SMTPeter BlogStay updated about the latest developments on SMTPeter.com or read about the next trends.2024-03-29T14:31:06+01:00http://www.smtpeter.com/Unknown authorDowntime due to network infrastructure maintenancehttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/downtime-due-to-network-infrastructure-maintenance-b2f96839<p>To keep up with our growing sending volume, we are going to make some changes to our network infrastructure in the coming weeks in cooperation with our hosting providers. In the process, the IP addresses used for sending email will be routed differently so that they can be used more flexibly and with greater capacity.</p>
<p>Wednesday, 11 October 2023 at 20:00 (CET) no email will be sent temporarily from the affected IP addresses. Messages scheduled during this period will be queued and delivered with a delay after the work is completed. Therefore, no e-mail will be lost, and the API's and user interface of the software will also remain accessible during the operation. However, the delay can be as long as an hour in the worst-case scenario.</p>
<h2 id="why-is-it-taking-so-long?">Why is it taking so long?</h2>
<p>While the work is not that complex in principle, it involves multiple companies, multiple people and multiple systems. To be on the safe side, we therefore stop outgoing traffic, and communicate a generous maintenance window of one hour on the advice of our supplier.</p>
<h2 id="can-we-switch-to-a-different-ip-address?">Can we switch to a different IP address?</h2>
<p>When moving web servers or other servers, DNS normally allows switching between systems without downtime. This is a bit trickier for e-mail, because for outgoing e-mail, IP addresses are more valuable than for web traffic, for example.</p>
<p>IP addresses used for e-mail traffic have a sending reputation. Mail coming from "good" IP addresses is less likely to be blocked or placed in the spam folder than mail from "bad" or "unknown" IP addresses. This is why we always use the same IP addresses for each customer for outgoing mail traffic. For this reason, we do not recommend sending mail from a different IP address from one moment to the next.</p>
<p>In addition, we are going to route a very large group of IP addresses differently. We do not have enough alternative addresses at our disposal to temporarily link all accounts to other addresses without these accounts getting in each other's way. Therefore, our advice is to accept the possible delay, and not to temporarily switch to a different IP address.</p>
<h2 id="is-there-an-alternative?">Is there an alternative?</h2>
<p>However, it is possible to temporarily use a different IP address. If continuity and speed of email is important, we can link accounts to another IP address shortly before the work begins. After completion of the work, the account will be reset to the original IP address. Mails are then sent immediately, but with a new IP address so that messages may not be delivered to the inbox.</p>
<p>If you would like to make use of this arrangement, please contact our support department on time at <a href="mailto:support@copernica.com">support@copernica.com</a>.</p><p>To keep up with our growing sending volume, we are going to make some changes to our network infrastructure in the coming weeks in cooperation with our hosting providers. In the process, the IP addresses used for sending email will be routed differently so that they can be used more flexibly and with greater capacity.</p>2023-09-22T13:25:00+02:002023-09-22T13:25:00+02:00Why do I need an SMTP server like SMTPeterhttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/why-do-i-need-an-smtp-server-like-smtpeter-72d8eb91<p>Since you are on Peter's website, you have most likely already heard or read about SMTPeter. <br /> SMTPeter is a cloud-based <strong>SMTP server</strong>, which sets you free from all the complex things that you have to deal with when you are a professional sender of email. The time-consuming analysis of data and the signing and securing of emails are implemented within the software. Thereby are <em>DNS hosting, DMARC, DKIM signing and SPF</em> all taken care of by Peter.</p>
<p>While you enjoy your morning coffee, lunch break or every other thing you would rather do throughout your day, Peter tracks everything that happens with your emails. Even after your message is delivered. <em>Clicks, opens and bounces</em> will be communicated by Peter through the dashboard of the software. The <strong>DMARC analyzer</strong> gives you a convenient documented overview which exactly shows your emails statistics in just one click.</p>
<img title="Peter in clouds" src="SMTPeter/powerful-peter-clouds.jpg" alt="Peter in clouds" width="573" height="193" />
<h2>So what is so special about Peter?</h2>
<p>Peter allows you to communicate with other systems via powerful APIs so you are able to send, receive and track emails effortlessly.</p>
<p>Besides using Peter as an <em>email gateway</em>, it can also be used as a centralized template storage where you can pre-store your email templates. You choose how you would like to create new templates! You can either use the <em>HTML editor</em> which enables you to create templates all to your likes and preferences. Or, if writing code isn't for you, you are able to make templates just as easy with the drag and drop template editor. The drag and drop template editor only needs your input on text and layout so that you can easily put all the necessities into the template.</p>
<p>This creates a win-win situation: while you are happy that Peter is taking care of everything, your customers are happy about the personalized emails they are getting. Now everybody is happy!</p>
<p>By using SMTPeter, sending emails will be better than before and the feedback on your emails make it much easier for you and Peter to learn, adapt and make your next emails even better.</p><p>Since you are on Peter's website, you have most likely already heard or read about SMTPeter.
SMTPeter is a cloud-based SMTP server, which sets you free from all the complex things that you have to deal with when you are a professional sender of email. </p>2018-06-12T00:00:00+02:002018-06-12T00:00:00+02:00Do not let the GDPR halve your email listhttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/do-not-let-the-gdpr-halve-your-email-list-2d8b8d30<p>
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has entered into force and it has certainly not gone unnoticed: in the past few days, a large number of emails have been sent through our software. Since it was not Christmas or Black Friday, we concluded that it had something to do with the GDPR. We have seen a lot of untruths in the media in recent times, which is why we have written this blog to help clear up some misunderstandings. It would be a pity if you wrongly halved your list of email addresses because you were misinformed.
</p>
<p>
If you met the requirements to send emails before the 25th of May, you will still meet them. Not a lot has changed; most rules already existed under the Personal Data Protection Act (Wbp). The difference now is that data subjects have gained more control over their personal data and companies must be more transparent on how they process this data. This means that the privacy statement had to be adjusted and a Data Processing Agreement and a processing register had to be drawn up. You can send your customers an email to inform them about these changes, but it is not mandatory. If you prefer, you can simply report this on your website.
</p>
<p>
If you bought email addresses and you emailed these persons without an opt-in, you were already breaking the old legislation. Now that the GDPR has entered into force, it is certainly advisable that you only send emails to persons who have opted-in to receive emails. However, if you send emails to persons who were already registered for your newsletter, there is no reason to panic and you can continue to mail without re-asking for consent.
</p>
<p>
A common misunderstanding regarding the GDPR concerns the soft opt-in exclusion. The Wbp from 2001 obliged senders of newsletters to obtain consent. However, the more specific Telecommunications Act made an exception: the soft opt-in exclusion. This means that you are allowed to send commercial communications for similar services and products to people with whom you have a customer relationship, as long as this data subject can unsubscribe at any time. The GDPR replaces the Wbp, but the Telecommunications Act is still in force (the European regulation that will replace the Telecommunications Act is not yet finished). So it’s still possible to send emails based on this soft opt-in exclusion, as the <a href="https://ddma.nl/actueel/avg-en-toestemming/" title="Go to DDMA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DDMA writes</a>.
</p>
<p>
Lastly, there is the possibility to send emails on the basis of the legitimate interest. The GDPR explicitly states that the processing of personal data for direct marketing can be seen as such a legitimate interest. A condition for this is that the (marketing) interest of your organization must outweigh the interest of the data subject. It is also required to inform the data subject of your intention to process his or her personal data. Additionally, you have to provide information on how objection can be made against this. However, it is not advisable to email on the basis of the legitimate interest, because a weighing of interests must be made continuously.
</p><p>The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has entered into force and it has certainly not gone unnoticed: in the past few days, a large number of emails have been sent through our software.</p>2018-05-30T00:00:00+02:002018-05-30T00:00:00+02:00Identify a phishing email and protect yourself (infographic)http://www.smtpeter.com/blog/identify-a-phishing-email-and-protect-yourself-infographic-02c2db76<p>Email is the most common method of performing a phishing attack. This attack attempts to trick a user into entering personal details or other confidential information. There are a number of ways in which you can spot whether or not an email is legitimate. Check below the most common phishing tactics and learn how to avoid them.</p>
<img title="Identify spoofing or phishing email and get protected (infographic)" src="SMTPeter/identify-phishing-and-get-protected-infographic.jpg" alt="Identify spoofing or phishing email and get protected (infographic)" width="960" height="2791" /><br /><br />Infographic about email spoofing<hr />
<p> </p><p>Email is the most common method of performing a phishing attack. This attack attempts to trick a user into entering personal details or other confidential information. There are a number of ways in which you can spot whether or not an email is legitimate.</p>2018-04-24T00:00:00+02:002018-04-24T00:00:00+02:00How to avoid becoming a spammer (infographic)http://www.smtpeter.com/blog/how-to-avoid-becoming-a-spammer-infographic-0cf6ddf7<p dir="ltr"><span>When you send out a lot of </span><span>email campaigns</span><span>, you must have encountered problems with </span><span><em>spam filters</em>.</span><span> You might wonder what factors actually influence whether or not your email makes it into the inbox of the recipients and how you can avoid </span><span>spam filter</span><span> problems. <br />Luckily, there are plenty of things you can do to prevent your emails from ending up in the spam folder and eventually protect your </span><strong>email sender reputation</strong><span>, a crucial component of your</span><span><em> email deliverability</em>.</span></p>
<div><span> </span></div>
<img title="Don't be a spammer infographic" src="SMTPeter/dont-be-a-spammer-infographic.jpg" alt="Don't be a spammer infographic" width="960" height="2277" /><hr />
<p>It is important to have in mind that <em>ISP spam filters</em> are not your only threat for being marked as spam. The other half is the customer. To avoid rejection, marketers need to make sure that every email proves its own relevance and value and that the customer understands why they are receiving them.</p><p>When you send out a lot of email campaigns, you must have encountered problems with spam filters. You might wonder what factors actually influence whether or not your email makes it into the inbox of the recipients and how you can avoid spam filter problems. </p>2018-04-10T00:00:00+02:002018-04-10T00:00:00+02:00General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)http://www.smtpeter.com/blog/general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr-82650993<p>
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is rapidly approaching and will affect all organizations that process personal data, including SMTPeter and all its customers. As such it is important to take a close look at the rulings and to review the steps that will have to be taken.
</p>
<p>
This news article is the result of an extensive assessment of the adjustments that will need to be made to SMTPeter to meet the new legislation. Rewriting the processing agreement is of only one of many steps that have to be taken. We will also critically examine how our software will need to be adjusted and further investigate how we can support out customers to be compliant with the legislation. In the upcoming period we will publish additional information in this regard.
</p>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>
On May 25th 2018 the new European Privacy legislation, the GDPR, will come into effect. This regulation will replace most national legislation (in The Netherlands this is the ‘Wet Bescherming Persoonsgegevens’. Although the content of both does not differ completely in regards to the rights of the concerned parties, there are important differences: Protection of individuals has been tightened, giving more obligations to organizations that process personal data; supervisory authorities will have expanded powers (guidelines on fines for infractions have been established); and more guidance will be given to organizations.
</p>
<p>
The general lessons of the GDPR for organizations is that they will have to provide insight into the following things: Which personal data is being processed, why it is being processed (on what grounds), in which way it is being processed, who is receiving the data, and how that has been justified. Article 6 of the GDPR states that processing personal data can have multiple grounds, of which 2 are relevant for SMTPeter users: processing to carry out a contract, and processing based on informed consent. Examples are processing a person's address data to deliver a purchased item and using a persons email address to send a newsletter they signed up for respectively.
</p>
<h2>Roles</h2>
<p>
In the GDPR, three important roles are specified: the subject of the personal data, the controller (the party responsible for processing data), and processors (parties that work for the controller, SMTPeter falls under this last category however we might act as controller in some cases as well).
</p>
<h2>Important articles</h2>
<p>
Now follows a list of articles the will be relevant to a typical SMTPeter user. In addition a sketch of the implications is given. A web shop is used as example cases.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
The term personal data should be interpreted in the most general sense of the word: any data with which a person can be identified either directly or indirectly. This includes a name, identification numbers, location, address, phone number, gender, race, sexual preference etc.
</li>
<li>
Personal data should be processed lawfully, proportional, goal-bound (only for which they were collected), and as minimally as possible. Data should only be stored as long as it is necessary, see Article 5.
</li>
<li>
When a processor relies on permission, proof of this permission should be available. The request for permission should be formulated in understandable language and the purpose(s) of processing should be listed and cannot conflict with the GDPR. In addition the processing should be necessary. For example, not showing a website when a visitor refuses to accept cookies will no longer be allowed in the future (Article 7)
</li>
<li>
The following information on personal information should be provided: which organization processes it, the legal grounds, which other organizations further process it and the purpose of this (articles 13 of the information comes directly from the subject, or article 14 if this is indirect). This can for example be accomplished by creating a privacy statement on your website that is both find able and well readable. For every form that processes personal that you can then link to this statement.
</li>
<li>
Right to access: The subject has the right to view its personal data (Article 15).
</li>
<li>
Right to rectification: The subject has the right to correct data of the Responsible party (Article 16)
</li>
<li>
Right to be forgotten: Personal data has to be removed if they are no longer necessary for the purpose for which they have been collected, the permission of withdrawn or the subject files a complaint (Article 17).
</li>
<li>
The subject can temporarily limit the processing of data. This can be done in case of uncertain accuracy (Article 18). The subject can also object to profiling and automatic decision-making (Articles 21 and 22).
</li>
<li>
Right to data portability: The subject has the right to receive its personal data in a machine-readable format to forward this to a third party. This can for example be in an XML format.
</li>
<li>
A record should be kept of the processing activities (Article 30) by both the responsible party (section 1) and the processor (section 2). This record should include the following items: contact details of the responsible art or the processor and if applicable the Data protection officer, categories of processing, forwards to processors etc. This does not apply to organizations that employ less than 250 people unless the processing isn't incidental. In practice however this means that every organization needs to keep a record. -A Data Protection Officer (DPO) should be appointed by parties that process personal data on a large scale (almost every webshop will appoint a DPO, see the DPO guidelines of the European advisory committy(PDF download)
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Privacy Policies</h2>
<p>
Altogether we recommend to include the following points in a privacy policy that is easily available (online) as well as short and easily understandable:
</p>
<ul>
<li>contact information of the DPO;</li>
<li>processing goals en grounds;</li>
<li>justification of processing (clarify why this personal data should be processed instead);</li>
<li>recipient (categories);</li>
<li>if the data will be moved outside the EU what precautions have been taken;</li>
<li>the storage duration or measures that determine the storage duration;</li>
<li>the rights the subject has (right to access etc);</li>
<li>description of the possibiltiy to withdraw given permission;</li>
<li>the fact that complaint can be made at the supervisory body;</li>
<li>the roles of different parties, if multiple parties are jointly responsible for data processing (article 26 section 2).</li>
</ul>
<h2>Processors agreement with SMTPeter</h2>
<p>
In addition to the points made a above each responsible party is required to have a Processors agreement with all organizations that process personal data for them (Article 28 section 3). SMTPeter has adjusted the existing processing agreement for the GDPR. These will soon be made available for signing via the dashboard on SMTPeter.com. The following compulsory items are, among others, included in this agreement.
</p>
<p>The processor:</p>
<ul>
<li>is only allowed to process the personal data with written permission of the responsible party;</li>
<li>honors confidentiality;</li>
<li>will take security precautions;</li>
<li>will ask permission to use a subprocessor;</li>
<li>must make the same agreements with a subprocessor;</li>
<li>after the processing service end, will remove all personal data or delivers these back to the responsible party;</li>
<li>will cooperate with audits;</li>
<li>will inform in case of a security breach;</li>
</ul>
<p>
Data Protection officer For questions regarding the processing of personal data by SMTPeter you can contact our data Protection Officer: Jonas Lodewegen
</p>
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is rapidly approaching and will affect all organizations that process personal data, including SMTPeter and all its customers. As such it is important to take a close look at the rulings and to review the steps that will have to be taken.
2018-03-13T00:00:00+01:002018-03-13T00:00:00+01:00New features and updateshttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/new-features-and-updates-7e3a94b0<h2>Use your own template identifier</h2>
<p>
Besides the incremental (and thus unique) ID SMTPeter gives to your templates,
API endpoint now also accepts the template name as an identifier.
Peter will initially search for a matching template ID. If he fails to find one,
he will look for a matching template name and send out the mail based on that template.
</p>
<h3>
Email Address Lookup Tool
</h3>
<p>
A button has been added to the dashboard of your SMTPeter environment, presenting
you the <strong>Email Address Lookup Tool</strong>. This tool searches through
all <em>logfiles</em> and gives you insight in all events related to a given
mail address. Give it a try!
</p>
<h3>
General Data Protection Regulation
</h3>
<p>
All users of SMTPeter process personal data by using SMTPeter. Starting May 2018,
this means that both SMTPeter and its users have to comply with the European privacy regulation (GDPR).
</p>
<p>
In order to help you (as a data processor) respond briefly and correctly to
a request for access by the data subject, the <em>Email Address Lookup Tool</em>
will have a download button that constructs a data packet that you can send
to the subject (the requestor). Moreover, functionality will be added to erase
all data associated with a given email address, so controllers can comply
with the right to data erasure.
</p>
<p>
Besides these additions to the functionality, it is important that a data processing
agreement is signed. Peter is currently drawing one up for every user of SMTPeter
and will provide it through the dashboard somewhere in the first months of 2018.
You will be notified when your agreement is waiting to be signed.
</p>
<h3>
Organise Templates in Folders
</h3>
<p>
Since a couple of weeks we enable you to organise your SMTPeter templates
better with the use of Template Folders. Simply create a folder and drag-and-drop
your templates. The search functionality was adjusted and will recursively
search through all folders.
</p>
<h3>
Sender Domains are now mandatory
</h3>
<p>
It is no longer possible to send out emailings without a properly configured
<em>Sender Domain</em>. Attempts to send a mail with a from address that has
no matching and validated Sender Domain will be ignored.
</p>
Besides the incremental (and thus unique) ID SMTPeter gives to your templates,
API endpoint now also accepts the template name as an identifier.
Peter will initially search for a matching template ID. If he fails to find one,
he will look for a matching template name and send out the mail based on that template.
2017-12-05T00:00:00+01:002017-12-05T00:00:00+01:00Pure HTML templateshttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/pure-html-templates-b28a3dce<p>
You probably already know that SMTPeter is not only an <em>email gateway</em>,
but also a centralized <em>template store</em>. The editor for the templates
has recently been enhanced. It now is possible to write the <em>HTML code</em>
of the templates yourself, and you are no longer forced to use a <em>drag-and-drop editor</em>
(although if you like the drag-and-drop editor, you can of course still use it).</p>
<p>
To create a new <em>HTML based template</em>, simply choose for the option to create
a ‘blank HTML’ template. The style blocks in the HTML code will be automatically
inlinized when the mail is sent (unless you tell SMTPeter not to do so).
</p>
You probably already know that SMTPeter is not only an email gateway,
but also a centralized template store. The editor for the templates
has recently been enhanced. It now is possible to write the HTML code
of the templates yourself, and you are no longer forced to use a drag-and-drop editor
(although if you like the drag-and-drop editor, you can of course still use it).2017-05-17T00:00:00+02:002017-05-17T00:00:00+02:00Gmail is accepting emails up to 50MBhttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/gmail-is-accepting-emails-up-to-50mb-a3341834<p>
The likelihood of a <em>bounced email</em> "because of a big attachment"
has dropped tremendously if you are using Gmail. Although sending emails over
25MB with this client is still impossible.
</p>
<p>
Even though SMTPeter does not restrict you in any way, most clients are still
not accepting large emails. However it is nice to see that the boundaries of
email are constantly being pushed.
</p>
<p>
<a href="https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2017/03/receive-emails-of-up-to-50mb-in-gmail.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Receive emails of up to 50MB in Gmail">Google announced</a> that this feature is already rolled out for all end users.
</p>
The likelihood of a bounced email "because of a big attachment"
has dropped tremendously if you are using Gmail. Although sending emails over
25MB with this client is still impossible.
2017-03-02T00:00:00+01:002017-03-02T00:00:00+01:00New: automatic webversion hostinghttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/new-automatic-webversion-hosting-74a3095f<p>
We've added a new feature to SMTPeter. If you use the SMTPeter cloud
service to send email, you can now simply add a "click here for the webversion"
link to your messages, without hosting the <strong>webversion</strong> yourself!
SMTPeter recognizes the webversion link in your email, and hosts the webversion
for you. This means that you no longer have to host your own webversions,
and that you can easily have a <em>personalized webversion</em> for all your receivers.
</p>
<h2>How does this work?</h2>
<p>
To add a webversion link, you simply add a hyperlink to your email. But
instead of a normal URL, you have to use the {$webversion} variable.
This variable is automatically recognized by SMTPeter, and replaced with
a link to the webversion hosted on SMTPeter's servers.
</p>
<pre>
<a href="{$webversion}">click here for the webversion</a>
</pre>
We've added a new feature to SMTPeter. If you use the SMTPeter cloud
service to send email, you can now simply add a "click here for the webversion"
link to your messages, without hosting the webversion yourself!
SMTPeter recognizes the webversion link in your email, and hosts the webversion
for you. This means that you no longer have to host your own webversions,
and that you can easily have a personalized webversion for all your receivers.
2017-02-02T00:00:00+01:002017-02-02T00:00:00+01:00Seven tricks to boost your open-ratehttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/seven-tricks-to-boost-your-open-rate-23ea9e28<p>
In SMTPeter, it is possible to see if your emails are opened or clicked.
If you notice that your <strong>open-rate</strong> is low, it might be
because your emails do not get delivered to the recipient's inbox,
but rather to their <em>spam folder</em>. Or your readers get so much mail
they don't even make it to yours. Maybe you're sending mail to people who
don't want it? To overcome (or prevent) this, we've collected some tricks
to one-up your <em>inbox placement</em>.
</p>
<h2>1. Subject and pre-header</h2>
<p>
Get your readers curious by making your subject line exciting.
A snappy/funny/interesting subject line will cause more people to click on it
than simply stating "[company] newsletter week 34". Try not to look spammy
though, using words like "FREE" or overuse of punctuation (FREE!!!!!).
</p>
<p>
The pre-header deserves some attention as well. It's the tiny bit of text
displayed before opening an email in most clients, usually behind the subject
line. By default, this is the first bit of text in an email. In many emails
it's the opt-out link or a link to the webversion, so you'll see something like
"click here to unsubscribe", which does not sound very inviting.
Instead, give a very short introduction to the components of your email,
or greet the reader. You'll come across friendlier.
</p>
<h2>2. Display your name</h2>
<p>
You don't want your readers asking themselves this question. Make it clear
that the email came from your company by not displaying the from-address,
but your (company) name. Also, don't send from addresses that look anything
like "donotreply@company.com", because it sounds harsh.
</p>
<h2>3. Sending time</h2>
<p>
The time on which you send your email is highly important for your <em>open-rate</em>.
Sending emails on times you expect your readers to open it makes sure your email
is at the top of their inbox when they open it. This prevents your emails
from being buried by other emails and your recipient not reaching it by the
end of their email reading session. Try monitoring on what times your emails
get opened most, and send your mailings a bit before that time, so that they
will arrive before the reader opens their inbox.
</p>
<h2>4. Sending frequency</h2>
<p>
Just like time, frequency is also something to mind. Try not to send too often,
because your readers will be annoyed by your constant presence and stop opening your emails.
On the other hand, not sending often enough might make your readers forget about you.
It's a bit of a trial-and-error process, and it's different for every email flow,
so you should see for yourself what works for your readers.
</p>
<h2>5. Manage your database</h2>
<p>
We can't stress this enough, and we'll keep saying it: a well-maintained database
is one of the key components of successful email marketing. Make sure you send to
all -and only- people that want your emails by setting up a <em>double opt-in and
an opt-out</em> procedure that automatically add subscribers and remove unsubscribers
from your list. It's also a good idea to remove people from your list that never
open your emails. That way you send to all people that actually want your email,
which, logically, makes for a higher percentage of opens.
</p>
<h2>6. Become a local</h2>
<p>
Easier to say than to do: become the person whose emails are opened before
others. Whether people want to read (and keep reading) your emails is purely
something content-related. Optimize everything all you want, bad content is bad content.
Try <a href='https://www.smtpeter.com/documentation/personalization' title="Learn more about personalization">personalizing</a>
emails based on profile values. Be relevant, funny, interesting, insightful.
Be whatever your readers need. That way, you'll become a local to their inboxes
and they'll welcome you with arms wide open everytime you visit.
</p>
<h2>7. Set up a sender domain</h2>
<p>
<em>Sender Domains</em> are SMTPeter's solution for the hassle of
<em>email authentication</em>. What this means, is that after you register
your domain as a sender domain, we do all the authentication for you.
This includes <em>SPF</em>, <em>DKIM</em> (with automatically rotated keys)
and <em>DMARC</em>. It also makes sure that all of your domain names are aligned,
meaning that every address you use has your domain in it. Proper authentication
hugely improves your <em>inbox placement</em>, thus your <em>open rate.</em>
<a href='/documentation/sender-domains' title="Learn how to set up a sender domain">Learn how to set one up here</a>.
</p>
In SMTPeter, it is possible to see if your emails are opened or clicked.
If you notice that your open-rate is low, it might be
because your emails do not get delivered to the recipient's inbox,
but rather to their spam folder. Or your readers get so much mail
they don't even make it to yours. Maybe you're sending mail to people who
don't want it? To overcome (or prevent) this, we've collected some tricks
to one-up your inbox placement.
2016-11-02T00:00:00+01:002016-11-02T00:00:00+01:00Gmail to finally support responsive email designhttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/gmail-to-finally-support-responsive-email-design-7badb552<p>
Do you hear it? The joyous cries of email developers all over the world?
Get ready to join in on it, because the moment we've all been waiting for is
finally here. Yesterday, Google announced that Gmail and Inbox by Gmail will
finally support <strong>responsive email design</strong> using <em>media queries</em>,
as well as <em>embedded styles</em>, later this month.
</p>
<h2>Responsive emailing using CSS media queries</h2>
<p>
As the world's 3rd biggest email client only after Apple's iPhone and iPad clients,
it was about damn time. With responsive email design, developers no longer need
to write hybrid or spongy code, something that could get very tedious when
dealing with complex email designs. Instead, it's now possible to use standard
CSS media queries, in which one can set styles according to the screen width,
orientation and resolution. For example:
</p>
<code>@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {<br>
.colored {<br>
color:blue;<br>
}<br>
}
</code>
<p>
The piece of code above uses a media query to check whether or not the screen
width of a device exceeds 600px. If that is not the case, everything in the
class "colored" will be blue. This update makes designing email much more universal,
as Apple's, Android's, Yahoo's and even Blackberry's native clients already support it.
According to <a href='https://emailclientmarketshare.com' target="blank" rel="noopener" title="Learn more about Litmus's marketing share check">Litmus's marketing share check</a>, over 80% of the emails sent are sent to clients
that support responsive design once Google rolls it out for Gmail.
<p>
<h2>Embedded styles</h2>
<p>
Another very satisfying update is that embedded styles will soon be supported
by Gmail and Inbox by Gmail. This means that, instead of being limited to messy
inline CSS, you can now specify your styles in the head of your document.
On top of that, classes and IDs are also supported, which makes clean and
consistent CSS infinitely more easy.
</p>
<p>
Google hasn't been very expressive yet about this new update.
Apart from <a href='http://googleappsdeveloper.blogspot.nl/2016/09/your-emails-optimized-for-every-screen-with-responsive-design.html' target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Read blog post">this blog post</a> and <a href='https://developers.google.com/gmail/design/css' target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Go to gmail documentation page">this short documentation page</a> not much has been shared.
Questions about details arise, but for now, we're a bunch of happy campers.
</p>
Do you hear it? The joyous cries of email developers all over the world?
Get ready to join in on it, because the moment we've all been waiting for is
finally here. Yesterday, Google announced that Gmail and Inbox by Gmail will
finally support responsive email design using media queries,
as well as embedded styles, later this month.
2016-09-15T00:00:00+02:002016-09-15T00:00:00+02:00DMARC reports for SMTPeterhttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/dmarc-reports-for-smtpeter-95be233b<p>
<em>Sender domains</em> have been available for SMTPeter for a while now. With sender domains,
it is no longer needed for users to set up their own <a href='/documentation/spf-validation' title="More about SPF">SPF</a>,
<a href='/documentation/dkim-signing'>DKIM</a> and
<a href='https://www.smtpeter.com/documentation/dmarc-deployment' title="Read more about DMARC deployment">DMARC</a> records,
and it makes sure everything gets sent with the same domain name.
Now, we've made it possible to see <strong>DMARC reports</strong> in the sender domains interface as
well. Because they are parsed, they are way easier to read and more meaningful.
</p>
<h2>What are DMARC reports?</h2>
<p>
When you've got DMARC set up, you will receive daily (or more frequent) DMARC reports
from companies like Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft. These reports hold, among other things,
information about the amount of IP addresses that received the mailing and
whether they passed the <em>DKIM and SPF authentication tests</em>.
</p>
<p>
Thus, DMARC reports can show how your mailings are doing, authentication-wise.
If invalid IP addresses are sending email using your domain, this could mean
one of two things: either someone who is allowed to send these mails does not
have their stuff together, such as a coworker who hasn't updated their email system,
or somebody who is not allowed to send these mails is doing so anyway, pretending
to be you. In both cases, insight in the situation can help fix the issue.
</p>
<p>
The problem with unparsed DMARC reports, however, is that they can be hard to
decipher if you're not particularly skilled at reading code. That's why SMTPeter
now deciphers them for you by showing the parsed report, along with a
description of the current policy.
</p>
<h2>The interface</h2>
<img src='http://media.copernica.com/Marketing/SMTPeter/SMTPeter-parsed-report.png' alt='screenshot of a parsed DMARC report'>
<p>
This parsed report shows the IP address every message was sent from.
It shows what went right, what requires attention and what went outright wrong,
so you know what to focus on when altering your settings.
</p>
<p>
The 'policy' tab shows the policy the recipient read in the DNS of the sender
when it got their emails. It holds the domain, <em>DKIM alignment policy</em>,
<em>SPF policy</em> and more. This way, you can directly see the connection
between the results you got and the policy that was set at the time, and
adjust appropriately. The <em>'Metadata'</em> tab provides information
on the sender of the DMARC report, its ID and the date range of the report.
</p>
<p>
We've also interpreted the data into something a lot more clear than just a
list of all individual mailings: a summary of the report. In the summary the
total amount of processed messages and the percentages of messages that
succeeded and failed are shown.
</p>
<img src='http://media.copernica.com/Marketing/SMTPeter/SMTPeter-total-messages.png' alt='screenshot showing the number of messages that have been processed and which of those were aligned and which were not.'>
<p>
Beneath that is a list of threats/unknown sources. It shows the IP, the amount
of messages and the issues that source has. Based on this, you can judge for
yourself whether these sources are actually threats or just somebody without
proper configuration. Below that is a list of trusted sources.
</p>
<img src='http://media.copernica.com/Marketing/SMTPeter/SMTPeter-known-unknown-sources.png' alt='sreenshot showing lists of trusted and untrusted sources'>
<p>If you do want to see the original, unparsed report, it's possible to download it to your computer.</p>
Sender domains have been available for SMTPeter for a while now. With sender domains,
it is no longer needed for users to set up their own SPF,
DKIM and
DMARC records,
and it makes sure everything gets sent with the same domain name.
Now, we've made it possible to see DMARC reports in the sender domains interface as
well. Because they are parsed, they are way easier to read and more meaningful.
2016-08-18T00:00:00+02:002016-08-18T00:00:00+02:00Introducing WebHookshttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/introducing-webhooks-5119128b<p>
Our sages have yet again come up with something to enhance your experience with
SMTPeter: you get the option to set up <em><strong>WebHooks</strong> for bounces,
failures, clicks and opens</em>. With them, you'll be able to receive event
notifications whenever something goes wrong while delivering your mail, or
when recipients read or click it.
</p>
<p>
This information was already available via the dashboard and the <em>REST API</em>,
but now you can get it real time. This gives you an enormous amount of useful
information you can use to keep your mailing list clean and tidy and it gives you an
insight in how your readers interact with the stuff you send them.
</p>
<h2>Bounce and failure WebHooks</h2>
<p>
If you are interested in getting notified about bounce messages, you might
want to set up a <em>WebHook for bounces</em>. The bounce WebHooks
not only notifies you about regular delivery status notifications,
but also about messages in formats unlike the official format for bounce messages,
such as out-of-office mails, vacation mails and error messages (e.g.'mailbox full').
Regular bounces and delivery status messages are recognized by SMTPeter and
they trigger the <em>failure WebHook</em>, if configured.
</p>
<h2>Clicks and open WebHooks</h2>
<p>
If you have <strong>click tracking</strong> enabled, it is possible to set up
a <em><strong>WebHook</strong> to get notified about every click</em> we register.
The same goes for opens: set up an open WebHook to get notifications whenever
somebody opens an e-mail that was sent from your servers.
</p>
<h2>How does it work?</h2>
<p>
WebHooks really aren't all that complicated. You can set one up by entering
your WebHook URL and the type(s) of WebHook(s) you wish to set up in the SMTPeter dashboard.
Subsequently you will be guided through our verification procedure.
Then, whenever your loops are triggered, we send an HTTP (or HTTPS) POST call
to your server containing all relevant information. SMTPeter has a useful tool
for testing your WebHook. Just enter the post data you'd like to send to your WebHook,
and SMTPeter will send it to your WebHook URL right away.
</p>
<p>
For more in-depth information about WebHooks and how to set them up, visit our
<a href ='/documentation/webhooks' title="Read more in documentation">documentation page.</a>
</p>
Our sages have yet again come up with something to enhance your experience with
SMTPeter: you get the option to set up WebHooks for bounces,
failures, clicks and opens. With them, you'll be able to receive event
notifications whenever something goes wrong while delivering your mail, or
when recipients read or click it.
2016-05-30T00:00:00+02:002016-05-30T00:00:00+02:00More consistency in bounce handlinghttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/more-consistency-in-bounce-handling-6a3797ef<p>
We've removed a number of inconsistencies from our <strong>bounce handling</strong>
and bounce forwarding procedures. We now better respect your
envelope address, and forward more bounces and errors to your
address.
</p>
<p>
The full bounce handling documentation can be found on our website:
<a href="/documentation/bounce-handling" title="Read more in documentation">https://www.smtpeter.com/documentation/bounce-handling</a>.
In short, the way how we handle bounces comes down to the following:
</p>
<ul>
<li>If you submit email <b>with</b> an envelope address, you will receive bounces</li>
<li>If you submit email <b>without</b> an envelope address, you will <b>not</b> receive bounces</li>
<li>If you enable the "trackbounces" feature, we add our own envelope address to intercept bounces (but we forward them to your envelope)</li>
</ul>
We've removed a number of inconsistencies from our bounce handling
and bounce forwarding procedures. We now better respect your
envelope address, and forward more bounces and errors to your
address.
2016-05-23T00:00:00+02:002016-05-23T00:00:00+02:00Automatic DKIM key rotationhttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/automatic-dkim-key-rotation-20b1bb6e<p>SMTPeter can now <strong> automatically rotate your DKIM keys</strong>. If you let your emails flow through our servers, you no longer have to take care of changing your <em>DNS records</em> to rotate your keys. Just follow the suggestions on the SMTPeter dashboard, and you get automatically rotating DKIM keys.</p>
<p>What changed? Well, we've enhanced the "sender domain" tools on the dashboard. From now on, you just have to tell us from which domain you are going to send email (like "yourdomain.com"), and follow up our DNS recommendations. Once you've followed this advise and set up your DNS records, you're all set and can send emails through SMTPeter.com, without ever having to worry about your DNS settings again.</p>
<h2>How does this work under the hood?</h2>
<p>We used to give you detailed instructions on how to set up your DNS records, and how you should change your records every couple of months to get new and <strong>safe DKIM keys</strong>. However, instead of giving these detailed instructions, we thought it would be much easier if we just created the right <strong>DNS records</strong> for you. After all, we have all the knowledge, so we can set up your DNS records so that they work best for you. Besides that, we also thought it would be easier if we would update your records every couple of weeks to rotate your DKIM keys or to make other necessary changes.</p>
<p>Of course, we do not have access to your domain, so it is technically not possible to create or modify your DNS records directly. However, we can create records under our own domain ("smtpeter.com") and ask you to set up aliases (in DNS an alias is called a "CNAME" record) to our records. And that is exactly what we do now. <strong>We set up your DKIM, SPF and DMARC records</strong> under our own domain, and you just have to set up CNAME records in your DNS.</p>
<h2>Do I still have to set up DKIM keys?</h2>
<p>The SMTPeter dashboard allows you to configure "sender domains" as well as "dkim keys". However, under normal circumstances, you only need to set up sender domains. After setting up a sender domain, you receive a list of recommended DNS settings. If you copy these to your own DNS server, you are all set. You no longer need to explicitly configure dkim keys via the dashboard.</p>
<p>For backwards compatibility, and/or very advanced users the "dkim keys" button is still visible on the dashboard. But you no longer need it.</p><p>SMTPeter can now automatically rotate your DKIM keys. If you let your emails flow through our servers, you no longer have to take care of changing your DNS records to rotate your keys. Just follow the suggestions on the SMTPeter dashboard, and you get automatically rotating DKIM keys.</p>2016-05-17T00:00:00+02:002016-05-17T00:00:00+02:00Gmail feedback loopshttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/gmail-feedback-loops-9e0a26ca<p>
Mails that are sent through SMTPeter now automatically get an extra
"feedback-id" header. This header allows us to <em>receive feedback from
Gmail</em>.
</p>
<p>
The "feedback-id" holds a number of numeric identifiers, for example
your customer and account ID's. When Gmail notices that a lot
of spam is sent from our servers, it mentions these identifiers to
us, so that we can take action and block specific senders.
</p>
<p>
This is beneficial for legitimate senders, because we can block and
remove accounts that are using SMTPeter for the wrong reasons. This
<strong>improves the deliverability</strong> of the other senders.
</p>
Mails that are sent through SMTPeter now automatically get an extra
"feedback-id" header. This header allows us to receive feedback from
Gmail.
2016-04-05T00:00:00+02:002016-04-05T00:00:00+02:00DKIM signing by Peterhttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/dkim-signing-by-peter-52bd69a6<p>
All emails that pass through SMTPeter are now automatically <strong>DKIM signed</strong>
by SMTPeter, using the private key of SMTPeter. This is an extra signature
that is added to your emails alongside your own signatures.
</p>
<h2>Multiple signatures</h2>
<p>
The DKIM specification allows emails with multiple DKIM signatures. We
use this feature to add the SMTPeter signature alongside any
of your own DKIM signatures. It is therefore very well possible that
your receivers will get an email that is both signed with your own
private key as well as with the private key of SMTPeter.
</p>
<h2>Why do we do this?</h2>
<p>
By adding the extra signature, we add trust to your email. A receiver
can not only check whether the email was correctly signed with your
private key, but it can also see that the mail was correctly processed
by the SMTPeter servers.
</p>
All emails that pass through SMTPeter are now automatically DKIM signed
by SMTPeter, using the private key of SMTPeter. This is an extra signature
that is added to your emails alongside your own signatures.
2016-03-31T00:00:00+02:002016-03-31T00:00:00+02:00Downloading log fileshttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/downloading-log-files-7f2a6467<p>
Earlier this month we wrote that although we are collecting data with respect
to your mailings, you could not access these data yet. We are happy to
announce that now you can access some of the data.
</p>
<p>
You can use the REST API <a href="/documentation/logfiles-smtpeter" title="Learn more about log files">logfiles</a>
method to see which log files we already have for your account. Moreover
you can download the log files for the <em>opens and clicks statistics</em> in
the easy to use CSV format. This allows you to analyze the impact of
your mailings.
</p>
<p>
We are still working on this issue, and we expect to announce new and
powerful methods and interfaces soon.
</p>
Earlier this month we wrote that although we are collecting data with respect
to your mailings, you could not access these data yet. We are happy to
announce that now you can access some of the data.
2016-03-23T00:00:00+01:002016-03-23T00:00:00+01:00Development progresshttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/development-progress-8dc5abb7<p>
At the time of this writing (march 2016), SMTPeter is a young working and stable service,
but also still under active development. This means that it is safe to
use, but that we have not yet added and implemented all the features that we like
to eventually have. To keep you informed, we will therefore regulary post
updates here about the progress that we make.
</p>
<h2>What is working?</h2>
<p>
SMTPeter simply works. You can inject email using <strong>SMTP</strong> or
<strong>REST</strong> and (based on your setup) these emails are <em>DKIM signed</em>,
and the hyperlinks in it are modified to <em>track clicks and opens</em>.
The modified mails are then passed on to the actual recipient.
</p>
<p>
All the feedback from the deliveries that SMTPeter receives is processed and
written to <strong>log files</strong>. This of course includes the succesful
deliveries and the failures, but also all the <em>clicks, opens, bounces, received DMARC reports</em>,
et cetera. All this data is written to log files on a big distributed multi-server,
multi-disk storage cluster where it can be queried to extract statistics from it.
</p>
<p>
The SMTPeter dashboard allows you to setup your SMTPeter environment, and
it has wizards to help you create <strong>DNS records</strong> so that you
can easily make sure that your <em>SPF, DKIM and DMARC records</em> are
optimized for deliveries through SMTPeter. You can use the dashboard to
create credentials to access either REST and SMTP API.
</p>
<h2>What is coming up?</h2>
<p>
Both the dashboard and the API are being worked on so that you can not only
use them to configure your environment and to send email, but also to get
access to all the data that we have collected.
</p>
<p>
At the time of this writing, we only collect data, but we do not yet have
tools for you to also retrieve this information from our systems. However,
we are very actively working on this, and we expect to announce new and
powerful methods and interfaces soon.
</p>
At the time of this writing (march 2016), SMTPeter is a young working and stable service,
but also still under active development. This means that it is safe to
use, but that we have not yet added and implemented all the features that we like
to eventually have. To keep you informed, we will therefore regulary post
updates here about the progress that we make.
2016-03-12T00:00:00+01:002016-03-12T00:00:00+01:00Gmail can now show your company logo next to your addresshttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/gmail-can-now-show-your-company-logo-next-to-your-address-21ec29dd<p>Google used the recent Safer Internet Day conference to announce great news. Two changes are coming to Gmail that give the receivers of email more visibility into the underlying trustworthiness of incoming emails. Google is going to display icons and company logo's next to incoming emails, so that everyone can see directly whether an email came from a thrustworty party or not.</p>
<p>Google used the Safer Internet Day conference to bring out this news. <a title="Learn more about safer internet day" href="https://www.saferinternetday.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Safer Internet Day</a> (SID) is organised by Insafe in February. This conference is organised each year to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially among children and young people across the world.</p>
<p>As we wrote, Google announced that it made two changes to its Gmail platform. First, they display a broken-lock icon when mails did not come in over a secure connection, and secondly, your company logo is shown when your mail was correctly signed. To make optimal use of these features, you have to make sure that you've correctly configured your SMTPeter account.</p>
<p>When you're using SMTPeter, you do not have to worry about secure connections. SMTPeter always delivers all emails using secure connections to Gmail, so this broken-lock icon will never appear next to your messages. This new feature was mainly introduced by Google to warn their users for incoming mails that did not come in over secure connections. This is never the case for mails sent through SMTPeter.com. For more information about this, check the <a title="Email Encryption FAQ" href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/saferemail/tls/?hl=en" rel="noopener" target="_blank">TLS encryption article from Google</a>.</p>
<p>Besides the broken lock, Google can now also display your company logo next to your address name. To enable this feature, you need to do some work first. First make sure you've configured DKIM and DMARC on the SMTPeter dashboard. DKIM and DMARC are technologies to make email more secure, and that can be configured using simple step-by-step forms on the dashboard. To get more information or support, check our documentation about <a title="Read more in documentation" href="/documentation/introduction-sender-domains">setting up sender domains</a>.</p>
<p>Besides that, you have to create a company profile at Google+ so that Google can link your domain to your company logo. For more information about this, you can read the original <a title="Read Google blog post" href="http://gmailblog.blogspot.nl/2016/02/making-email-safer-for-you-posted-by.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">blog post from Google</a> in which the news was announced.</p><p>Google used the recent Safer Internet Day conference to announce great news. Two changes are coming to Gmail that give the receivers of email more visibility into the underlying trustworthiness of incoming emails. </p>2016-02-19T00:00:00+01:002016-02-19T00:00:00+01:00Automatic rotation of DKIM keyshttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/automatic-rotation-of-dkim-keys-50890002<p>
We've covered a lot of topics on <strong>email security</strong> in our
<a href="/documentation/introduction" title="Read more in documentation">documentation</a>.
There's an introduction to the various <strong>email authentication</strong>
standards and in depth information about <strong>sender domains</strong>.
</p>
<p>
One important aspect of <em>DKIM keys</em> which is often forgotten or simply not applied, is the renewal of the DKIM keys
every now and then. You wouldn't hand over your house keys to a perfect stranger. Why not ensure the same level
of scrutiny and security for your email systems? Now SMTPeter ensures the continued security of your systems,
by <strong>rotating your DKIM keys automatically</strong>.
</p>
<p>
It's a best practice to rotate your DKIM Keys every six months. Before your DKIM key is six months old,
Peter automatically generates a new DKIM key for you and sends instructions on how to install this new key
to your mailbox. These instructions are, ofcourse, also available in your dashboard.
</p>
<p>
Peter will notify you when it is safe to remove the old DKIM key from your DNS.
</p>
We've covered a lot of topics on email security in our
documentation.
There's an introduction to the various email authentication
standards and in depth information about sender domains.
2016-01-07T00:00:00+01:002016-01-07T00:00:00+01:00Introducing our new bloghttp://www.smtpeter.com/blog/introducing-our-new-blog-20efcd01<p>
Hello? Ehlo! to all our clients, industry partners and visitors!
As we propagate to the world on our homepage, we are a Cloud-based
SMTP service for fast and secure email delivery.
</p>
<p>
As a hosted solution of our <a href="https://www.mailerq.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Go to MailerQ">MailerQ</a> product,
is SMTPeter constantly being developed and improved almost on a daily
basis. We tend to work with short release cycles so we can frequently
push updates into production.
</p>
<p>
Our website has now evolved and we have launched this new blog, where
we will post articles on company news, exciting new features, industry news
and points of interest. We welcome you to elaborate on any topic!
</p>
<p>
There are several ways in which you can connect with us. You can subscribe
to the RSS feed which aggregates posts from this blog. For any sales inquiry
you can send an email to peter@smtpeter.com
or when in need of help, check our <a href="/documentation/introduction" title="Go to documentation">documentation</a>.
Still stuck? Get in touch by sending an email to support@smtpeter.com
</p>
<p>
---
</p>
<p>
<i>
I hope you and all your coworkers, family, and friends have a
lovely holiday season filled with joy and meaning. See you all in 2016!
</i>
<br/><br/>
<i>
Peter
</i>
</p>
Hello? Ehlo! to all our clients, industry partners and visitors!
As we propagate to the world on our homepage, we are a Cloud-based
SMTP service for fast and secure email delivery.
2015-12-23T00:00:00+01:002015-12-23T00:00:00+01:00