Ralph Paglia shares best practices for auto dealers to get their email marketing past spam filters based on Courtesy Chevrolet's success. Key points: 1. Understand filtering rules of major ISPs like AOL, MSN, Yahoo and avoid trigger words like "free" or "discount". 2. Maintain good relations with ISPs and avoid blacklisting by checking status on sites like openrbl.org. 3. Test emails by seeding to major ISPs to ensure deliverability and compliance with CAN-SPAM regulations.

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RalphPaglia
marketing solution
No. 1 eDealer: Courtesy Chevrolet Shares Success on
How to Get E-Mails Delivered Through Spam Filters
To p - a u t o m o b i l e important to understand that certain trigger 5. HTML vs. Plain Text E-mails:
dealers in the nation words and phrases can cause legitimate e- Send Both
will tell you that e-mail mail to be flagged as spam. A small sampling Due to the high threat of malicious e-mail-
marketing is a vital and of such words is: Free, Guaranteed, Savings, born viruses, most major ISPs no longer
cost-effective method Discount, Cash Bonus, $$$$, while supplies automatically load HTML graphics, and
of communicating with last, Special Promotion, money back, and these e-mails tend to be deleted more
the Internet-savvy prospect. At Courtesy Savings. Be sure to thoroughly research frequently than plain text e-mails. Offer your
Chevrolet we have the results to prove it. these word lists and other filter triggers. customer an optional text-based version of
We have learned to leverage the marketing your HTML media, and offer your readers a
power of the Internet to dominate our region, 2. Maintain Good Relations with ISPs choice of which format they wish to receive.
and in a short time we’ve increased our sales It is critical that your dealership and e-mail Find a technology partner that believes in the
by 380 vehicles per month while decreasing provider have a “good e-mail reputation” benefit of sending messages in both formats.
our cost per unit sold. with the ISPs. When complaints have been
lodged about your e-mails, routers can 6. Be CAN-SPAM Compliant
As with any new dealership process automatically block your e-mail servers, With new legislation in place, dealers need to
involving technology, there are always resulting in a “blacklist” classification. pay close attention to bulk e-mail practices.
obstacles. With the increase in popularity in Once your servers have been blacklisted, Failure to comply with CAN-SPAM can
the use of the Internet by consumers, came you will be unable to deliver and process result in criminal and civil penalties. Read
an influx of undesirable junk e-mail. Recent your legitimate e-mail. Any dealer that up on this Act in more detail and review your
reports indicate that spam accounts for over has mistakenly been put on an ISP blacklist dealership’s e-mail policies.
half of all e-mail traffic, and an abundance knows how burdensome it is to get off. It is
of e-mail filtering devices are springing up imperative for both your dealership and your At Courtesy Chevrolet we believe that the
everywhere, from the desktop to the Internet e-mail provider to remain in good standing Internet is one of the most powerful tools
Service Provider (ISP), to combat it. The with ISPs. available to our staff, and that the integrity of
problem is that a large portion of legitimate, our e-mail marketing is critical to the future
permission-based e-mail messages are 3. “Blacklist” Defense success of our dealership. The fact is that
erroneously blocked by these anti-spam If you suspect that your dealership may spam is here to stay, and the plethora of filters
filters, a number that continues to steadily already be on a blacklist, simply go to www. in place will continue to be necessitated. At
increase. openrbl.org and type in your domain name. Courtesy Chevrolet, we continually monitor
The site will do a quick check against its and research spam filters to discover new
E-mail communication is critical for today’s database of major blacklists, and within avenues and methods to obtain a higher
auto dealer, so anything that disrupts this seconds will be able to tell you which, if penetration of e-mail deliverability. We
channel is a hazard to the success of your any, of the blacklists your Web site(s) are work with our e-mail provider, using their
business. Whether you are new to digital on. Another useful resource that will allow best practice guidelines to obtain the high
marketing, or an expert at managing your you to check your status on blacklists can marketing standards set by our dealership.
database, the following best practices will be found at www.senderbase.org. If you find With the right technology, the right tools and
increase the odds that your e-mail campaigns yourself blacklisted, visit the Web site of the the right processes in place, we are able to
will successfully reach your customers. blacklist and look for removal procedures. optimize navigation past anti-spam filters
Some blacklists have procedures for removal, and ensure the overall success of our e-mail
1. Identify and Understand ISP while other lists are permanent. marketing campaigns.
Filtering Rules
Many of the larger, more common ISPs are 4. Seeding (Testing) E-mails
installing anti-spam filters to identify and It’s important to continuously monitor and test
block spam before it is passed to their clients. the integrity of your e-mails. Open accounts
AOL, MSN, and Yahoo! and others all have with all the main ISPs and test your campaigns
their own customized rules for defining to make sure your mailings are optimized to Ralph Paglia is the CRM/eBusiness
and weeding out spam. The big ISPs have prevent filtering. Check your CRM tool search director at Courtesy Chevrolet. He can be
routers for their e-mail domains that analyze function to determine what e-mail domains contacted at 866.883.9250, or by e-mail at
and streamline all incoming e-mails. It is are being used by your customers. rpaglia@autosuccessonline.com.
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