Email Providers

Important Email Update! New requirements from Gmail and Yahoo Mail effective February 2024. 𝐄𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬: As part of their ongoing commitment to enhance email security and protect user inboxes, Gmail and Yahoo Mail have announced a set of new requirements for email senders, effective February 2024. The new requirements include long-standing best practices that all email senders should follow in order to achieve good deliverability with mailbox providers. What's new is that Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and other mailbox providers will require alignment with these best practices for those who send bulk messages over 5000 per day or if a significant number of recipients indicate the mail as spam. 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: - SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a domain-based way to determine what IPs are allowed to send email on somebody's behalf. - DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail) is a message-based signature that uses asymmetric cryptography to sign email and verify that a message was not altered in transit. - DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) builds on top of SPF and DKIM and instructs receivers to approve, quarantine, or reject email messages. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: For senders of bulk messages, meeting these requirements is crucial to maintaining good deliverability and ensuring that your emails reach the intended recipients' inboxes. Failure to comply may result in emails being marked as spam or rejected by mailbox providers. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨: Review your current email sending practices to ensure alignment with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. If necessary, update your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configurations to comply with the new requirements. Check the diagram showing how SPF and DKIM work together with your DMARC policy. #EmailSecurity #GmailUpdate #YahooMail #SPF #DKIM #DMARC #Authentication #CyberSecurity #EmailBestPractices

“Marketo and some other ESPs send all your emails to spam.” Don't they? Your ESP does impact deliverability; but not in the way most marketers think. Inbox providers don’t hate Marketo. They distrust bad senders. Marketo, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, all host thousands of senders. If you’re on a shared IP with shady neighbors, inbox providers might punish you too. Let’s be honest: some ESPs are just plain bad. 1. They let anyone send, no vetting, no compliance, no limits. 2. Their IP ranges show up repeatedly on blocklists. 3. Their support shrugs off your inboxing issues with generic answers. Red flag: If your ESP doesn't care who sends what, you’re sharing reputation with spammers. Dedicated IPs help, but they’re not magic. A dedicated IP in a “bad neighborhood” still inherits risk. Without proper warmup, domain alignment, and consistent volume, you're still a stranger to mailbox providers. Think of it like buying a premium car but driving through a toxic zone, you're not protected. The real issue isn’t always the platform, it’s the sending. Switching ESPs won’t fix your deliverability if your: 1. Domain reputation is weak 2. Lists are stale or purchased 3. Content is clickbait 4. Engagement is low These follow you wherever you go. That said, some ESPs are stuck in the past. If your platform doesn’t offer: 1. Custom Return-Path 2. ARC header support 3. Reliable bounce categorization 4. Fast IP warm-up tools 5. Responsive deliverability support Then yes, that’s a reason to leave. So what does drive inbox placement? Focus on these fundamentals: 1. Domain-level reputation and alignment (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) 2. Strong engagement signals (opens, clicks, replies) 3. Clean, opt-in-only lists 4. Consistent volume and sending patterns 5. Fast bounce/suppression handling 6. Relevant, non-spammy content Blaming your ESP is easy. But sometimes, they do deserve it. If your setup is right, but inboxing still fails, ask: 1. Who else is sending from this subnet? 2. Is the ESP proactive with abuse management? 3. Are they helping or just blaming Gmail? If your ESP doesn’t protect your reputation, you need to protect yourself, by leaving. Bottom line: The ESP is your infrastructure. Your deliverability is your responsibility, but if the infrastructure is broken, no amount of sender best practices can fix it. Have you dealt with shady ESPs or deliverability disasters? Let’s talk. #emailmarketing #deliverability #ESP #marketo #inboxstrategy #emailtruths #email

I burned through $15K perfecting cold email copy. Here's what I learned when I focused on deliverability instead. While I was obsessing over subject lines and CTAs, most of my emails were landing in spam folders. I had killer copy that nobody ever saw. But here's what happened when I fixed the infrastructure piece first… I went from ignored emails to 800,000+ monthly sends at ColdIQ. If your cold emails aren't working, deliverability beats copy every single time. WHY DELIVERABILITY IS EVERYTHING: 1. Perfect copy means nothing in spam. You can have killer targeting, perfect messaging, incredible offers... but if your email lands in spam? Game over. 2. It compounds everything else. Once your domain reputation is down, even your transactional emails start getting flagged and won't get delivered anymore. So how do you make your email in the primary? 1. Protect your main domain. Never send cold emails from your primary domain. We use 70+ secondary domains to keep our brand safe and our main inbox clean. 2. Distribute volume across multiple mailboxes. Set up 140+ mailboxes across those domains. Keep it under 50 sends per day per domain. High volume too early = instant red flag. 3. Get your technical foundation bulletproof. Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication. Without proper technical set-up, you're flagged as suspicious by default. 4. Warm up. Send nothing for 2 weeks. Use premium warm-up tools to build trust gradually with ESPs. Ramp slowly to avoid triggering their spam filters. Patience here pays dividends later. 5. Natural variation. Use Spintax or tools like Twain to introduce variations in your messaging. Even small variations help you avoid the repetition triggers that scream "mass email blast" to spam filters. Remember, list quality plus message still matter most. Even with perfect infrastructure, if your list is off and your message is weak, you'll still land in spam. Deliverability gets you to the inbox, but the relevance keeps you there. Monitor everything rigorously. Use tools to track your sender reputation across all ESPs. We check deliverability rates daily (it's that critical). Infrastructure gets you to the inbox, but your targeting plus messaging determines what happens next. I've put together a 7-day GTM crash course that includes our exact setup, authentication templates, and the monitoring systems we use to protect the campaigns of our 70 clients. Reply with "SETUP" if you want access before your next campaign goes live.

One client had a deliverability crash every 3 months (Here's how we fixed their cold email longevity) Their challenge: - Inconsistent Deliverability - Lead generation dropped every few months - Difficulty scaling outreach without hurting results The solutions: ↳ Diversified Sending Channels We used several email providers to send emails. This reduced the risk of one provider’s problems affecting all emails. ↳ Better Deliverability Monitoring We kept a close watch on the email reputation Paused the domains with issues for 2-3 weeks until recovered ↳ Sender Rotation We rotated bad-performing sending domains every week or two This kept their sender reputation strong and avoided blacklists The results: - Consistent Inbox Placement - No more sudden drops in email delivery - Ability to scale outreach without hurting results Email problems shouldn’t stop your lead generation By using multiple email providers and a few tweaks to manage longevity The client did not only get good results But kept everything as it is for longer Do you think sending provider diversification is important?

I lost $10k because of one email setup mistake. (and businesses are still doing it) Deliverability is getting tougher every day. New Outlook and Gmail policies aren't helping. Earlier this year, I used only Outlook for my setups. Then everything fell apart. Emails started landing in spam. Leads dried up. I learned a costly lesson: Don't put all your emails in one basket. You need to diversify your inboxes. Use Google, Outlook, AND third-party providers. Our go-to is Maildoso. They make setup frictionless. But best of all, they land emails in the primary inbox. Their dynamic IP rotation monitors deliverability. It automatically rotates out flagged IPs. By using reputable providers, you increase your chances of landing in the primary inbox. By keeping your infrastructure diverse, you avoid a single point of failure. Key takeaway: Don't risk your business on a single provider. Diversify your inboxes to safeguard your outreach. P.S. How are you ensuring your emails reach the inbox?

Look, we need to talk about your email deliverability problems. They're probably not your fault... but they probably are. I've spent the past three weeks drowning in client deliverability disasters, and trust me, their problems aren't outliers. Everyone is struggling right now and it's bad. Here's the hard truth: ESPs aren't messing around anymore because they know the mailbox providers (MBPs) aren't messing around. It's a chain of panic, and you, my friend, are at the bottom of it. Let's break this down like (responsible) adults: ESPs have a limited number of shared IPs at each level, and they're guarding them like dragons guard their gold. They're desperately trying to stay compliant with MBPs, so they're being cautious about deliverability metrics (that's why Klaviyo added that deliverability tab with their own KPI goals for their users). And guess what? ESPs will protect THEIR reputation FIRST. Your marketing goals? Yeah, those come last. They'll throw you under the bus in a heartbeat if you're hurting their sender score, whether you meant to or not. So what does this mean for you as sender? 🛑 Monitor your traffic sources, for the love of all email – Where are these subscribers coming from? Did they ACTUALLY consent to your emails, or are you just collecting addresses like Pokemon? Not all traffic is good traffic. Tag it, qualify it, clean it. 🛑 Stop hoarding dead subscribers – Seriously, take Elisa's advice and let it go. They're not coming back. 🛑 Segment with actual intention – Not everyone needs EVERY. SINGLE. CAMPAIGN. Send relevant content to people who might actually care. 🛑 Watch your bounces and spam complaints – These are flashing neon signs saying "Steep Cliff Ahead, Turn Right!" Why are you ignoring them? 🛑 Gmail doesn't have feedback loops to your ESP – Start using Google Postmaster or remain clueless. Your choice. If everything in your account looks spotless but you're still having issues, congrats! You might have terrible neighbors on your shared IP. Reach out to your ESP and ask why they moved you to the email equivalent of the bad part of town. They've got the receipts. Here's how to tell what's happening: ↳If YOU'RE the problem child, ESPs will quietly move you to a new (crappier) pool. ↳If your IP NEIGHBORS are the troublemakers, you'll watch your reputation tank without necessarily changing IPs. Questions? Drop them in the comments. Or if you need someone to rescue your deliverability (again), my DMs are open.

I've audited 500+ cold email setups. 90% of campaigns fail because of 3 fixable issues. The exact audit checklist I use to diagnose what's broken (and how to fix it): Step 1: Check Your Reply Rate - Reply rate under 1% = infrastructure problem. - Reply rate 1-3% but no meetings = weak offer. Most people skip this step and waste weeks tweaking the wrong things. If Reply Rate is Sub-1% (Infrastructure Audit): Campaign Setup: → Spintax added for variability? → Copy free of spam trigger words? → Signature has spintax? → No longer then 2 step sequence? → Adjusting start / end times daily? Technical Infrastructure: → Each domain in its own tenant? → Low inbox count per tenant? → Using Hypertype with Google/Azure correctly? → Sending volume per inbox appropriate? → Domain went through 2-week warmup? → Redirect is working? → DNS records are properly setup? → Warmup didn’t get turned off for sending accounts? Data Quality: → SMTP validation via Million Verifier completed? → Catch-all emails separated and validated via Scrubby? → Company name formatting cleaned up? → Too many enterprise security systems in your list? → Minimum of 2500 leads in the campaign? If Reply Rate is 1-3% (Offer/Copy Audit): Copy Structure: → Subject line looks internal (lowercase preferred)? → Using soft CTA instead of direct meeting ask? → Includes relevant social proof? → Has personalization elements? → Avoids overselling? → No links or attachments? Offer Quality: → Is it "cold traffic ready" with low perceived risk? → Helps prospect make or save money? → Solves a massive pain point? → Includes risk reversal/guarantee elements? Targeting: → Prospects match your ICP exactly? → Company size appropriate for your offer? → Targeting actual decision makers? Red Flags to Fix Immediately: → High bounce rates → Campaigns not sending daily → Long, complex copy → No spintax or variability → Generic, non-personalized messaging → Weak offer positioning I use this exact checklist for every client audit. Takes 20 minutes to run through. Saves weeks of guessing what's broken.

We've audited over $50M in DTC revenue this year. ↳ Almost every brand had emails going straight to spam. (+ none of them knew it was happening) These weren't small brands. They were 7 and 8-figure companies silently losing $10K-30K monthly. Why? Because 30-40% of their emails never reached the inbox. The worst part?  Their ESP dashboards showed "delivered" stats of 98%+. Here's what we consistently uncover: 1. Misconfigured sending infrastructure → Unverified SPF/DKIM records → Unverified branded sending domain (still?!) 2. Toxic engagement ratios → Consistently sending to unengaged contacts → Even your best customers stop seeing your emails. 3. Hidden spam traps → Lack of exclusion segmentation hurting placement → Not filtering out signups from certain APIs     (TikTok shop emails I’m looking at you) → Each send to fake contacts severely damages reputation 4. Send frequency blindness → Sending daily "because competitors do"    (without the engagement metrics to support it) → Find your audience's sweet spot 5. Zero list hygiene protocol → Keeping subs who joined 365+ days ago + never purchased → Keeping unengaged bloat in hope that one day they purchase    (they won’t…) This isn't theoretical. We're seeing spam placement rates as high as 60%. Fix your deliverability: More emails in inbox ↓ More eyes on your offers ↓ More clicks on your CTAs ↓ More earning potential 

"Stop blaming your ESP. The problem might be… you." Open rates dropped? “Must be the ESP.” Emails hitting spam? “Definitely a platform issue.” Poor results? “Maybe we need a better tool.” Listen — Over 27 years, I’ve worked with a lot of ESPs. And yes, some are better than others. But most of the time, when email performance tanks? It’s not the tech. It’s the strategy. Or the list hygiene. Or the deliverability sins you didn’t even realise you were committing. Things like: Not cleaning your lists No engagement segmentation Spray-and-pray sending Using open rate as your only success metric Not warming up new IPs/domains correctly Sending big jumps in volumes causing spikes Your ESP is just a delivery truck. If you put rotten fruit in the back, it’s still rotten when it arrives. Before you switch platforms, switch perspectives. Audit your practices. Fix the foundation. Then look at the tools. We can help #emailmarketing #emaildeliverability #deliverability #deliverabilityaudit

Sending Cold Emails From Hubspot Could Get You Locked Out Of Your Email! Got your attention? It happens more often than you think. Read below for how to do cold email that works. If you're relying heavily on a single domain or account for email campaigns, you're at best asking for your campaign to be flagged and at worst risking the domain reputation of the whole company! You need to be Horizontal Scaling. What does that mean? Sending large volumes from one domain can trigger spam filters and alert email service providers that you may be a "bad actor". This is a common mistake since CRMs like Hubspot make it so easy to just email your prospects in sequences. The problem is unsolicited out reach like this leads to low engagement and high spam complaints which can tank your sender reputation. If this happens, not only will you have to pause your campaigns, but your primary business communications could also start landing in spam, disrupting your regular interactions with clients and suppliers. Accounting doesn't like it when their AR emails are going to spam. 𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼? Diversify Your Domains: Create multiple outreach domains similar to your main domain but with slight modifications like prefixes or suffixes. For instance, from "beanstalkconsulting.co" to "getbeanstalk.com" or "trybeanstalk.com". Choose the Right Domain: Opt for .com domains or common ones like .co .io etc. Avoid extensions like .nyc, and steer clear of hyphens, numbers, and sensitive words. Volume Management: Keep your daily email volume per domain under 100 emails. For our ScaledMail offering we standardize each domain at 98 email sends per day. If you need to send more, scale up with additional domains. Spread Your Accounts: Utilize multiple email providers to distribute the sending load and reduce risks. This helps in managing deliverability and it doesn't put all your eggs in one ESP basket. Get some Google, some Outlook, some SMTP. Gradually increase your sending volume to avoid spikes that can alert providers. Increase by 5 sends per day for example. Most advanced email platforms offer warmup settings that help in ramping up the volume gradually—we like Smartlead for this! 📈 Ready to scale your email marketing efforts without the risk? If you need help with any of this just give us a shout!