5 Things That Can Happen When You Use a Free SMTP Server for Your Mailings
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a network protocol for transferring e-mail. It is used every time we send an email via web services (Gmail), desktop programs (Outlook, Thunderbird, TheBat) or mailing services.GMail, and other email providers can be compared to a post office in your area. You come there, indicate on the envelope where to send the letter and give it to the postman.SMTP is everything that happens in the post office when you send a letter. For example, they will stick stamps at the post office, check the weight of the parcel, organize logistics and deliver the letter to the addressee.
This raises the question: if SMTP is so versatile, why can't you send emails directly through it? You can, but there are a few "buts".
An ordinary user does not need knowledge of SMTP, it is enough to use the interface of any mailer. Using commands from the mailer, it will send requests to the recipient's server.
There are different methods of sending mass mailings and evaluate them according to 3 parameters: the need for improvements, the deliverability of letters and the price.
1. Free mailbox
Price: Free
Almost all mail providers provide access to the mailbox via SMTP. However, it will not work to send bulk mailings from free mail.
Benefits
Mailboxes on Gmailare free. This is where the benefits for sending bulk emails end.
Disadvantages
- As long as you send a small number of letters, you may be fine with free mail. But if there are a lot of subscribers, you will face restrictions on the number of letters, for example - Gmail.com - 500 emails per day
- More letters will not be sent. Moreover, if we try to step over the acceptable threshold, the mailbox will be blocked, and all letters will start to fall into "Spam".
- Mail providers cannot allow spam to be sent from their servers. It worsens the reputation of mailer servers - because of this, even normal letters may not reach the "Inbox".
Conclusion: not suitable for mass mailings.
2. ISP Mail
Many ISPs give users mail on their domain. This method is similar to the previous one: Internet provider mail is suitable for personal correspondence, but not for mass mailings. Emails are sent through the IP addresses of the provider - they cannot allow spam to pass through them. Therefore, most of these mailboxes also have a limit on the number of letters per day.
Conclusion: not suitable for mass mailings.
3. Hosting
Benefits
Pros of buying a hosting - you get an email address on the same domain where your site will be located. This is convenient, for example, when you have a small online store and you need to send messages with the order status.
Disadvantages
Often hosting is located on the shared IP addresses of the hosting provider, which means that in parallel with you, someone else may be on this IP address and send spam. Because of this, your emails will also end up in spam. It is because of this that providers often limit the possibility of mailings for hosting owners, and require the purchase of a VPS (virtual server) or a dedicated server, which leads us to the next point.
Conclusion: suitable for bulk mailings, if you buy a virtual server and configure it.
4. Own SMTP solution
As we compared at the beginning, SMTP is all about sending and delivering a message to the recipient. What exactly to ship and how to ship is your responsibility. SMTP is suitable for everything: transactional emails, bulk mailings, or personal correspondence.
Benefits
Simplicity. SMTP is a simple protocol: it's easy to test and implement (especially if you've already had an SMTP solution before).The advantage of SMTP is that it can be checked quickly because it is a standard protocol. In the case of SMTP, unsubscribe links, templates, tracking can also work. This information can be passed in the X-headers of the letter. But this requires improvements.
Using SMTP requires less knowledge to implement than, say, using the WEB API (on which transactional email services are built). SMTP is well understood and has detailed documentation. Unforeseen circumstances, such as a sudden change in protocol or a change in the operation of some methods, are minimized.
To start an SMTP server, you need to understand how the protocol works and learn the set of required commands.
Detailed error reportin
By Using SMTP, you immediately receive a delivery response or message delivery failure. Many services do not provide a detailed answer about the reasons for non-delivery. If the letter did not reach, then most often they will simply display the reason: a non-existent address, blocking the message as spam.
The SMTP session will show at which stage the delivery error occurred. This is sometimes useful. For example, if an error occurred during the MAIL FROM data transfer stage (see an example of an SMTP session), then your return address is not liked by the recipient's server.
Disadvantages
Greylisting.
SMTP requires constant communication between the sender and the recipient server. It is not enough to send one request to send a letter. First, the servers must "say hello", then the sender must tell who the letter is from, then provide the contents of the letter. At each of these stages, we wait for the recipient's server response. When one letter is sent, there is no difficulty.
But when a lot of emails are sent, for example, greylisting may turn on. This is an anti-spam technology where the recipient's server deliberately replies to your SMTP server that it is not available. In this case, the SMTP sending spam usually stops trying. The knowledge about this behavior must be incorporated into the logic of your SMTP server. For example, in mailing services, repeated attempts to send are automated - letters reach recipients better.
The need for deep revision
Setting up full-fledged email marketing on your SMTP server takes a lot of work. For example, to keep track of openings and transitions from letters, you need special headers or track pixels. And so with each tool - to make it, you need to call the developers.
Protocol
Not all ISPs support SMTP. Some do not allow it to be used to prevent spam.
Conclusion: it is suitable for mass mailings, but it needs deep revision on the part of the developers.
5. Transactional mailing service
Transactional mailing services are also based on SMTP. But the developers worked hard in advance and added API methods to it. These are commands with which we can call different functions: sending a letter, unsubscribing from a mailing list, creating a letter template, and getting statistics. In regular SMTP, all this needs some work.
Benefits
As soon as the story begins that you need to separately highlight and program something, it will be easier to just use the Web API. It works over the HTTP protocol: you can access the API in the same way as you open sites through a browser.
Another nuance is that it is not convenient / allowed to use SMTP everywhere. Many ISPs and even hosting providers prohibit this just to counter spam. Web API is normal HTTP, which is allowed in most cases.
This is the courier who will deliver the letter. You can send mailings yourself, or you can hire a courier. It allows you to personalize your newsletter, use templates, track readings and click-throughs. It is convenient and saves a lot of time for work.
The main advantages of this approach are:
An additional level of data protection in the form of API keys. You communicate with the service through an API key, which reduces the risk of username and password theft. Scammers will not be able to send spam or conduct phishing attacks on your behalf. This is an additional "layer" of protection, which is not present in direct work with SMTP.
In the case of the Web API, you don't need to communicate with the SMTP server. The service does it for you. You only give the task to send a letter - one request.
Using the Web API makes it much easier to send email and automate this process through your application.
Ready-made tools for obtaining statistics.
Using the API over HTTP is almost always possible - firewalls usually do not block the HTTP protocol, unlike SMTP.
Disadvantages
In order to use the service of transactional letters, it is usually necessary to improve the programmers to implement sending letters through the Web API service.
Also APIs are much more subject to change. If SMTP does not change, API methods may change, requiring a code change on your side.
Conclusion: suitable for mass mailings, there are many ready-made functions that would have to be improved in SMTP.
What is the result
SMTP is a convenient protocol that almost all email sending applications run on. But if you want to make your own SMTP server for mass mailings, you have to sweat: tighten the processing of delivery statuses, bypass greylisting, convenient email statistics, unsubscribe from mailings.All this can be done, but it is easier to take a transactional mailing service, in which these functions are already implemented. Developers are only needed to integrate it with your CRM system.
The next step is mailing services. All functions are embedded in a convenient user interface. In addition to basic features, mailing services can collect letters and subscription forms, work with a contact database, set up automatic chains and conduct split tests. And all this without involving programmers.