What are the biggest gripes about deliverability services offered by ESPs?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email on Acid blog explains that the email testing process is not up to par. Email previews are not that accurate as their tool.
Email marketer from GMass Blog explains that a major issue is the limited monitoring tools provided by ESPs for tracking deliverability performance over time.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that ESPs sometimes lack robust list cleaning tools. This can lead to sending to invalid or inactive addresses, negatively impacting deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains they have no access to raw SMTP responses, so all they have to go by is "Hard Bounce" and "Soft Bounce."
Email marketer from Email Geeks echoes the bounce message comment, stating that they spend a good deal of time every day combing through bounce logs for clues.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that their biggest gripe is the difficulty involved in using their DKIM keys instead of the CNAME scheme the ESP wants to force on them.
Email marketer from Litmus Blog shares that the issue of understanding email placement, specifically getting emails into the inbox and not the spam folder, is a big concern.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog shares that one of the biggest issues is managing IP reputation. ESPs often don't provide enough tools or guidance on maintaining a good sending reputation, leading to deliverability problems.
Email marketer from Quora responds that a frequent concern is the cost and complexity of dedicated IPs. ESPs often make it difficult for smaller senders to obtain and manage their own IPs, hindering deliverability control.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that poor customer support is a major issue. ESPs often have slow response times and unhelpful advice when users encounter deliverability problems.
Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog responds that a common complaint is dealing with spam filters. ESPs can sometimes lack effective tools for preventing emails from landing in spam folders, requiring users to implement their own solutions.
Email marketer from SparkPost Blog explains that a major gripe is the lack of transparency in deliverability reporting. Users often don't get enough detail about why emails are failing, making troubleshooting difficult.
What the experts say6Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares that their biggest gripe is difficulty in getting raw bounce logs and would prefer a CSV download button so power users can see what actually happened.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that the insufficient guidance and support for list hygiene practices is a critical issue. ESPs need to better assist senders in maintaining clean and engaged email lists.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that ESPs are hiring well-meaning and smart people but failing to provide adequate training, so they end up cargo culting advice.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that their biggest gripe is hiding data like actual bounce messages and silently changing other data before reporting it to customers.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that one major problem is the often inaccurate or misleading deliverability metrics provided by ESPs, which can hinder proper analysis and improvement efforts.
Expert from Word to the Wise responds the growing complexity of authentication requirements and the lack of support provided by ESPs to navigate them is an ongoing frustration for senders.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Validity details that one of the biggest issues is that ESPs don't provide clear guidance or assistance with certification programs. This makes it difficult for senders to improve their reputation and deliverability with key mailbox providers.
Documentation from Spamhaus highlights the difficulties in getting removed from blocklists. ESPs often don't offer sufficient support or guidance on resolving blocklisting issues, requiring senders to navigate the process themselves.
Documentation from Microsoft Docs highlights that issues arise from insufficient email authentication. ESPs may not enforce or provide adequate guidance on implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, leading to deliverability failures.
Documentation from RFC Editor explains that standard SMTP error codes are often vague and unhelpful. ESPs frequently don't provide detailed explanations of these errors, making it difficult to diagnose deliverability issues.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools details that a significant issue is the lack of comprehensive feedback loops. ESPs may not offer sufficient integration with feedback loops from major mailbox providers, limiting visibility into deliverability problems.