I recently went through the approval process for AWS SES to help a client send marketing emails to their subscribers. They have about 1,000 clients who agreed to receive newsletters—just around five messages a year totaling 5,000 emails. Their website clearly explains their business, so I thought my explanation for the approval request was sufficient. However, I received a rejection without any explanation.
In a different attempt, I applied for AWS SES for my own company, but I marked it as transactional and fabricated a scenario to justify the need for it, even referencing a basic landing page that's still under development. Surprisingly, I was approved right away with a limit of 50,000 emails per day. This raises some questions about the approval process—it seems inconsistent and confusing when my request was accepted and my client's was not.
6 Answers
Remember, AWS takes their email reputation very seriously. If a few bad clients harm their IP reputation, it affects all their users. That's why the vetting is strict and sometimes seems arbitrary. A long billing history really helps show that you're trustworthy to them.
I feel your pain! I had a similar experience. I submitted a detailed request explaining everything, even mentioning bounce/reject management, and I just got another form letter rejection. After begging for clarification, I eventually let the ticket go. But after I rated my support experience poorly, they surprisingly lifted me out of sandbox mode within half an hour! Seems like triggering a response is sometimes about how you market yourself to support.
It's kinda silly, but I guess that’s how the system works.
Frankly, if AWS SES is proving to be a hassle, it might be worth looking at alternatives like Mailgun or SendGrid. How did your client gather their emails? If they used a web form, make sure they had a double opt-in process. That could make a big difference in gaining approval.
I let a colleague submit an SES request for me recently, and it was approved almost immediately. Maybe it’s about who’s making the request? If you’re using an unfinished site and making reasonable claims, they may have more faith in you being legitimate.
What limits did you set? I’d love to know more about your scenario!
It's frustrating, but I think it all comes down to how you formulate your requests. AWS has odd inconsistencies with approvals. I have noticed that they seem to favor transactional emails over marketing ones, which have higher spam rates. They really examine the credibility of the account and the type of emails you’re planning to send.
Been there, done that. I eventually switched to another SMTP provider after too many headaches with SES.
Interesting approach! Sounds like they take feedback seriously.