For too long, email marketers have been stuck in the vicious cycle of managing their deliverability. They have spent significant time and money to monitor ISP delivery codes, examine problems, and fine-tune numerous settings – only to discover their adjustments didn't really solve anything. Or, they found out what needed to be done to resolve deliverability issues at the conclusion of a campaign, after already suffering potential damage to both their reputation and results.

This never-ending, iterative approach to traffic-shaping is inherently flawed. Not only does it sap valuable resources, but it can't align email-sending rules with ISP requirements on a per-message/per-sender basis. Even worse, it occurs after the damage to delivery rates and reputation is already done, so marketers are always in a reactive or recovery mode.

Everyone involved in this cycle is hurt -- email marketers whose messages are blocked or bounced despite their tremendous efforts; customers who don't get the emails they want; and the specialists who are brought in after-the-fact for the time-consuming, thankless task of working with ISPs to fix a problem that's likely to happen all over again. What else can you expect with the standard approach? Dwindling ROI.

It's time for a change. ISPs are reacting to mail in real-time and email marketers need a similar capability that ensures adherence to their rules and best practices. This capability needs to be adaptive to delivery parameters based on individualized results as they occur, enabling email marketers to deliver messages to the inbox hassle-free. With this capability, customers will receive the relevant communications they want, and IT specialists can focus their time and energy on revenue-generating projects or other critical technology initiatives.
 
These adaptive message delivery platforms should have auto-adjust sending parameters for email streams without any action on the part of the marketer, to resolve issues before they arise and improve deliverability in real time. Once feedback is received regarding an individual message's disposition – delivered, bounced, blocked, etc. – the application should immediately change the marketer's sending speed, retry frequency, and other delivery parameters to avoid financial impacts and reputation risk.
 
Another key feature of next-generation message delivery systems should be to keep pace with the ongoing changes to bounce rules. Most update services that claim to be "live" really aren't – with new updates only once a month or every few months. This simply won't do. A truly live feedback loop that ensures the marketer always receives the latest bounce rules right away – multiple times a day – is a necessity for optimal deliverability.
 
Also, mailing with an IP address that has no sending reputation can be almost as risky as using one with a bad reputation. ISPs often delay or block such mailings, yet most messaging solutions lack the tools to overcome this common obstacle. Building a good sending reputation through "warm-up" email campaigns automatically builds a good sending reputation for all new IP addresses. Link the marketer's IP with virtually any data element (segment, campaign, business unit, domain, etc.), then deploy it for automated use gives campaigns or customers a deliverability advantage right out of the gate; establishes a good sending reputation for IP addresses before use; and minimizes costs and reputation risk from delayed or undelivered mail.

Real-time, individualized deliverability management maximizes both the effectiveness and efficiency of mailings for better bottom-line results and a stronger brand reputation that companies can proactively safeguard.

Below is a checklist of key benefits email marketers should look for in a next-generation, adaptive message management system to ensure they can focus on what they do best: building sustainable, profitable customer relationships and contributing to their company's bottom line.

• Optimize deliverability through an automated workflow that the marketer controls
• Achieve maximum ROI from marketing campaigns
• Realize continuous improvements over time via cumulative intelligence
• Protect the marketer's sending reputation by resolving issues before they occur
• Reduce costs and minimize losses from delayed or undelivered mail
• Redirect resources toward other revenue-generating projects

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About the Author: Dave Lewis is CMO of Message Systems