January 2017 Summaries

The company is announcing the release of two-factor authentication (2FA) for its Postmark service, which adds an extra layer of security to user accounts. The feature can be set up using an authenticator app or by providing a mobile phone number via SMS. To enable 2FA, users must log in to their account, click on their profile, and select the "Enable" option next to the two-factor authentication heading. Once set up, users will receive an email confirmation and are encouraged to download backup codes for safekeeping, as losing access to these codes can be a hassle if forgotten or lost. The feature is now available for Postmark users to use.

When an email is sent, the mailbox provider's response of "Accepted" only means that they have received it and are processing it. The actual delivery of the email to the inbox depends on various factors such as reputation, engagement levels, and content filters, which can lead to significant delays in delivery. Inbox providers prioritize emails based on these criteria, with transactional emails like password resets receiving faster delivery due to their high engagement rates. While Time-to-acceptance is easily measurable, Time-to-inbox is a more accurate measure of recipient experience, but is outside of the sender's direct control. To build a good reputation and improve delivery rates, senders must closely monitor their sending habits and engagement levels.

Postmark has released a feature to support emojis in subject lines, which was initially thought not to be important for transactional email. However, the company heard from users about the importance of emoji in recognizing emails, and now offers this feature to improve user experience. Users should note that some SMTP clients may not encode emojis properly, and excessive use of emojis might affect spam scores negatively. The new feature is available in Postmark subject lines, with no changes to message body support for emojis.