GlockApps CEO on the DTC Podcast: Real Email Metrics, Dedicated vs. Shared IPs & Apple Privacy Opens

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Our CEO, Alex Arnaut, recently joined the DTC Podcast with Jordan Gordon, Head of Email at Pilothouse, to chat about what’s really shaping email deliverability today. He shared valuable insights, expert opinions, great energy, and a special offer just for podcast listeners. So don’t miss out! Watch the full episode below to learn something new and grab a special deal to simplify your spam testing and improve your deliverability.

Highlights From the Conversation

To make it easier for you to figure out what’s inside, we’ve summarized the most important points of this conversation:

Why Real Engagement Matters More Than Ever

One big takeaway from the conversation: recency beats frequency when it comes to engagement metrics. In other words, it’s not just about sending often, it’s about getting people to interact with your emails recently.

Alex pointed out that replies now have a huge impact on deliverability, possibly just as important as those recent opens and clicks. His advice? Focus on getting replies as much as you focus on getting clicks. It’s one of the smartest moves to keep your sender reputation strong.

He also shared a useful tip: improving your Outlook deliverability can actually help lift your results across other email platforms too, giving your overall ROI a nice boost.

Why You Can’t Rely on Opens Anymore

With Apple Mail privacy features preloading emails (including tracking pixels) before users even open them, these privacy opens aren’t counted as true opens by inbox providers.

So, marketers can’t rely on pixel-based open rates for accurate engagement data anymore. Providers have their own ways of measuring real engagement, and they’re getting smarter about it.

Dedicated vs. Pooled IPs: What’s Best?

If you’re a B2B sender sending over 200,000 emails a month, Alex recommends moving to a dedicated IP. This gives you full control over your reputation, but also means you’re responsible for keeping that reputation strong. Unlike shared (or pooled) IPs, where your email provider helps protect and manage your reputation, a dedicated IP puts you fully in charge.

On the advantages, a dedicated IP address can give you higher performance potential if managed well. On the disadvantages, it can also drop lower if issues aren’t addressed quickly.

Alex also noted that while IP reputation still matters, inbox providers today look at the bigger picture, including your overall sender reputation and engagement, when deciding where your emails land.

What Shapes Your Sender Reputation Today

Alex explained that inbox providers have shifted how they judge senders. Spam traps have less impact if your lists are growing naturally and are well-maintained. Old-school spammy keywords no longer send your emails straight to spam, as Google and Microsoft have changed their approach.

Instead, the focus is now squarely on real engagement, especially replies. And of course, solid email authentication (like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) still plays a big role in protecting and boosting your reputation.

Who’s Winning at Deliverability?

Email service provider comparison based on GlockApps’ data:

• Mailgun does the best job of maintaining IP reputation, according to GlockApps data
• SendGrid also has good processes for maintaining its reputation
• Klaviyo and SparkPost received honorable mentions for deliverability·   HubSpot Mail is a “dark horse” with results close to Mailgun, but less historical data is available
• HubSpot Mail is a “dark horse” with results close to Mailgun, but less historical data is available

What’s New at GlockApps?

Alex shared updates on our growing toolkit from Inbox Insights and DMARC Analyzer to Uptime Monitor. Plus, we’ve added a new Google Postmaster integration with a better interface and instant alerts so that every email marketer can enjoy a much better experience.

Special Offer for DTC Podcast Listeners

Alex also brought a little bonus for DTC Podcast listeners and offered a special annual plan with 100 tests that’s not available on the website. Listeners can get this plan by writing “DTC” in the chat support or to sales representatives to get it!

Watch the Full Episode on YouTube

Alex covers even more on Outlook deliverability, reply rates, and why focusing on real engagement can boost your ROI. We highly recommend giving it a watch!

Find the full episode here: