When it comes to email deliverability, understanding the concept of destination is crucial. In simple terms, the destination refers to the various email hosting platforms where your recipients’ email addresses are hosted. Let’s take a closer look at what this means and why it matters.
For example, one of my clients had a list which contained:
These are just a few well-known examples mentioned for the sake of brevity. There is a long list.
Imagine you have a client with a large email list. Upon analysis, you find that this list consists of email addresses from different business domains hosted with various email service providers. For instance, you have 63,691 business domains hosted with Gmail, 49,232 with Godaddy, 24,394 with Hotmail, and so on. These are just a few examples, but the list goes on.
Now, here’s the important part: although you may perceive these domains as individual destinations, they might actually be hosted on the same email servers. For example, even though you’re sending an email to abc.com, it might be routed through Gmail servers. This means that the way you approach email delivery to these destinations should take into account the underlying hosting infrastructure.
Let’s focus on Gmail as an example. When you send emails to the 63,691 domains hosted with Gmail, along with gmail.com itself, they are grouped together as one destination. This means that the sending rate and any delays imposed by Gmail’s servers will apply to all these email addresses collectively.
Sending a high volume of emails to Gmail servers within a short span of time can be problematic. If you were to send one email per minute, for instance, you would be sending 60 emails per hour, 1,440 emails per day, and a staggering 10,080 emails per week to Gmail servers alone. This can be perceived as an overwhelming influx of emails, potentially straining their servers. It’s important to remember that you’re not the only sender trying to reach Gmail recipients, so the challenge is how to navigate this situation effectively.
The key is to maintain a slow and steady sending rate that is acceptable to the receiving servers. Especially when your IP address is considered “cold” or new, it’s crucial to start with a very low sending rate. As your IP address gains a reputation and transitions to a “warm” status, you can gradually increase the sending rate. However, it’s important to never bombard the servers with a sudden surge of emails. Instead, it’s advisable to remain within reasonable limits and consider adding additional servers to scale up your email delivery capacity.
By understanding the concept of destination and adopting a strategic approach to email sending, you can enhance your email deliverability and ensure that your messages reach the intended recipients’ inboxes effectively. It’s all about maintaining a balance between sending volume, speed, and the capabilities of the hosting platforms, ultimately leading to successful email communication.