Quote:
Originally Posted by tj2050
I think the challenge for email marketing is how technical it can be. We run our own SMTP gateway, have our own warmed IP addresses, and I studied the laws to see if it's acceptable to include nude images in the body of an email (it is, given the proper opt-in and subject line).
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Coming from a background of building and maintaining email delivery systems (three decades of experience), you are absolutely correct about the technical challenges of sending email. The time and knowledge required to maintain your own email servers will be immense and almost never worth it for small businesses. As your list grows, you will either need to invest in dedicated personnel and systems or move to a professional email delivery platform.
Without professional help you will need to understand and build out a system that can automatically handle feedback loops, replies, bounced email, complaints, and unsubscribes. You will need to differentiate between transient, permanent and block type responses from receiving networks, so you can determine if your IPs or domains are being blocked. You will need be familiar with block sources and what steps to take when that happens. And, I haven't even scratched the surface; delivery reputation, technical header setup, rDNS, DMARC, SPF, DKIM, RBL checks.
I mention this not to overwhelm, but to inform, as you will likely need to switch from your own platform to another in the future. And, your IP (and possible domain) reputation will not follow you. For example, if you have establish a great delivery reputation, you would need to start from scratch when you move.
Hope that helps,
Brent Livingston
EzineDirector.com