Category

SMTP Server

Email Marketing, SMTP Server

SMTP Server for WordPress Emails

Why and When You Need SMTP Server for WordPress Emails

Your WordPress site sends emails to notify you of new user registration, lost password reset, automatic updates, and even notifications from your contact forms. By default, WordPress uses the PHP mail function to send out email notifications. However, this function does not work as expected due to a number of reasons. Most WordPress hosting companies restrict usage of this function to prevent abuse and spam.

Spam filters on popular email service providers check incoming emails to monitor if they are sent from the authentic mail server (SMTP Server). Default WordPress emails fail this check. And sometimes may not even make it to the spam folder. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) Server is the industry standard for sending emails. Unlike PHP mail function, SMTP uses proper authentication which increases email deliverability.

Email provides SMTP service that you can use to send out emails from your WordPress site. If you just want to send notification emails to users on your site, SMTP server is the best option.

However, if you are planning on sending newsletter emails using WordPress, then you should use a mass emailing service provider, like Mailcot.

Free vs Paid SMTP Service for WordPress

You can use your free Gmail account to send out WordPress emails. However, for better deliverability, we recommend using paid SMTP Service.

With paid SMTP Service, you get your own professional email address such as (name@yoursite.com).

SMTP Service requires you to add MX records to your domain name which means that your emails will appear to be coming from your own domain name boosting authenticity and ensuring better deliverability.

Email Marketing, SMTP Server

Professional SMTP Service: Every Business need

Many new email marketers attempt to send out their newsletters, special offers and other marketing materials using the free SMTP server built into many popular services like Yahoo and Google. Free SMTP services have strict limits on usage, and very low delivery rates to boot. Those limitations can mean that the vast majority of your carefully crafted messages never reach their intended recipients.

Professional SMTP Service means Higher delivery rates by the SMTP Server

When it comes to SMTP services, email marketers are much better off choosing a quality professional SMTP Server. Professional SMTP service provides email marketers with a variety of advantages. From higher delivery rates and faster throughput to the availability of real-time statistics. So the flexibility and scalability that comes with having dedicated SMTP Server at your disposal.

Avoid messages blocked by spam filters

Advantages of having a professional SMTP service is that it helps marketers avoid having their messages blocked by spam filters. Service providers routinely employ technology to block spam and malicious email messages. But those filters can also catch legitimate email, particularly if those messages originate with a free SMTP Server.

Scalability and flexibility

Scalability and flexibility are two more reasons to choose a professional SMTP server over a free alternative. Free SMTP services offered by service providers and free email services like Gmail and Google impose strict limits on the number of messages an individual user or a business can send. Hence it is all too easy to exceed those limitations as your business begins to grow.

Grow seamlessly with Professional SMTP Service

A professional SMTP service allows your business to grow seamlessly, without interrupting the stream of marketing messages that have made your firm so successful. With a professional SMTP server, you can easily scale up as your list of customers and potential clients continue to grow. having a professional SMTP service at your disposal also gives you the flexibility you need to change your email marketing on the fly as you perform real-time analysis and determine which marketing messages provide the biggest bang for your buck.

Email Marketing, SMTP Server

Free SMTP Server for professional Mailing: Is it good choice?

As a business owner, it is only natural to save money whenever you can, but some savings are shortsighted. Free SMTP servers often associated with well-known email providers like Yahoo! And Google, and while they are fine for personal messages, they are not suitable for business use. If you are thinking about using a free SMTP server to send your professional mailings, you need to think carefully about the things that could happen. Free or standard SMTP servers have a number of issues and some serious limitations. And that makes them the wrong choice for marketers who want to get the most out of their email marketing activities.

Here are few things that could happen while using free SMTP Server:

Some of Your Messages May Not Reach the Recipients

When you are using free SMTP server, you are bound by their terms of service, including strict limitations on the number of messages you can send on an hourly or daily basis. That could mean that only a small percentage of your carefully crafted email messages will reach their intended targets. If your last mailing had a low response rate, the limitations of your chosen free SMTP Server could be to blame.

Your Emails Could Be Delayed

Emails you send through a free SMTP Server may not go out immediately. Instead, they may be held in the queue until the server can handle the volume. That could throw off the timing of your messages and cost your company money. Timing is a critical part of email marketing success. Relying on a free SMTP Server means that critical timing is at the mercy of an unreliable sender.

The SMTP Server Could Ban or Temporarily Block You

Free SMTP Servers like the ones operated by Yahoo! and Google is intended for personal use by subscribers, not for businesses sending email marketing messages. If your mailings exceed a predetermined threshold, the owner of the server could temporarily block your account.

Your Messages Might Not Be Delivered

When you use a free SMTP Server, you run the risk of not having your emails delivered at all. At the same time, everything could look fine from your end, since the reporting mechanisms on these services are less than optimal. You might think that all of your messages have been delivered successfully. But the members of your list might never see them.

Your Messages Could End Up in the Dreaded Spam Folder

Even if your messages to make it through the free SMTP Server, they may not end up where you think they will. When you use a free SMTP server, you run a very real risk that most of your messages will end up not in the user’s inbox but in the dreaded spam folder instead. Since few users carefully check their spam folders. Most of the messages you send will remain unread and all your hard work will have been for nothing.

Email Marketing, SMTP Server

Tips to Secure SMTP Server

Safety of your mailing infrastructure is closely tied on your sender reputation and is a building block for setting up long-lasting relationships with your customers. If you are hacked and spam lands in your subscribers’ inboxes, there are multiple risks:

  • Spam creates a lot of complaints against your domains and IP addresses
  • Spam will lead to a drop in subscriber engagement with your legitimate email
  • Both subscribers and Mailbox Providers (MBP’s) could block your mail
  • Malicious actors will likely send spam to random email addresses that are not your subscribers, which usually includes a high number of spam traps

There are some tips to secure SMTP Server or Mail Server:

Encryption

When securing your mail server, make sure you are using secure connections. Encrypt POP3 and IMAP authentication and use SSL and TLS.

Mail relay configuration

Avoid being an open relay for spammers by specifying which domains/IP addresses your SMTP Server will relay mail for.

Connections and default settings

To avoid DOS attacks, limit the number of connection and authentication errors that your systems will accept. Remove unneeded server functionality by disabling any unnecessary default settings. Have a dedicated Mail Server and move other services like FTP to other servers. So Keep total, simultaneous, and maximum connections to your SMTP Server limited.

Access Control

To protect your SMTP Server from unauthorized access, implement authentication and access control. For example, SMTP authentication requires users to supply a username and password to be able to send mail from the server. So Make sure access to your servers is on a need-to-have basis and shared with a few people as possible.

Abuse prevention

Check DNS-based blacklists (DNSBLs) and reject email from any domains or IPs listed on them. Check Spam URI Realtime Blocklists (SURBL), and reject any messages containing invalid or malicious links. Also, maintain a local blacklist and block any IP addresses that specifically target you. Employ outbound filtering and use CAPTCHA with your web forms.

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