Goodmail. Do we do it?
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
The bods at Goodmail must have a big marketing drive at the moment. I’ve been questioned about their product, CertifiedEmail, a number of times recently.
The answer, “yes, we can send CertifiedEmail,” is kind of by-the-by. I’m more interested in its relevance in the UK market and the potential negative aspects.
CertifiedEmail, in a nutshell, is paid-for authentication of emails. An email sender can enter into a relationship with a number of CertifiedEmail-compatible ESPs whereby it will pay a fixed charge for each email it sends. In return, the ESP will place the email directly in the recipient’s inbox, bypassing spam filters.
Email authentication’s nothing new. Buzz phrases such as ’sender policy framework’,’sender-ID’ and ‘domain key registration’ have been batted around for years. CertifiedEmail is perhaps unique in that it’s paid-for.
The pros? Goodmail argue that it’ll restore trust between commercial and non profit senders and individual email recipients. They assure us that it’s only available to kosher establishments - those who sweat day and night to ensure they’re sticking to email best practises.
The cons? Some groups are taking a different view to Goodmail. There has been uproar claiming that CertifiedEmail serves to legitimise spam. After all, it seems that anyone with enough cash in their back pocket can hand over the readies to guarantee that the email recipient, willing or not, is going to see their message. And what about those who don’t cough up? Aren’t genuine family and friends getting a raw deal as their entirely innocuous dispatch has to run the gauntlet?
But pros and cons mean little if the product isn’t actually relevant. Currently CertifiedEmail boasts affiliation with AOL, Yahoo and a smattering of lesser providers. While the first two may carry some weight over the pond, in a Hotmail-dominated UK market I just can’t see companies trampling over each other to invest in this product.
Of course if the Goodmail marketing gurus are worth their salt, we could see a wave of interest in CertifiedEmail in the future. For now, one to watch.