Email Infrastructure, End to End
Understand the machinery under every send: the sending stack, the SMTP protocol, the DNS records receivers check, and the AWS SES delivery layer.
6 stepsabout 16 min total
The Complete Guide to Email Infrastructure
The machinery behind sending: domains, DNS, SMTP relays, IPs, and reputation. Here is how the pieces fit, and why the app-wrapper model struggles.
What Is SMTP, and How Does It Send Your Email?
SMTP is the protocol that transmits every email. Here is the handshake it runs, the reply codes it returns, and what they tell you when mail fails.
DNS Records for Email: MX, PTR, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
Every deliverability check starts in your DNS. Here is what each email record does, MX, PTR, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and how they work together.
AWS SES for Cold Email: Why the Delivery Layer Matters
Amazon SES is a cloud SMTP relay that sends at scale without per-mailbox limits. Here is what it gives cold email, and what it still leaves to you.
Shared vs Dedicated IP for Cold Email
A dedicated IP is not an upgrade for most senders. Here is the volume threshold where it starts to help, and why it hurts below that line.
Do You Need a Separate Domain for Cold Email?
Sending outreach from your main domain risks the address your customers reply to. Here is when to separate, and how many domains you actually need.