An SMTP service ensures delivery of your email at scale.
An SMTP service makes it easy for developers to send email from their applications. Most modern programming languages have libraries to send email via SMTP, or Simple Mail Transport Protocol. An SMTP service provides an external mail server and has tremendous advantages over using an in-house server or one made available by a hosting provider.
When developers send emails, they want to make sure the message is delivered. An SMTP service's biggest value is deliverability. Though it's not always possible to know whether a message has hit the inbox, following industry best practices increases deliverability. An SMTP service's features should enable developers to follow best practices, such as removing unsubscribes, bounced addresses, and spam reports. Further, it should be easy to trim a list's unengaged recipients.
Though developers themselves can make a difference in deliverability, some responsibility is also on the SMTP service. Many cloud web hosting providers have had their email servers denied, usually due to abuse or threat of abuse. An SMTP service should maintain relationships with popular ISPs to avoid ending up on deny list. Working with ISPs involves setting up structured feedback loops to receive spam reports.
Another benefit of an SMTP service is scalability. As email programs grow, so do the cost and complexities of maintaining an in-house infrastructure. By using an SMTP service, developers can focus on developing their product instead of on email delivery maintenance.
SendGrid's SMTP service is responsible for 2% of the world's non-spam email. It provides multiple methods to send email directly using SMTP and also via a Web API with libraries for all popular programming languages. SendGrid's advanced statistics and analytics give developers all the data they need to follow industry best practices while maintaining visibility into how their emails are performing.
Lastly, SendGrid's excellent support and compliance teams ensure a happy relationship with both ISPs and customers.