Switching from one email service provider (ESP) to another can be stressful, and depending on the size and complexity of your email lists, it can be time consuming, too. That’s why it’s so important to work through this list of things to do before switching email providers. This will save you a ton of headaches in the future, and will mitigate any negative impact on your email deliverability.
1. Check Your Mindset
Yes, switching your email provider can be anxiety-inducing. But it’s also the perfect opportunity to take an honest look at your current email marketing strategy—from the big picture, to the minute detail. Now’s the time to streamline your processes, pinpoint what’s working and what’s failing, and see your new ESP as a fresh slate on which to build an email strategy that’s even more effective than your current one.
2. Clean your Account
There is no point re-creating a sub-optimal strategy in your new ESP. So, before exporting anything, go through your entire account, and remove anything that’s no longer needed. Those old tags and custom fields that you no longer use? Delete them. Too many segments? Merge them. Do what you can to simplify your account, as this will make the switching email service providers a whole lot easier.
3. Clean Your List
To keep deliverability high, you must avoid importing too many inactive subscribers to your new ESP. So before making the switch, run a reactivation campaign for any subscribers who have been inactive in 6-12 months. When the reactivation campaign is over, remove those subscribers who are still inactive, as they’re not providing any benefit to your list.
4. Record How Your Account is Organized
Write out exactly how your account is organized, so you have a list of everything that needs recreating during your migration. We’re talking about:
- The names and specific settings of each list/campaign
- Tags and custom fields
- Segmentation rules
- Sign-up sources and locations (i.e. sign-up forms and 3rd party sources)
- The order of autoresponder sequences
- Marketing automation conditions and settings
- Landing pages
- Reports
- API Integrations
- Users and permissions
And anything else that’s relevant to your email strategy.
5. Backup Anything Important
Download a copy of anything important (don’t worry about lists and stats for now—that comes later). Ensure you have a copy of all of your confirmation emails, email templates, autoresponders (both HTML and TXT versions), automation messages, landing pages, forms, hosted images and even your email archive, if possible.
6. Get to Know Your New ESP
Many ESPs offer free accounts, so sign up and take a good look around. Think about exactly how you’re going to organize your new account on this new platform, and the best approach to take. Watch and read tutorials in the help section of your new ESP. Become familiar with any new terminology. And message their support if you have any additional questions, such as any best practices you should be aware of to protect your deliverability.
7. Re-Read Your Contract
Ensure you know exactly what you’re signing up for. Look out for subscriber limits, send limits, exit clauses. Check how much notice you need to give to cancel your account. See how much notice the ESP must give you before increasing prices. Double check you’re getting all of the features you need.
8. Check Your HTML Email Works
If you use a custom HTML email template, send yourself a test email from your new ESP to ensure everything appears correctly. Check this on both desktop and mobile, and within various email clients. If there are any issues, you may have to re-write some of your template’s code before switching email providers.
9. Start Warming Your IP Address
If you need to use your own dedicated IP address, work with your new ESP to start warming this IP sooner rather than later. This is something that’s usually done by the ESP, not the user. This process can take 2-4 weeks, and must be done in order to protect your sender reputation and email deliverability. Wait for the go-ahead from your ESP before sending any campaigns. If you don’t need your own dedicated IP address, this isn’t something to worry about.
10. Check Your Sender Reputation
It’s advised to keep an eye on your sender reputation before, during, and after you change email providers, so you’re aware of any issues right away. If you notice your sender reputation dropping, or spam scores increasing, that a sign that remedial action needs to be taken now before the problem gets worse.
11. Inform IP Certification Tools
If you use any IP certification tools, inform them that you will be changing your ESP so they are aware. This will help to protect your list from any drop in deliverability.
12. Set Up What You Can on Your ESP
Now’s the time to set up everything you can on your new account. Recreate autoresponders, automations, confirmation messages, etc. Recreate your landing pages, and sign-up forms, too. Depending on your ESP, this may also be the stage where you set up your new lists/groups, or create any new custom fields.
13. Export Stats and Reports
If possible, export a copy of your campaign statistics from your current ESP so you have this as a reference. It’s recommended to do this just before you start migrating your email lists over to your new account, as this will ensure the stats are as up to date as possible.
14. Import Bounce and Unsubscribe Lists
Export bounce, unsubscribe, and spam complaint lists from your current ESP, then add these to a suppression list in your new ESP. This is important, as it ensures that you don’t mistakenly send emails to people who have previously unsubscribed, or to addresses which cause emails to bounce. Do not skip this step.
15. Start With Your Most Active Subscribers
To help maintain your sender reputation, you should always migrate your most active subscribers first. When you import these subscribers, go over everything with a fine tooth-comb, and check that everything is set up properly before sending any emails. Check that any tags and custom fields are imported correctly. Ensure your subscribers are added to the correct segments and groups. Double check that subscribe data is also accurately imported (this is especially important for subscribers from the EU, as you must comply with GDPR rules).
16. Set up Domain Authentication
To protect your deliverability further, set up domain authentication in your new ESP. Each ESP is slightly different in this regard, so refer to their help documents for more information on how to do this.
17. Set Up Custom Domain and Sender Domain
If possible, transfer your sender domain and your custom domain over to your new ESP. This will allow you to keep the sender reputation you’ve built up in the past.
18. Increase Send Volume Gradually
Only when you’re ready, start sending campaigns to a small volume of subscribers. This precaution allows you to notice any deliverability issues before they become irreparable. For example if you see your bounce rate or spam rates climbing above 4-5%, do not increase the send volume, as there is an issue that needs resolving. The same goes for worryingly low open rates. If everything looks ok after sending a few more campaigns, migrate more of your subscribers over to the new ESP. Keep doing this until all of your subscribers are in their new home. This could take a few weeks or even a few months, depending on the size of your list.
19. Keep a Close Eye on The Stats
As you gradually move your entire list over to your new ESP, keep a close eye on the stats and look out for anything untoward. If anything catches your attention, speak to your ESP straight away about possible issues and recommended remedies.
Taken methodically, switching email providers needn’t be as daunting as many people fear. But it should still be done with care. As mentioned, this is the perfect time to reassess your email strategy and the overall organization of your account. So take this time to make it as efficient as possible.
Once the switch is complete (which can take up to 90 days, depending on the size and complexity of your list), you can get back to growing your email list to drive real, measurable results.
