The following is a post by mobileStorm Director of Deliverability, Patrick Knight

The Email community has become more focused on accountability and user engagement. ISPs are enforcing authentication standards and taking a closer look as to how subscribers perceive the messages that come into their network to gain granularity on reputation.  This simply means ISPs have raised the standards for delivery which in turn provide users with more control over what they receive. As a result, these changes help keep spam activity to a minimum.

In today\’s world, however, delivery for some marketers has become increasingly challenging and thus causes frustration. Although this is the case, marketers struggle with delivery not because of changes within the anti-spam community, but because of their own misguided views regarding email. For example, many don\’t understand email reputation and how it has and will evolve over time. Others may not understand why implementing best practices and authentication positively affects delivery. Some may even feel their ESP is the issue, not realizing they are being held accountable for their own actions and practices.

As a proactive ESP, mobileStorm has identified these misconceptions as a problem and thus help our clients to understand the changing landscape of deliverability through mass education and consulting services. For example, we provide information on topics such as why users\’ engagement matters, how acquisition practices affect your list quality, how to set expectations, and why relevancy is important . . . just to name a few. Our knowledge base also provides real-life examples of how these concepts play into delivery success or failure.

Along with education, we provide product offerings such as our deliverability audit, which clearly identifies issues with the email program and how to go about correcting those problems. Furthermore, our brand assurance and authentication package allows clients to conform to ISP standards for sending mail to their network. Lastly, our teams monitor performance and enforce policies by informing clients of inconsistencies each time their campaign falls out of compliance with ISP standards.

These initiatives allow us to alleviate our clients\’ frustration and help them conform to the shifting trends of the email space. Most importantly, we ensure they stay engaged and send relevant mail requested by subscribers.