Recently I was involved in a mostly-serious conversation with some industry folks that centered around political mailings and how they get routed to the spam folder vs. the inbox. As the conversation went on, some of the points discussed got me thinking on the unrealistic expectations many senders (political or otherwise) can have when it comes to working with an email service provider or consultant.
These expectations usually revolve around what I like to call “ESP magic.” The term refers to the mystical ability to get mail routed to the inbox, regardless of the quality of the list or the engagement of the recipients. Many senders are convinced that every ESP deliverability expert wields this extraordinary power, and with that power comes a great responsibility – to get their mail to the inbox, period. I couldn’t count the number of times in my career I’ve heard a client say, “it’s your job to get my email delivered” – but that’s only half true. Every deliverability expert is tasked with getting the best possible delivery results for their clients, whether they work with an ESP or separately, but for many senders that’s where their view of the delivery team stops. It’s often “fix my spam folder placement or else.”
What these senders fail to realize is the other (and arguably more important) part of the delivery pro’s responsibility: education. No one can get you to the inbox consistently if you’re sending to outdated, purchased, or scraped lists with no engagement. That blacklist isn’t going to remove you if you keep sending to spam traps – no matter who reaches out to ask. As delivery folk, we can look for common symptoms and take necessary steps (blacklist delisting, ISP remediation, etc.), but often the root of these problems lies in the quality of the lists or the sending practices of the marketer.
The real “ESP magic” comes from years of experience, research, testing, and even failing that have taught us all what to do (and not to do) to reach the inbox. The hours of industry conversations at various events and in online discussions that once had the effect of meeting the “right person” to resolve issues at a specific ISP. Now they help shine light on best vs. worst practices, ISP requirements, and advances on both the sender and receiver sides of the aisle. It’s our job to compile that knowledge and present it to senders in a way that helps get mail delivered while also improving the email ecosystem.
If you want to reach the inbox, you have to start by learning how to reach the inbox. And if you’re ready to learn, we’ll be happy to teach you.
– BG
Delivery Counts 