February 2014 Summaries

Postmark has been reworking its bounce processing and categorization to improve deliverability for its customers. The company tested various methods, including comparing the results of new and old categorization methods, analyzing tens of thousands of bounces with different code libraries, and parsing out valuable information from raw messages using List Nanny and PowerMTA categories. A dynamic approach was needed to handle multiple sources of input, which led to the development of a JSON document that formalizes If-Then statements for recategorizing bounces. This change allows customers to easily add or modify rules, reducing miscategorized Hard Bounces and deactivations, while improving overall deliverability and customer satisfaction.

Today, Postmark released an update that adds official support for tags in its SMTP service. Tags allow users to categorize their messages for sorting and searching later. With this feature, users can search their activity feed by tag and segment campaign statistics using open tracking. The new feature enables users to add specific tags to their messages, such as product-orders or password-resets, making it easier to find and manage messages. Searching for messages by tag is now possible through the Messages API, which returns a list of matching messages with the specified tag. This update aims to help keep messages organized and make them more easily searchable.

The Postmark team has announced the addition of two new API endpoints, Server API and Sender Signatures API, to further automate their service. The Server API allows users to manage servers completely free of the website front-end, while the Sender Signatures API enables DKIM and SPF administration. To access these APIs, users must use an Account Token, which can be found in the Postmark settings. These new features aim to make automating the Postmark experience even easier for developers.

Today, a significant update was released to the servers listing page, aiming to improve its usability for users with multiple servers. The new layout now clearly displays inbound, sent, and bounce statistics for each server, making it easier to identify active servers and track performance metrics. Additionally, a fast search function with pagination has been added, which can be accessed by larger accounts with over 25 servers, providing a more efficient way to find specific servers. Furthermore, the design of the page has been revamped to support retina-quality displays, enhancing the overall user experience.

We've expanded and updated this post into a full guide for troubleshooting email delivery issues. Delivery issues come up for three reasons: Infrastructure, Sending Practices, and Content. When it comes to infrastructure, Postmark takes care of most of the work, but verifying SPF and DKIM is important to improve delivery. Good sending practices are crucial to getting emails to the inbox, including reviewing bounce rates under 5% and spam complaints under 0.10%. Content can also cause issues, with a spam score under 5 being ideal, and avoiding URL shorteners like Bitly that can get blocked by spammers. Testing content is key to resolving delivery issues, and Postmark offers tools to help troubleshoot these problems.