What are good alternatives to Validity certification for email deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say14Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares the primary reason that there is only a few providers in terms of certification is because it requires strong, trusted, long-term relationships with the receivers, that is something that has to be cultivated over years.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that maintaining a clean email list is essential for deliverability. Regularly remove inactive subscribers, handle bounces promptly, and segment your audience to send more targeted emails, improving engagement and reducing spam complaints.
Email marketer from Email Geeks recounts moving a client off SenderScore Certified and experiencing only a brief inbox placement issue at Hotmail, which was resolved with an escalation. The email marketer suggests that following best practices eliminates the need for certification.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that following best practices gets you a bump with the certifications. They also go to bat for you and advocate for you, find out what the issue is, and help get it fixed.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that Feedback loops are essential for maintaining a good reputation. They allow you to identify and remove subscribers who mark your emails as spam, which helps improve your deliverability rates.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that A/B testing your email content, subject lines, and sending times can help you optimize engagement and improve deliverability. High engagement rates signal to ISPs that your emails are valuable to recipients.
Email marketer from StackOverflow explains that avoiding spam trigger words in your email subject lines and content is an important step in avoiding spam filters. Always use a tool to check the spam score to help you identify and reduce your risk of going to spam.
Email marketer from G-Lock Software shares that warming up your IP address gradually when starting a new email campaign is crucial. Increase your sending volume slowly over time to establish a positive sender reputation with ISPs.
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid shares that monitoring your deliverability metrics, such as bounce rates, spam complaints, and inbox placement, is key to identifying and addressing issues. Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools to gain insights into your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that Validity certification can reduce the risk of issues with Microsoft and increase concurrent connections to Orange, potentially speeding up delivery. However, the email marketer can't say if its worth paying the high fee, and recommends each candidate do their own calculations.
Email marketer from MailerLite shares that segmentation is sending emails to a smaller group of subscribers based on shared characteristics. This helps you create personalized and relevant content, which boosts engagement and deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that strictly following best practices at every stage of your email program, starting with acquisition, may eliminate the need for certification.
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that implementing best practices such as email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), managing your sender reputation, keeping your email lists clean, and providing valuable and engaging content are crucial for ensuring optimal email deliverability. These help you avoid spam filters and improve inbox placement.
Email marketer from Quora shares that focusing on deliverability practices is the alternative. Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Clean your lists regularly. Monitor your sender reputation. Send engaging content. Be consistent with sending volume. By following these steps, you can improve your deliverability without relying on Validity certification.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource shares that building and maintaining a good sending reputation with mailbox providers is the best alternative to certification. This involves consistently sending wanted mail, authenticating your emails, and promptly addressing any deliverability issues.
Expert from Email Geeks shares his belief that certifications fall into two categories: worthless and those with strict requirements. He suggests that the process of complying with the stricter certifications can be beneficial, even if the certification itself offers only a slight advantage. Cleaning up processes can be done without committing to expensive ongoing certification, either in-house or with an external consultant.
Expert from Email Geeks notes that some certifications can improve delivery at large consumer ISPs, which may improve revenues enough to justify the cost of certification.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests if certification were valuable, profitable, and necessary, more companies would offer the service and drive prices down. Therefore, he suggests it's not valuable or Validity has done a poor job marketing it.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that proactive deliverability management, which includes monitoring your sending practices, analyzing deliverability data, and quickly addressing any issues, can provide better results than relying solely on certification. Good deliverability can be achieved by watching and reacting to any deliverability problems.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC Editor explains that SPF records can be used to ensure that only authorized mail servers can send emails on behalf of your domain. Setting this up correctly is key to proving to mailbox providers you have taken steps to secure your email program.
Documentation from Microsoft shares that using SNDS to keep a close watch on your reputation with Microsoft. You can use this to identify if you have any problems with your mail program so you can address them quickly.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that using sender authentication methods like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for establishing credibility with mailbox providers. These protocols help verify that the emails you send are genuinely from your domain, which can improve deliverability.
Documentation from Google Workspace explains adhering to Google's bulk sender guidelines is crucial for reaching Gmail inboxes. These guidelines include authenticating your emails, avoiding spammy content, and making it easy for recipients to unsubscribe.