You have an online business. Of course, for your business to succeed you need a strong, comprehensive email marketing campaign. But, no matter how strong your email marketing campaign, there is no way you can completely control whether or not your email will make it to your target’s inbox, or that it will be opened when it does. ISPs often change the way they block emails and your readers may have intense security filters set on their accounts.

Even though the odds may seem stacked against you, don’t get discouraged. Here are five tips that can help your email land in that inbox.

1. Spam Checkers

Before you click that send button on your marketing email, make sure that you run it through a spam checker. Spam checkers scan you email for any spam “triggers” or “red flag words” that may prevent them from reaching their destination. Any email marketing service worth its salt should have one, and if you choose to do your email marketing without the help on an outside company, you can find a number of free spam checkers online.

2. Test, and Test Again

Now that email is checked on smartphones and mobile devices as often as it is on laptops and desktops (if not more so), it’s important to test your email on a few different devices and platforms. First of all, testing your email will make sure that it looks good on the screen. Emails that don’t load properly almost always end up in the trash. More importantly, if there are any breaks in the layout code, a server may mistake your email for spam and send it right to the spam box. Always make sure that your emails are good to go before sending them to your entire email list.

3. More Testing: Subject Lines

The email subject line may be the most important part of your campaign. It’s the first thing that the reader sets their eyes on, and the first impression is always the most important. Steer clear of unnecessary punctuation. Depending on the person who is receiving the email and the spam filters they have set on their account, a single exclamation point, dollar sign or spammy word could kill your email.

4. Help Your Readers Help You

Make it easy for your readers to whitelist you. The easier you make it for your audience to receive your emails, the more likely they are to keep opening them. Include a “whitelist me” link in your email that leads to a page on your site that shows your readers how to whitelist your emails on popular platforms like Google, Yahoo and Apple Mail.

5. Give Them Options

While you may have put a lot of time and effort into making your email look sharp – pictures, video, a slick template – not everyone wants to be visually wowed. There are still a lot of meat and potatoes people out there who want their information delivered to them in the simplest of ways. Give these folks a text only option by adding a link at the top of your email that will direct them to a text only version of your campaign.

Like I said, there is no way to guarantee that your email will reach its destination, but the more your refine your emails and learn to watch out for spammy words and red flags, the more often you’ll hit your mark – and you can be sure your business will benefit.