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What was your first reaction to the line above? Did you cringe? Did a wave of distrust wash over you? Were you anxiously searching for the trash icon to delete the message?
Despite our own negative reactions, many well-meaning dealers continue to send emails with subject lines like this. It’s just one of the many reasons that your emails never reach your customers: They’re getting sent straight to the SPAM folder.
What’s a dealer to do? Even if you use an email delivery service like Selly, Mailchimp, or Constant Contact, it’s still up to you—the sender—to create an email worthy of being received. In this guide, we’ll show you how.
Most dealers assume that by using an email service though their CRM or a 3rd party, their emails will automatically get delivered to their customers. Unfortunately that’s not the case. It doesn’t matter HOW you send your emails; it’s WHAT you send and to WHOM you send them.
Every email service provider—Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, etc.—uses their own spam filters to protect customers from unwanted email. If you opened up your email one day to find 300 shady solicitations, you’d be furious. That’s why spam filters exist: to provide a good experience for the end user.
Each email service provider is a little different, but there are some common characteristics that tend to trigger SPAM filters:
Here are more common words and phrases that trigger SPAM filters
“Who cares,” you might say. “Email marketing is a numbers game. The more emails I send out, the better chance I have of getting a new customer.”
That’s not how this works.
Spamming customers isn’t a victimless crime. There are certainly victims: YOU. If an email service provider finds your email tactics too spammy, they will blacklist your domain. That means NONE of your emails will be delivered, and your website’s organic traffic could take a hit, too.
Blacklisting isn’t a life-sentence, but it can do major damage to your brand’s reputation, both online and off. Check your domain’s status here. If you are on a blacklist, simply wait 30 days before sending out a mass email and check your status again.
Despite the concerns around SPAM, email marketing is still a lucrative marketing channel—IF you do it right.
If you take away just ONE thing from this guide, remember this tried-and-true principle:
Email marketing success is based on reputation. Reputation is based on engagement.
Yes, it’s really that simple. Avoid email tactics that generate low engagement from your readers, and therefore hurt your reputation. If your reputation takes too big of a hit, you could end up blacklisted.
So, how do you create highly-engaging emails? Here are a few tips:
Are you frustrated that your customer emails are not being delivered? Chances are you’re breaking one of the cardinal rules of SPAM filters. You might even be on a blacklist.
But have no fear. By following the principles and rules above, you’ll be on your way to higher deliverability, better engagement, and happier customers.