LARGE COMPANIES DOMAINS
There are generally very few problems encountered when sending emails to large companies, but two to be aware of include:
1) Many large companies have installed filters on their company mail servers to block unsolicited email. If you think this may be a problem with a specific company, contact the company's IT department to see if you can get your newsletter/email communications white listed.
2) Many large companies utilize Lotus Notes for email, which should not create any problems if they are using newer versions. However, older versions do not render HTML emails very well. Presumably these subscribers with older versions of Lotus Notes will let you know that what they've received is a jumble of code and text. Once you've confirmed a problem, consider switching all subscribers at that company to receive the text only version.
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Most email clients show what we call the "friendly from line" and the from email address . However, some, such as AOL, only show the email address in your inbox. To improve open rates with AOL, for example, many email marketers include a "friendly from name" in the subject line as well - an example being " Followed By The Subject Line".
Complicating the 'from line' strategy outlined above is that longer subject lines will be cut off by AOL and Hotmail. So while the subject line - "Great Savings on Energy Foods from PowerBar, Clif, Balance, GU & more" - appears in its entirety with Outlook and Yahoo, in Hotmail it reads "Great Savings on Energy Foods from PowerBar, ..." If you are creating separate emails for AOL subscribers, also make sure you create a shorter subject line that works in the AOL client. Alternatively, you may want to just develop a single short subject line that "works" across all email clients or one that still conveys the key message even if it is cut off.
While there is no definitive answer regarding AOL users - some recent research suggests that you may see better results sending either rich text format (RTF) in the AOL specifications (listed at a link below) or plain text format emails to AOL subscribers. Though the majority of AOL subscribers are using HTML compatible versions, their demographics and preferences lean toward simple, quick-loading emails. Recently we've seen examples of rich text format emails (i.e., no graphics, embedded links, bold copy) producing much higher click through rates when tested against HTML. To be sure, however, always test with your subscribers.