Summary
Email marketers' experiences with Amazon SES for bulk sending are varied. Some find it easy to set up and use, while others note it requires more technical expertise than other platforms. SES's pay-as-you-go pricing is cost-effective for many, especially high-volume senders, but costs can escalate. A strong consensus emphasizes the importance of sender reputation and proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for deliverability. Warming up IPs, monitoring bounce and complaint rates, and requesting increased sending limits from AWS are crucial. SES primarily functions as a transactional email service and lacks some marketing features and customer support found in dedicated platforms. Using dedicated IPs allows senders more control over their reputation.
Key findings
- Cost-Effectiveness: SES offers a competitive pay-as-you-go pricing model, especially for high-volume senders, but costs should be monitored.
- Technical Expertise Required: Setting up and managing SES requires more technical skill than other platforms.
- Reputation is Paramount: Sender reputation is critical for deliverability and requires careful management (IP warming, monitoring metrics).
- Authentication is Essential: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is a must for deliverability.
- Limited Marketing Features: SES is primarily a transactional email service with fewer marketing-specific features.
- Scalability with Limits: SES can handle high volumes, but initial sending limits require requesting increases.
- Support Limitations: Customer support is limited compared to dedicated email marketing platforms.
Key considerations
- Assess Technical Skills: Evaluate your team's technical expertise for managing SES.
- Monitor Costs: Track sending volumes and costs to ensure the pay-as-you-go model remains advantageous.
- Prioritize Reputation: Implement a comprehensive sender reputation management strategy.
- Implement Authentication: Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC correctly.
- Assess Feature Needs: Determine if SES provides all the marketing features you require, or if you need additional tools.
- Plan for Scaling: Be prepared to request increased sending limits as your needs grow.
- Evaluate Support Needs: Consider the level of support required and whether SES meets those needs.
- Dedicated IP Strategy: Explore using dedicated IPs for greater control over your sender reputation, especially for high-volume sending.
What email marketers say
11 marketer opinions
Email marketers' experiences with Amazon SES for bulk sending vary. While SES offers a cost-effective pay-as-you-go pricing model, its setup and management require more technical expertise than other platforms. Deliverability is heavily dependent on sender reputation and proper authentication, necessitating careful IP warming and monitoring of sending limits, bounce rates, and complaint rates. A potential downside is the limited customer support and the lack of marketing-specific features found in dedicated email marketing platforms, making it primarily a transactional email service.
Key opinions
- Cost-Effective Pricing: Amazon SES offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model that can be very cost-effective, especially for large sending volumes.
- Technical Expertise Required: Setting up and managing Amazon SES requires more technical knowledge than other email marketing platforms.
- Deliverability Concerns: Deliverability is highly dependent on sender reputation, proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and warming up IPs correctly.
- Limited Marketing Features: Amazon SES primarily functions as a transactional email service and lacks many of the marketing-specific features of other platforms.
- Customer Support: Amazon SES offers limited customer support compared to other dedicated email marketing platforms.
Key considerations
- Technical Skillset: Assess your team's technical expertise to ensure they can effectively manage SES setup, configuration, and troubleshooting.
- Sending Volume: Evaluate your sending volume to determine if the pay-as-you-go pricing model is indeed the most cost-effective option for your needs.
- Sender Reputation: Prioritize building and maintaining a good sender reputation to ensure high deliverability rates. This includes IP warming, proper authentication, and monitoring bounce and complaint rates.
- Feature Requirements: Determine whether SES provides all the features you need for your marketing campaigns, or if you need additional tools or platforms.
- Support Needs: Consider the level of customer support you require and whether SES's support model meets your needs. Dedicated support options can improve your integration time.
Marketer view
Email marketer from G2 Crowd reviewer says that a potential downside to using Amazon SES is the lack of readily available customer support. SES primarily focuses on the technical aspects of sending emails, and users looking for more hands-on assistance might find other platforms more suitable.
28 Sep 2021 - G2
Marketer view
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that Amazon SES requires more technical expertise to set up and manage compared to other email marketing services, and that other services have more user-friendly interfaces and features.
9 Jun 2024 - Mailjet.com
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Experts report generally positive experiences with Amazon SES for bulk sending. Some found it easy to set up and use, and clients have successfully sent high volumes of emails (30K to 100M per day). Maintaining a good sender reputation and ensuring proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are crucial for deliverability.
Key opinions
- Ease of Use: Some experts find Amazon SES easy to set up and use.
- Scalability: SES can handle high email volumes, with clients sending up to 100M emails per day.
- Sender Reputation is Key: Sender reputation directly impacts deliverability.
- Authentication is Crucial: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential for deliverability.
Key considerations
- Sender Reputation Management: Implement practices to maintain a good sender reputation, such as monitoring bounce and complaint rates.
- Email Authentication Setup: Ensure proper configuration of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
- Dedicated IP Configuration: Setting up reverse DNS (rDNS) for dedicated IPs can be beneficial.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares experiences of clients sending through SES successfully, ranging from 30K to 20M emails per day, with spikes to 100M. Suggests setting up rDNS for dedicated IPs.
10 Oct 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that Amazon SES was easy to set up and use, and they were very happy with it after switching to it when they had issues with their own hosted MTA.
2 Dec 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Amazon SES uses initial sending limits to protect its reputation and avoid spam, which can be increased by request. They provide tools to monitor sender reputation via bounce and complaint rates, as high rates negatively impact deliverability. Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is vital, and using dedicated IP addresses allows senders to build and maintain their own reputation, especially beneficial for high-volume sending.
Key findings
- Sending Limits: Amazon SES has initial sending limits that can be increased by request.
- Reputation Monitoring: Tools are provided to monitor sender reputation (bounce, complaint rates).
- Authentication is Key: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial for deliverability.
- Dedicated IPs: Dedicated IP addresses can be used to build and maintain sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Plan for Scaling: Be aware of initial sending limits and plan to request increases as needed.
- Reputation Management: Actively monitor bounce and complaint rates to maintain a good sender reputation.
- Implement Authentication: Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to properly authenticate emails.
- Dedicated IP Strategy: Consider using dedicated IP addresses for high-volume sending to manage your own reputation.
Technical article
Documentation from Amazon Web Services explains that Amazon SES provides tools for monitoring your sending reputation, including bounce and complaint rates. High rates can negatively impact deliverability.
13 Oct 2024 - Amazon Web Services
Technical article
Documentation from Amazon Web Services explains that it is important to properly authenticate your emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve deliverability and sender reputation when using SES.
17 Feb 2023 - Amazon Web Services
Are there email sending issues with AWS?
How can I manage Feedback-ID headers when using Amazon SES to send emails, especially with Gmail's upcoming sender requirements?
How do I show 'signed by' my domain when using Amazon SES or Mailchimp?
How do Iterable shared infrastructure and Amazon SES handle SPF alignment and DMARC compliance?
How to setup BIMI when sending from Iterable through SES shared pools?
Should I remove DMARC and DKIM records to use Amazon SES shared domain reputation?
