Summary
Email senders may opt to use an ESP's shared domain instead of aligning their own for several reasons. These include leveraging the ESP's stronger existing reputation, particularly beneficial for new senders or those with a poor sending history. Shared domains also simplify technical configurations, bypassing the complexities of setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, which is especially appealing for those with limited technical expertise or small organizations. For very low-volume sending or testing new strategies, the effort and potential risk to domain reputation may outweigh the benefits of alignment. Additionally, the cost and technical overhead of managing a dedicated IP can be prohibitive for small businesses. In some instances ESPs always use shared domains anyway.
Key findings
- Reputation Leverage: Senders with new, low, or damaged reputations can benefit from using the ESP's established, positive reputation.
- Technical Simplicity: Shared domains eliminate the need for complex DNS configurations like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, making email setup easier for non-technical users.
- Cost-Effectiveness: For small senders, shared domains offer a more affordable solution by avoiding the costs associated with dedicated IPs and domain management.
- Low Volume/Testing: Shared domains provide a safe option for senders with very low email volumes or those testing new strategies, minimizing the risk of damaging their own domain reputation.
- Pre-Warmed IPs: Leverages ESP's Pre-warmed IPs, especially useful for new companies
- Feedback Loops: ESPs may use their shared domains for feedback loop integration anyway
Key considerations
- Reputation Comparison: Compare your current domain reputation with the ESP's to determine which offers better deliverability.
- Technical Skills: Assess your technical skills and resources to determine if you can effectively manage SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
- Sending Volume: Evaluate your email volume to decide if the benefits of a dedicated IP and domain alignment outweigh the costs and complexities.
- Long-Term Goals: Determine if establishing and maintaining your own domain reputation is a long-term goal, or if relying on the ESP's reputation is sufficient.
- Cost Analysis: Conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether a shared or dedicated IP aligns best with your budget and resources.
What email marketers say
11 marketer opinions
Email senders may choose not to align their sending domain with their ESP's shared domain for various reasons, including leveraging the ESP's established reputation, avoiding the complexities of domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and reputation management, simplicity for new email marketers, benefiting from pre-warmed IPs, or when sending low volumes or testing new strategies. Cost considerations and limited technical expertise also contribute to this decision.
Key opinions
- Reputation Benefit: Using the ESP's shared domain allows senders to leverage the ESP's existing reputation and infrastructure, especially beneficial for new senders or those with a poor sending history.
- Simplicity: Shared domains simplify technical configurations, allowing senders to focus on content and strategy rather than deliverability complexities.
- Cost-Effectiveness: For small businesses, using a shared domain can be more economical than managing a dedicated IP and its associated technical overhead.
- Low Volume/Testing: Senders with low email volumes or those testing new strategies might opt for shared domains to avoid risking their own domain reputation.
- Ease of DNS setup: Shared domains mean that senders do not have to worry about the complexities of DNS setup
Key considerations
- Technical Expertise: Assess the sender's technical expertise to determine if they can handle domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) setup and ongoing management.
- Sending Volume: Consider the sender's email volume to determine if a shared domain is sufficient or if a dedicated IP is necessary for optimal deliverability.
- Reputation Goals: Evaluate the sender's reputation goals to determine if they need to build and maintain their own domain reputation or if leveraging the ESP's reputation is sufficient.
- Cost: Factor in the costs associated with dedicated IPs and domain management compared to the potentially lower cost of using a shared domain.
- Testing: Senders who are testing new email strategies, the risk of domain reputation may be too high.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that DNS setup for SMB users is prone to errors and future breakage, and beyond DKIM & SPF validation, additional measures may not provide enough added value.
21 Oct 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that ESPs will likely always include some of their shared domains to get FBLs and that many senders incorrectly set up or remove DNS records, requiring careful guidance and verification from the ESP.
22 Jul 2021 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Email senders might choose not to align their sending domain with their ESP's shared domain when the ESP's shared reputation is better than their own, or when the effort required for alignment outweighs the benefits, particularly for very small mail volumes.
Key opinions
- Better ESP Reputation: If the ESP's shared domain has a stronger reputation than the sender's domain, using the ESP's domain can improve deliverability.
- Effort vs. Benefit: For very low-volume sending, the technical effort and administrative overhead of aligning the sending domain may not be worth the limited benefits.
Key considerations
- Reputation Comparison: Assess the sender's current domain reputation against the ESP's shared domain reputation to determine which offers better deliverability.
- Sending Volume: Consider the sender's email volume to determine if the effort to align is justified by the volume being sent.
- Technical Resources: Evaluate available technical resources to assess if the effort for domain alignment (SPF, DKIM, DMARC setup) is manageable.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that if an ESP's shared reputation is better than the sender's, there is a good reason not to align sending to the sender's domain.
19 Feb 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that if sending very tiny amounts of mail and the work to align things is more trouble than it’s worth, it is not worth aligning the sending to a domain.
8 Aug 2023 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Email senders might choose not to align their sending domain with their ESP's shared domain due to lacking a strong domain reputation, to bypass the complexities of setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and to leverage the pre-warmed IP addresses and established trust with ISPs offered by the ESP.
Key findings
- Reputation Boost: Using an ESP's shared domain can improve deliverability for senders with a weak or non-existent domain reputation.
- Technical Simplicity: Shared domains bypass the technical requirements of setting up and managing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
- Clean Slate: Senders with past deliverability issues can use shared domains to start fresh and improve their chances of reaching inboxes.
- Warm IP advantage: Shared domains have warmed IP addresses to reduce deliverability problems
Key considerations
- Reputation Assessment: Assess your current domain reputation to determine if using a shared domain would provide a significant deliverability boost.
- Technical Resources: Evaluate your technical capabilities and resources to determine if managing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records is feasible.
- Long-Term Goals: Consider your long-term email marketing goals to determine if you eventually need to establish your own domain reputation.
- Cost: Consider your costs and overhead and evaluate your time to determine whether to have a shared or dedicated IP
Technical article
Documentation from AWS explains that Senders don't have to worry about IP warming when using the ESP's shared domains as these ESPs typically have warmed up domain/IPs, which takes the pressure off having to wait for a domain reputation to build before sending volume
13 Jul 2021 - AWS
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft explains that for senders who have had deliverability issues or a poor sending reputation, using a shared domain through a reputable ESP can provide a 'clean slate' and improve their chances of reaching Outlook.com inboxes.
6 Sep 2022 - Microsoft
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