Kirill Popov and Loren McDonald

The auditors are coming! The auditors are coming!

This time, they don't want your tax records. Instead, they'll scrutinize every nook and cranny of your e-mail policies and procedures to determine whether you're a reliable e-mailer or a despicable spammer.

Unlike your average trip to the tax collector, though, this audit can actually do you some good.

In recent years, anti-spam efforts have moved steadily away from domain and content blocking. Reputation management and accreditation by recognized white-hat agencies count more heavily toward getting your e-mail delivered.

Accompanying that movement are third-party auditing and accreditation firms that specialize in assessing your performance as an e-mailer based on your subscription, delivery, and privacy practices.

TRUSTe, Habeas, and Return Path/Bonded Sender are the best known of these firms. All three use a battery of tests and questionnaires that measure what you say you do as an e-mailer and how you perform in the e-mail space.

It's no simple chat over coffee. After you pass a preliminary certification quiz, Habeas scrutinizes your e-mail operations with over 50 questions.TRUSTe uses a 15-page self-assessment.