedded in your message are on any blacklists that may cause your message to be blocked. If the IP address from which your mailing is sent is considered to be a source of spam, it can prevent your email from being delivered to many domains and subscribers. For the reputation check to be effective you should send your email to Content Consultant from the same machine you use to send email to your subscribers. To be removed from a blacklist you should contact your Email Service Provider (ESP) or follow the procedures of the specific blacklist.

Content Consultant monitors the Internet's most popular blacklists including SpamCop and SpamHaus.

4.5 Compliance
This section will tell you if your email message has proper and accurate header and sender information. Any failed checks in this area are usually caused by an improper technical configuration in your email server or domain. For example, if the domain from which you're sending does not have reverse DNS configured, many ISPs such as AOL will block it. You may need the assistance of your system administrator or Email Service Provider to resolve compliance issues.


4.6 HTML Validation Report
The HTML Validation Report provides a full analysis of your HTML code complete with line numbers & column positions of errors, rule explanations, and suggested corrections. The HTML Validator will identify code in your email that does not conform to the recommendations of the W3C and other standards. Broken HTML can cause your email to be filtered as spam. This report is sent as an attachment

With Content Consultant, you can increase deliverability, conversion rates, and ultimately the success of your email marketing program. Try it for free for 30 days! Register here, and be underway in minutes!