Bluecore email service provider overview
If you choose to use Bluecore's email service partner (ESP), SendGrid, to send emails, there are a few setup steps you must go through first.
Create subdomain(s)
In order to send emails, you first need to create a subdomain. Bluecore recommends the following best practices when creating and using subdomains.
Decide if you need one or two subdomains
If you are using both marketing and transactional campaigns, use a different subdomain for each to lower the risk of one subdomain affecting the other.
Create a brand new subdomain
Use a new subdomain that has not sent emails before. Any issues the subdomain may have had prior to using Bluecore may cause deliverability issues now.
Keep the subdomain prefix short
Don't use a long prefix, just keep it short and simple.
✅ Recommended: e.bluestore.com
❌ Not recommended: marketingcampaignsender.bluestore.com
Don't use a cousin or look-alike subdomain
Phishers often use cousin or look-alike domains for spoofing, so you don't want your customers thinking that your emails can't be trusted.
✅ Recommended: e.bluestore.com
❌ Not recommended: e.emailbluestore.com
Update your DNS records
Before sending emails, you must authenticate your subdomain so that Bluecore has permission to send emails on your behalf.
The Bluecore team will generate a CNAME for you to use.
Warm up by sending campaigns
Once the ESP setup is complete, Bluecore’s Onboarding team will work with you on when and how to start sending campaigns.
Because your subdomain or subdomains are new to sending emails and are not ramped to handle the volume you intend on sending, Bluecore has recommendations on how to warm up to build a good reputation with the Mailbox Providers (MBP).
Note: If you don't spend time ramping up your subdomain properly, MBPs may impact your ability to communicate with your customers through low inbox placement, marking messages as spam, or not delivering your messages entirely.
Start off small and slowly increase your audience size
One way an MBP identifies spam is through volume; the lower the volume the more likely you can pass through these filters while you build your reputation.
Your Bluecore team will work with you to develop a schedule that works for you, typically something like this:
Week One
Send emails to customers who were active within the last 7 days.
Week Two
Send emails to customers who were active within the last 15 days.
Week Three
Send emails to customers who were active within the last 30 days.
You can use the email subscriber list to import email addresses with open and click data.
Send valuable emails with new campaigns
Because you are sending emails to your most engaged customers, you need to send them valuable content that they can engage with. If you reuse campaigns, your customers may have lower engagement.
Bluecore recommends having at least four to five different campaigns for the warm up period.
Consistently send emails
Consistently send valuable emails at least once a week to build a positive reputation.
If you miss an email send, don't skip to sending the next email. Instead, send the one that you missed and continue in order.
Suppress emails at your other ESPs
When you send emails from Bluecore, suppress those emails in your ESP so that you don't send duplicate emails to the same audience.
Keep track of your KPIs
Track engagement metrics like unique open rates, hard and soft bounce rates, spam rates, and unsubscribe rates.