Why Email Sending is More Complex Now

It's not just you. Email deliverability is more challenging than ever. At end-of-quarter it always gets worse as the send volume goes up. But that's not the whole story. Email service providers are constantly tweaking their algorithms to try and separate the email traffic people are interested in from the ones they aren't. Daily at Meadowlark Strategies, we're monitoring bounces by domains for each client, checking Google Postmaster tools, and utilizing scoring tools for exclusions by domain. Long gone are the days when you could just load up an email and hit everyone on the list. Now even creating targeting based on recency of engagement is not enough. Part of the problem is that we are mostly flying blind with half the folks on our lists. Apple Mail has a 55.6% market share for email clients. For the past 2.5 years, we cannot tell if someone using Apple Mail is opening emails or not thanks to Apple's Mail Privacy Protections. The Googles, Yahoo!, and Microsofts of the world want us to only send stuff to people who will open it. But we don't know who is opening it. Fun, right? There is no easy answer here. But putting more time into monitoring and responding to the data is important to ensure folks receive your content and have a chance to take action.

People think email deliverability these days is as simple as "send good emails" and everything else will fall into place. The truth is, especially for outbound at scale, that cold email is becoming increasingly difficult. Right now many of us are finding that non-outlook setups are not sending to Outlook. Confirmed by us too in a round of Smartlead testing. Here's an ideal setup: - Having a diversified email provider portfolio: manual google inboxes are the core of our sending - it rarely lets us down. In addition to this: reseller outlook/google inboxes, enterprise outlook (via Omer Mullick and Hypertide), and private smtp servers. - Each has their own advantages for different use cases. Outlook -> Outlook, Google/local businesses -> Google, HyperTide -> enterprise, Mailreef -> midmarket (company size checker in clay for each of these) - Having an organized Clay setup: matched providers inside of Clay with EmailGuard before uploading to your sequencer, different campaigns uploaded to different sequencers with different providers. - Multiple sequencers (Private, Smartlead, Instantly.ai all have their good days and advantages). Increased complexity means your average agency can't deliver on this: 4 providers, 3 sequencers, means potentially 12 different campaigns instead of the "one" we used to run in the past, even more with testing. - Good AI generated emails in Clay: we have dynamic subject lines, dynamic email copy, and even dynamic signatures these days. It's no longer good enough to just have a personalized first line or PS. - Automatic spam word checking in Clay, along with comparing to a master blacklist/client customer list before the contacts even get to the sequencers. - Hyper-targeted lead lists from unique data sources, triggers, and becoming less reliant on mega-overtargeted lists from Apollo etc. Trying new things like ScrapeLi to get unique lists. And probably some other things I'm forgetting. This is an interesting time - smaller or less technically sophisticated agencies will start falling behind. The old tactics of spraying and praying is getting people less than 0.5% reply rates, and that bears out in our testing too.

We have DATA. Cold Emailers and Outbound Agencies who are still relying on old infrastructure are quietly falling behind. If you are one of them, it's time to change your game. 🚨ESPs have tightened their rules, and #emaildeliverability is no longer just about #warmups and #domainreputation. - You're playing a losing game if you’re not controlling your sending environment. - Most email problems aren’t about copy or volume. Your sending infrastructure is either working for you or against you. 🚨What’s changed in 2025? ✅ Reputation is now tied to your entire sending setup—IP history, consistency, and warm-up behavior matter more than ever. ✅ Gmail & Outlook are cracking down harder on unknown IPs, making inboxing trickier without a solid infrastructure. ✅ Warm-ups alone won’t save you if your sending IPs aren’t stable and trusted. Without a dedicated system, you're just patching a leaky boat. You need full control—your own servers, your own sending logic, your own reputation. That’s why top senders are moving to dedicated email infrastructure with #SmartServers. With their own warmed-up, monitored servers, they’re seeing: 📈 595% boost in reply rates 📉 21% drop in bounces 📬 More emails landing in the inbox—consistently These are REAL NUMBERS from REAL SENDERS. Cold email is still working. But only for those who adapt. Check out how dedicated servers work👇🏻 https://lnkd.in/dNcPu2vK

Back when I first started The Deal Lab, we had to turn away people who only wanted help with domain infrastructure and not our done-for-you cold email services. It made a big difference who owned the domains // workspaces when we used Google, and the operational headaches of managing domains for clients didn't make sense for us at the time. Over time, two factors have lead to a slight change vs how we used to approach this (aka turning people away who need help here): 1) Email deliverability has gotten harder // the cycles of which it changes have gotten shorter. It used to be you could statically "set up" healthy infrastructure and walk away. Today, changes are constant and being prepared means planning ahead vs being reactive to what google and the other email providers do. We love the market and seek to serve it (you?), and we realized some companies really need help re: figuring out how to deliver emails, but don't want us to help with data and copy (yet…) 2) We got better. Day 1, we used simple sending infrastructure to more or less "check the box" in our work helping clients find Message Market Fit. A year and a half later, we (like everyone else serious about email delivery) use a blend between traditional providers such as Gmail and newer server products hosted outside of google/microsoft. It's no longer crazy to be doing this. In general, redundancy is a good idea and having plan B and C in place before plan A blows up is wise. As an example, companies like Maildoso make it easy for YOU (as in random, non technical email deliverability people) to set up alternative email sending infrastructure. They provide cold-email-specific inboxes that you can plug into your email sending platform (I am a Smartlead fan as you all know). This is useful if you need to contain costs to experiment and lack technical knowledge to DIY inboxes. It can be daunting to figure out which email infrastructure is best and how to manage it all - I am curious what you all currently think / wonder / or know about this (especially startups / brands vs agencies... I assume many are operating in the dark and wishful thinking re: expected performance)?

📢 Important Update for Email Marketers - Google’s New Email Sending Standards 📧🔒 In the world of email marketing, change is constant, and it's essential to adapt to evolving standards. Google, a major player in the email ecosystem, has recently made significant updates that directly impact how eCommerce brands conduct their email marketing campaigns. Let's break it down: 📬 The Old Way: Previously, email marketers had more flexibility, often sending emails through their Email Service Provider's (ESP) server, borrowing the domain's reputation. Some even used personal Gmail accounts for this purpose. But times have changed! 🔐 Google's New Requirement: Google now demands that you prove you're a reputable sender. To achieve this, you'll need three key components: 1️⃣ SPF & DKIM Records: These records authenticate your domain and confirm that emails originate from a legitimate source. 2️⃣ A DMARC Record: DMARC protects your domain from phishing and spoofing, enhancing email security. 3️⃣ A Branded Sending Domain: In the past, emails might have come from your address but used an ESP's server. Now, you need your private domain. It's like moving from sharing a car with your friends, all of whom have different levels of care when driving, to having your own car that you bear the sole responsibility for. ✅ Here's the Breakdown: SPF and DKIM Authentication: These are the building blocks, ensuring your emails are recognized as genuine. DMARC Policy Implementation: While not mandatory for immediate enforcement, it's highly recommended. It's Gmail's way of understanding DMARC's complexity, and full enforcement offers the best protection against domain spoofing. Alignment of Sending Domain: The domain in your 'From' header must match either the SPF or DKIM domain. Consistency is key for reliable identity verification. Valid DNS Records: Maintain correct forward and reverse DNS (PTR) records for traceability and legitimacy. One-Click Unsubscribe: Make it easy for recipients to opt out of subscription-based emails. It enhances user experience and aligns with Gmail's requirements. Maintaining Low Spam Rates: Keep spam rates below 0.3%. This metric directly reflects your reputation and email practices' effectiveness. The world of email marketing is becoming more regulated, and it's our responsibility to meet these new standards to continue reaching our customers effectively. Adapting to these changes may seem daunting, but they ultimately lead to a safer and more trustworthy email environment for everyone involved. Embrace the transition and ensure your brand remains a reputable sender in the eyes of Gmail! #EmailMarketing #EmailSecurity #DMARC #SPF #DKIM #Google #DigitalMarketing #eCommerce #BrandReputation Feel free to share your thoughts or experiences in the comments below!

You could get away with it before. Not anymore. Here’s what’s changed—and why you need to adapt. For years, email marketing was simple. You built a list. You sent emails. If people didn’t open them, no big deal—your open rates just weren't great. But now? If people ignore your emails, you get penalized. Your sender reputation drops. Your domain gets flagged. Your emails stop reaching inboxes altogether. This isn’t theory. It’s happening right now. With the latest authentication updates, email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are watching engagement more than ever. If too many people ignore your emails, your deliverability tanks. And if your emails aren’t being seen, your business is in trouble. So what do you do? ✅ Develop the right strategy for your business ✅ Identify the perfect audience ✅ Authenticate your emails (so you don’t look like a scammer) ✅ Stop emailing ghosts (clean up your list, prioritize engagement) ✅ Optimize your email strategy (not just “send more emails”) Email still works. But the game has changed. Ignore this shift, and you’ll be invisible. Adapt now, and you’ll stay ahead. How are you adjusting your email strategy?