Ezines are hot. It seems every small business owner and independent professional on the web has an ezine these days. And for good reason. They continue to be one of the easiest, cheapest small business marketing techniques available.

But if you don't know what you're doing, your ezines may get caught in a spam filter or end up in a deleted items folder without ever being opened. There are some simple steps you can take to make sure your ezines get through to your readers.

Here are 5 things you can do to increase your email deliverability rates:

(1) Only send your ezine to people who have opted-in or double-opted-in to receive it.

If you meet someone at a networking event and they give you their card, this is not a license to add them to your list. Send them an email with an offer to subscribe and let them be the ones to add their email to your list. The last thing you want is someone accusing you of sending out spam.

(2) Use an autoresponder program or an email marketing/list management program.

Do not use Microsoft Outlook or a similar email program to broadcast your ezine. If you're sending email to large groups of recipients you may be accused of spamming, or your emails may be blocked.

There are many free and low-cost email marketing programs available.

(3) Use an email marketing program that provides broadcasting statistics.

Make sure the autoresponder program or email marketing software you choose gives you access to statistics on all the messages you broadcast. Ideally, pick one that will automatically remove email addresses from your list after they bounce a certain number of times.

(4) Monitor your deliverability stats.

Keep tabs on your deliverability percentages. As your list grows, unfortunately so can your percentage of emails that get bounced or are not delivered for one reason or another. You may be stuck with a small percentage of undeliverable emails no matter what you do, but you want to do everything possible to keep these numbers down.

(5) Try changing the day or time you publish to improve deliverability.

When I first started publishing my ezine, I read research that said Tuesdays were the best day to publish. So guess what day I chose to publish my ezine?

Well about a year later, when my deliverability numbers started going down, I read another article that said Sundays were a great day because the volume of email was lower. So I switched and my deliverability immediately went up to 100% and has stayed pretty close to that ever since.

If you publish an ezine or you're planning on publishing one, it's important to you keep up on the research and regulations. Be familiar with the Can-Spam Act and abide by it. Follow these five tips and you'll increase your ezine deliverability and your marketing effectiveness.

(C) Copyright 2006 Debbie LaChusa, 10stepmarketing