As a new business owner the last thing that you want to do is find out that your first email marketing campaign or all your transactional emails have been delayed or are not getting to the people that need to see them. Finding a top SMTP service provider to prevent this issue and to grow with your company is an important decision and one that is often not given the time it deserves.
As with any internet company you want your SMTP service provider to offer you the features that you need right now as well as features that you will need as you expand and grown. Since it is difficult to estimate just how fast your outgoing email needs will grow a company that is willing to work with your and not lock you into lengthy contracts or unchangeable packages is a must.
Dedicated SMTP Service or Not?
When you choose a SMTP service provider that offers dedicated service you really can get the best of all possible options. You will be the only business using the SMTP service and you will have the option to send at any time, in any amount, and at a price that is often very low.
The more outgoing email that you have the more that a dedicated system moves from a nice feature to a must. Look for a company that is careful about monitoring for spam on an ongoing basis and that authenticates each email you send.
Uptime
Just like your ISP an SMTP service provider should be able to provide their uptime. The top companies will exceed 99.9% uptime on their systems, ensuring that you always have access to email sending at any time and in any volume. There are also some amazing companies that will actually refund your account for any lost time that you experience, which is always a sign of a top service provider.
Last, but certainly not least, look for the additional perks that any SMTP service provider offers. Most will offer cloud services for dedicated service but will also allow you to have imagine hosting, often unlimited and free, as well as full tracking of the delivery and opening of emails for your analysis and data capture needs.