I have my software, SonicMailer Pro which I sell at various price points. Some/most people prefer the software vs service route because you have total control. However, there is still those people who wish to use a service. So, I was thinking of also proving the software as a service. The main thing is that I would not provide SMTP service. I don't want to risk getting blacklisted or have to deal with that whole part of the service. So, they would need to enter their own SMTP server (which to me, is certainly not a big deal). So basically I take the load of the database and the scripts to actually process the mail. The actual delivery goes through their server. It's just a rough idea at this point and I'm sure I've left things out, but what do you guys think? Could something like this work?
The client using their own SMTP might not be a big deal to you, but one of the main reasons I use a service and not software is to use a different mail server. Maybe I'm the only one, but that sure was a big part of my decision. You kind of contradict yourself by saying that entering "their own SMTP server (which to me, is certainly not a big deal)" but yet you "would not provide SMTP service. I don't want to risk getting blacklisted or have to deal with that whole part of the service." Your customers don't want blacklisted either
Some are very strict about not wanting to be blacklisted (rightly so), but others are not so much, maybe because they are not as aware - I don't know. What if I were to provide the SMTP then? I assume I need a strict sending policy, but how do I go about creating a relationship with the major ISPs?
Good luck with that. I run a small sever for a non-profit school. We do not send out anything spam at all, but yet we have had problems with getting mail blocked and making contact with someone at a big ISP is a complete nightmare. I found this thread because I was searching for a service to help us send out our (absolutely non spam) newsletter just because we cannot reasonably send it ourselves... sad really. I checked out Aweber just before this thread and it is basically what we need but I'd rather not spend ~$20 to do it.
Alex, I am not sure the nature of your sending but I am generally very good with my emails. I have my own VPS and own IP and I find my mail reaching all of Google, Yahoo, Hotmail and even AOL. If you're on a shared hosting account or a previously spammed IP, that could be the biggest problem...
The main problem I have is that it is a local server connected via "business class" DSL with Pacbell. This connection alone raises the scrutiny on our mail. The other serious problem we had was with employees who had their mail forwarded from their local accounts to their home mail. When spam got passed the local filters, got forwarded to the home account (and then possibly marked as spam through their home ISP) we got blocked. Anyway, that was not my point above. My comment above was about the extreme difficulty in reaching the ISP to straighten things out. Running a mailing service like aweber must certainly involve good relationships with ISPs. If my experience is any indicator, that can't be easy.