What are the best email sending providers for European and South American markets to ensure high deliverability?

Summary

Achieving high email deliverability in European and South American markets necessitates a comprehensive approach. Primarily, it involves sending relevant, permission-based emails and understanding regional nuances such as GDPR compliance in Europe and the prevalence of Google services in Latin America. Building and maintaining a strong sender reputation is essential, achieved through proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), regular list hygiene, and IP warming. Proactive monitoring of domain and IP reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Sender Score, alongside implementing feedback loops for complaint monitoring, is crucial. While country-specific ESPs are not always necessary, local expertise can be invaluable for navigating specific challenges. Avoiding blacklists and maintaining low spam rates are also vital for ensuring emails reach the inbox.

Key findings

  • Relevance and Permission: Sending relevant emails to subscribers who have explicitly opted-in significantly improves deliverability.
  • Regional Understanding: Understanding and adapting to regional specificities, such as GDPR in Europe and popular ISPs in South America, is key.
  • Sender Reputation: Maintaining a strong sender reputation is paramount, driven by authentication, list management, and IP warming.
  • Proactive Monitoring: Continuously monitor domain and IP reputation and promptly address any issues detected.
  • Authentication Protocols: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication is vital for preventing spoofing and enhancing email security.

Key considerations

  • List Hygiene: Regularly clean email lists to remove inactive subscribers and hard bounces, ensuring a higher engagement rate.
  • IP Warming: Gradually increase sending volume when starting with a new IP or ESP to establish a positive sending reputation.
  • Blacklist Avoidance: Actively monitor and prevent your domain or IP from being blacklisted.
  • Feedback Loop Implementation: Set up feedback loops to identify and address spam complaints promptly.
  • Local Expertise: Consider consulting local experts for unique deliverability challenges within specific regions.

What email marketers say
11Marketer opinions

Ensuring high email deliverability in European and South American markets involves several key strategies. Primarily, focusing on sending relevant messages to engaged subscribers is crucial. While country-specific ESPs aren't always necessary, familiarity with regional nuances, like GDPR compliance in Europe and the use of Google infrastructure by Latin American ISPs, is important. Maintaining good sender reputation through proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), regular list hygiene (removing inactive subscribers), and IP warming are essential technical practices. Monitoring domain reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and proactively addressing issues like blacklist inclusions and high spam complaint rates further contribute to successful email delivery.

Key opinions

  • Relevance & Engagement: Sending relevant messages to subscribers who have explicitly opted-in significantly improves deliverability.
  • Regional Awareness: Understanding and adhering to region-specific regulations (e.g., GDPR) and ISP infrastructures (e.g., Google in LatAm) is crucial.
  • Sender Reputation: Maintaining a positive sender reputation is vital, achieved through authentication, list hygiene, and proactive monitoring.
  • Technical Setup: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication is essential to improve trust and prevent spoofing.

Key considerations

  • List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive subscribers and hard bounces to improve engagement metrics.
  • IP Warming: Gradually increase sending volume when starting with a new ESP or dedicated IP to establish a positive sending reputation.
  • Reputation Monitoring: Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Sender Score to continuously monitor your domain reputation and address any issues promptly.
  • Blacklist Checks: Regularly check if your domain or IP is on any blacklists and take immediate action to get removed if necessary.
Marketer view

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.

August 2021 - MailerQ
Marketer view

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.

August 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

January 2024 - ActiveCampaign Blog
Marketer view

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.

May 2023 - Omnisend
Marketer view

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.

October 2021 - WebHostingTalk Forums
Marketer view

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.

May 2021 - Sender Blog
Marketer view

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.

November 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

December 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

September 2022 - Mailjet Blog
Marketer view

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.

May 2022 - SparkPost Blog
Marketer view

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.

May 2023 - Reddit

What the experts say
3Expert opinions

To ensure high email deliverability, especially in markets like Europe and South America, a multi-faceted approach is critical. Monitoring delivery metrics and consulting local experts for region-specific issues can be valuable. Maintaining a good sender reputation by actively tracking it with tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS is essential. Furthermore, the origin of your email list significantly impacts deliverability; building an organic list through clear opt-in processes is far more effective than using purchased or scraped lists.

Key opinions

  • Monitor Delivery Metrics: Keep a close watch on delivery rates and seek local expertise when facing challenges beyond standard deliverability issues.
  • Sender Reputation is Key: Actively monitor and maintain a positive sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS.
  • Organic List Building: Focus on building email lists organically through transparent opt-in procedures, as purchased or scraped lists negatively impact deliverability.

Key considerations

  • Local Expertise: Consider seeking assistance from local experts for unique deliverability challenges in specific countries.
  • Proactive Reputation Management: Take immediate action to address any issues identified through reputation monitoring tools.
  • Opt-in Transparency: Ensure that your opt-in process is clear and transparent, obtaining genuine consent from subscribers.
Expert view

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.

April 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

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.

April 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view

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.

February 2023 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Email authentication using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is critical for ensuring high deliverability. These protocols help prevent email spoofing and phishing, building trust with email receivers. Implementing feedback loops allows for monitoring bounce and complaint rates, enabling prompt resolution of deliverability issues. Maintaining a low spam rate, segmenting email lists, and using TLS connections are also vital practices recommended by providers like Google and outlined in RFC documentation.

Key findings

  • Email Authentication is Key: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are essential for preventing spoofing and building trust with email providers.
  • Feedback Loops are Important: Monitoring bounce and complaint rates through feedback loops allows for swift resolution of deliverability problems.
  • Maintain Low Spam Rates: Keeping spam rates below recommended thresholds is vital for avoiding spam filters.

Key considerations

  • Implement SPF, DKIM, DMARC: Configure these authentication protocols correctly to authorize mail servers and prevent spoofing.
  • Monitor Bounce and Complaint Rates: Set up feedback loops and regularly monitor bounce and complaint rates to identify and address issues.
  • Use TLS Connections: Ensure all email communication uses TLS connections for secure transmission.
Technical article

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.

August 2024 - RFC Documentation
Technical article

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.

September 2023 - Google
Technical article

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.

May 2022 - DMARC.org
Technical article

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.

October 2024 - AWS Documentation