Is ReturnPath Certification worth the investment for email deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Geeks says that ReturnPath certification was useful in a company where MS was the majority share and to manage senior management's expectations, customer support was poor.
Email marketer from EmailVendorSelection suggests that ReturnPath Certification is useful for bypassing spam filters with some providers and for improving your sender reputation. They also note that it is one of many possible paths.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares experiences where clients with ReturnPath certification still had issues with Hotmail and couldn't get remediation through ReturnPath or Hotmail's remediation team.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests ReturnPath certification provides "MS peace of mind," freeing focus for Gmail, but its worth depends on the volume of MS addresses.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests ReturnPath Certification may be beneficial for larger senders dealing with deliverability issues at Microsoft (Outlook/Hotmail), providing access to support and reputation monitoring. However, for smaller senders, the cost may not justify the benefits.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that ReturnPath certification won't solve all your problems if you have bad practices in place, so it might be a waste of money.
Email marketer from Email Geeks states ReturnPath certification is not worth the money.
Email marketer from Mailjet reports that ReturnPath Certification (Validity) is best suited for companies sending high volumes of emails on a regular basis. They are able to afford the fees and meet the stringent certification requirements.
Email marketer from Reddit notes that while ReturnPath Certification can help with deliverability, it shouldn't be a primary solution and requires ongoing best practices. Certification isn't a 'magic bullet' and one must maintain proper email hygiene.
Email marketer from Reddit believes ReturnPath Certification (now Validity) is a waste of money, especially for smaller senders, as it primarily benefits Microsoft deliverability and is costly.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that ReturnPath certification helped resolve Outlook issues and is worth it for peace of mind.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that ReturnPath certification can communicate to top management to prevent bad practices, but is only useful for Microsoft B2C addresses.
Email marketer from SenderVerification shares that ReturnPath Certification improves email deliverability with major ISPs, enhances sender reputation, offers deliverability consulting, but it may be expensive and not necessary for all senders.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares that ReturnPath certification isn't necessary for people that follow delivery best practices and is very limited outside of Hotmail.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that ReturnPath certification can be useful for large senders, but it is not a substitute for good sending practices and may not be worth the cost for smaller senders.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that ReturnPath Certification (now Validity) offers benefits such as improved delivery rates and reputation monitoring, but the value depends on the sender's specific needs and email program maturity. Certification isn't a shortcut and it is worth asking "Am I ready for Certification?"
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Validity explains that Certification helps improve email delivery to major mailbox providers like Microsoft, helps monitor your sender reputation with insight into key metrics like spam trap hits and user complaints, and provides resources and support to address deliverability issues.
Documentation from Litmus reports that while ReturnPath Certification (now Validity) can provide benefits like better deliverability and reputation monitoring, it's not a substitute for following email best practices and maintaining a clean email list.
Documentation from Microsoft details that Certified senders can bypass junk email filtering by Microsoft's SmartScreen filter and improve email delivery rates to Outlook.com, Hotmail, and other Microsoft email services.