What are the best email sending providers for European and South American markets to ensure high deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from MailerQ states that you should ensure you have a good sender reputation. To do that you should authenticate your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Use a dedicated IP address, keep your lists clean and ensure that people actually want to receive your email.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that despite sending relevant messages, you can hit walls in China, Poland, Italy, or even France. It's important to be close to those markets. Benjamin's employer (Splio) is well placed for Brazil/France/Spain/Italy); For Slovakia, Czech Republic and Romania I believe Mailkit knows their stuff, and for Mexico and Columbia, I couldn't say, also my logs show a lot of Gmail and Microsoft, so maybe it is similar to Spain.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign Blog shares that selecting an ESP with a strong global infrastructure is vital. They emphasize the importance of ESPs that have partnerships with local ISPs and a good track record in the specific regions you're targeting. They recommend researching ESPs' deliverability rates and case studies in Europe and South America.
Email marketer from Omnisend states that to improve deliverability check what your domain reputation is. To do this check tools such as Google Postmaster tools and Sender Score. Implement feedback loops so you know when people mark you as spam.
Email marketer from WebHostingTalk Forums states that you should check to see if you are on any blacklists. You can do this using online tools and it will tell you if you have been listed by any major blocking service.
Email marketer from Sender Blog shares that list hygiene is a cornerstone of deliverability. They advise regularly cleaning your email list to remove inactive subscribers and hard bounces. Using double opt-in signup processes helps ensure that you are sending emails only to engaged and consenting recipients, boosting your sender reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that the key to deliverability is sending relevant messages to people who explicitly asked for it. That behaviour is not widespread across Europe and overall, you should be okay. You don't need a country specific ESP for delivery but you might encounter a weird block reason and local knowledge might help. However, the large international ESPs are very experienced in European ISP SMTP errors too.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that it's useful to talk to someone familiar with the region, but it's rare to need unique ESPs for each region. For LatAm, many ISPs use Google, so strategies good for Google/Gmail are useful. The EU has ISPs with in-house architecture and rate limits, which major ESPs handle. China is an exception where a local partner is easier.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that understanding European email specifics is key. They recommend familiarizing yourself with GDPR compliance and local data protection laws. Using a reputable ESP that adheres to these regulations is crucial for maintaining high deliverability and sender reputation in Europe.
Email marketer from SparkPost Blog shares that warming up IP addresses is vital, especially when starting with a new ESP or dedicated IP. They recommend gradually increasing your sending volume over time to establish a positive sending reputation with ISPs. This helps to avoid being flagged as spam and improves overall deliverability.
Email marketer from Reddit states that the first thing anyone should do is check their domain reputation using tools such as Google Postmaster Tools and others. If it's low or bad you need to fix that first. Start with authentication records such as SPF, DKIM and DMARC and make sure they pass. Then work out why your reputation is bad and what bad practices you have.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks suggests to monitor delivery and consider reaching out to local experts only for the countries where problems are not just regular delivery issues.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that sender reputation is vital. Monitor your sending reputation with tools like Google Postmaster Tools, and Microsoft SNDS. Address any issues immediately, as a poor reputation significantly impacts deliverability regardless of the ESP used.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that the source of your email list critically impacts deliverability. Purchased or scraped lists are almost guaranteed to cause deliverability problems. Focus on building your list organically with clear opt-in processes and ensure subscribers are genuinely interested in your content.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC Documentation explains that an SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record helps prevent email spoofing by specifying which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. Implementing SPF is crucial for improving email deliverability and ensuring your messages reach the intended recipients.
Documentation from Google says that to prevent email ending up in spam make sure that your sending IP or domain isn't on any blocklists, Set up SPF or DKIM, set up DMARC authentication, make sure you are using a TLS connection and keep spam rates reported in Google Postmaster tools below 0.10% and avoid ever reaching a spam rate of 0.30% or higher.
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) builds upon SPF and DKIM to provide a higher level of email security. It allows domain owners to specify how email receivers should handle messages that fail authentication checks, preventing phishing attacks and improving deliverability.
Documentation from AWS Documentation explains that for high deliverability, it's essential to authenticate your emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. They recommend setting up feedback loops to monitor bounce and complaint rates, allowing you to promptly address any deliverability issues. Also, segmenting your email lists and sending targeted content improves engagement, positively impacting your sender reputation.