It’s hard finding tools that please all areas of your business needs. There are so many platforms out there that handle email automation, lead management, CRM, SMS messages, the list goes on. While so many of them claim to do it all, not all of them can do it well. Often times, brands are left using multiple platforms and integrating them together. Or worse … different teams use different platforms and neither of them are integrated to talk to each other.

Using multiple Email Service Providers (ESPs) and sending through multiple Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Secure (SMTPs) can have some inherent risks.

1. Sending Duplicate Emails: If you are using multiple providers to manage lists, you may end up with recipients receiving multiple messages from the same campaign. This can put you at risk for a spam complaint. Make sure to clean lists well and remove all hard bounces immediately and check your list segments for duplicate email addresses.
2. Sending Emails to Unsubscribed Users: When a customer unsubscribes from receiving emails from your company, it is your responsibility to make sure their unsubscribe request is fulfilled through all providers. Much like the risk of duplicate emails, having a single source for contacts reduces this sending.
3. Lower Cost-Efficiency: Every email service provider charges different rates, so some of your email sends will generate more revenue and be more profitable than others. There may be higher operational costs involved with using multiple email service providers if your lists are growing, so it’s good to review budgets and expenses regularly.
4. Inaccurate KPIs: Especially when sending out larger batches of emails at a time – your numbers may be all over the place among different ESPs, so even averages may not be a good indicator of success or failure.

In summary, it’s best to have a centralized hub of all email addresses as a master list and that all segments are created from the scrubbed master. Check out the full post by Ongage for more risks and solutions to multiple ESPs.

What’s the equivalent of an email vibe check? The category that Gmail puts your email under. Gmail inboxes are organized by a primary inbox with additional categories like promotions and updates. If you want to know the default location your email is going, use this free tool from Litmus to check. Simply send a copy of your email to the testing address provided and within seconds it will show you where your users will receive your email.

The season is almost here, and training camp has been intense.

Little Caesars, the new official NFL pizza sponsor, created a spot to celebrate. Featuring quarterback Matthew Stafford of the LA Rams, the “Little Caesars Training Camp” is all about preparing NFL fans and athletes for Little Caesars to be the official pizza sponsor.