Brian,

 I don't have a problem with SPAM filters and we have quite a few of them to block out the sexually explicit materials, online gambling, dating services and most of the trash. I guess you will never know if you lost business if you never seen the contact!

If it is that much of a problem you need to call your web server and ask about getting a paasword to review the web traffic. It will allow you to see where the e mails are coming from. Mostly the domain but you can have it set up to track every in coming "hit" or record the e mails. Ask your vendor if you think it is a major problem.

Thanks for the idea, Michaael! As you say, I'm aware of a few emails going missing, but have no way of knowing whether it's one in ten or one in ten thousand!

I think it's really a bad idea to have a server imposed spam filter.

Why?

If you use Viagra, you may order Viagra online.  Do you want your order/ confirmation to be filtered because your ISP has determined that all messages containing the word "Viagra" is SPAM  Including your legitimate order?

Your idea of SPAM may not be the same as others!  If your company or ISP is putting a filter on your email, THEY are determining what YOU consider to be SPAM - and if you think about it, that's not a great way to operate.

I own my own server, and I do not filter email. It is up to my clients to put a filter on their (receiving) end.

Then, they can train it to filter out what they deemed to be SPAM.

All filtered messages can be reviewed just in case something mistakenly was put in that should not have been.

I get 800 emails a day.  My spam filter (SpamSieve) gets rid of 99.9% of the spam.  1 or 2 per day get through - that's it.

AOL's spam filter is a perfect example - MANY AOL customers 'lost' a great deal of mail because AOL imposed their SPAM filter on all of their customers.   Many, many people lost legitimate email messages.  And in business, that mean they lost MONEY.

i check my junk mail and found a client from yesterday that went to my junk box. Somestimes the filters work great and other times not as well. Glad I checked to get a possible client. Eric

I have had so much trouble with filters and my leads that I just decided to use the delete button.  Takes a little longer but I not longer have to worry about those missed emails.

I don't use my ISP email.  I use gmail instead.  I hate when someone writes to me from earthlink.net, becuase chances are, they forgot to "whitelist" me, and I know that I'll get that dumb error message.  LOL

Karen--I know what you mean. There have been times when someone has contacted me by email, I hit the reply button and respond to them, and get my email bounced back with that dumb error message. I'd noticed it with AOL. Apparently spam filters aren't "bright" enough to figure that if a person sends an email to a particular address, they're generally willing to receive from the same address??

Marchel-- My wife uses your same solution. With all the junk email I get, I'd hate to have to exercies my finger that much on the delete button, but maybe I should!

Eric-- I've done the same on occasion. But if I have to constantly check everything in the "junk" box, how is that saving any time over having them just show up in the Inbox instead?

yes yes yes

I have 2 main email addresses one has LOAN the other has MORTGAGE...

I'm having a similar, but different problem.  My problem is with responding to the hundreds of leads I get and those responses being filtered out.  I have a way to track the emails when I respond and I've found that only 26% of the 128 emails I sent out on 4/30/08 have actually been opened.  These emails go out to people who have requested additional information on our properties.  Since only 26% have been opened, I'm lead to believe that the other 74% are going to a junk folder.

Does anyone have any suggestions to get around this problem?  I'm obviously losing out on potential business!

- Bill

Bill, you might need to look at your emails you send and make sure they don't look like spam.  A lot of pictures, emails that aren't addressed to the person, attachments  and things like that can set off a spam filter.  Sometimes your ISP is blacklisted and you may not know it.