Should email seed lists be sent separately from regular email sends?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum suggests regularly cleaning seed lists to remove inactive or problematic addresses. They also recommend monitoring seed list performance over time to identify trends and patterns.
Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that seed lists provide a snapshot of inbox placement at different ISPs but don't guarantee deliverability for all recipients. They suggest using seed lists in conjunction with other deliverability tools and metrics.
Email marketer from Quora explains that seed lists offer a good high-level overview, but it’s important to remember they don’t account for individual user settings or behaviors. Real-world results may vary.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that they include seed lists in their regular sends to monitor deliverability across different ISPs. They also mention using separate seed lists for transactional emails to track their performance.
Email marketer from StackExchange notes that seed lists only provide a limited view of deliverability, as they don't account for factors like user engagement or custom spam filters. They suggest combining seed list data with other metrics for a more comprehensive analysis.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that seed data points, the timing of seeds, and the non-engagement of seeds are all factors to consider when evaluating performance. She views deliverability data points as moments in time and emphasizes the importance of seeing the overall picture. She shares an example of a client consistently going to spam in seeds but still achieving desired engagement, indicating the need to consider other providers.
Email marketer from Reddit warns that seed lists may not always reflect the actual inbox placement for all users, especially if the seed list is not representative of the target audience.
Email marketer from EmailToolTester shares that seed lists should not be the only tool used when trying to ensure deliverability. They also point out you need to use seed lists internally and externally to gain a bigger picture.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that Seed Lists are best when you want to understand inbox placement before a big campaign goes out. They also state that it's good for checking if you have made any configuration changes which may have impacted deliverability.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that seed lists help monitor deliverability across different ISPs and identify potential issues early. However, they also mention the limitations of seed lists, such as not reflecting individual user behavior or custom filtering rules.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise suggests seed lists are best used as a single data point in a larger deliverability strategy. Combining data from multiple deliverability tools, in addition to seed lists, will result in a more accurate outcome.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that including seeds in the full send provides feedback on deliverability and inbox placement. He notes the importance of having multiple addresses at a given mailbox provider to spread them out across the send. This allows you to measure deliverability throughout the send, identifying if emails start going to spam.
Expert from Email Geeks shares his opinion that sending to seed lists separately wouldn't cause problems. He argues that the volume of sends to the seedlist would have to be extremely high to negatively impact deliverability stats.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that seed list monitoring, while useful, provides a limited view of deliverability because seed accounts often behave differently than real users. Factors like engagement history and individual filtering preferences are not reflected in seed list results.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that automated sends to his seedlist for demo purposes, without a corresponding 'big send', never seemed to harm his measured deliverability.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Google explains that it is important to authenticate your email. Seed list results may vary if authentication is not configured correctly.
Documentation from SendGrid warns against confusing seed lists with spam traps. They emphasize that seed lists are controlled accounts used for monitoring, while spam traps are designed to catch spammers. Sending to spam traps can severely damage your sender reputation.
Documentation from SparkPost shares that seed lists should be representative of your target audience and distributed across various ISPs. They also advise against sending exclusively to seed lists for extended periods, as this can skew deliverability metrics.