Here at Flow we have taken a multi level approach to dealing with Spam Filters.

The problem...

Todays Email Checkers will open links in your Emails automatically. This can result in false Opens, False Survey results and also False Unsubscribes.

Emails that are sent with inline NPS scores can result in a false NPS score being registered.

Strategy to deal with the Issue

Multi-step unsubscribe

Always require a minimum of 2 steps to unsubscribe. For example a link in the email is provided for Unsubscribe. The link redirects to an unsubscribe page where the recipient must click an unsubscribe button. This stops link checkers as they will typically only manage the first check

Avoid embedding Survey questions in the invitation email

- Embedding questions in the invitation email is great for enticing users to provide a response. The downside is that link checkers can also provide responses. In the case of an embedded NPS scale, this can mean 11 answers in a fraction of a second. Putting your feedback behind a Start Button will ensure ensure that false results are not registered

Monitor speed of response

A single response provided to only the first question in a survey and with no subsequent questions is most likely that of a link tracker. At Flow our Survey Engine will check a number of factors including

• the email domain of the recipient
• the duration after sending of the first response
• if only one question (the first is answered)

Robot Traps

Embedding a link in the invitation email that is hidden to the human eye can be used to trap robot link checkers. Only a robot would be aware of the link and along with our other tracked criteria we can determine if a robot is at work.