Clubspot uses Amazon SES (simple email service) for delivering your bulk messages that you draft and send through the system such as your transactional messages like online receipts, registration confirmations, and statements. Amazon will provides of messages depending on the response they get back from the recipient’s mail server. Clubspot displays this detail in the Clubspot Platofrm to help track the messages sent from the system. This article explains what those statuses are and how to troubleshoot any emails that members may not have found in their inboxes.

Status Quick Reference:

• Delivered → Accepted by recipient’s mail server.
• Bounced → Couldn’t be delivered.
• Suppressed → Email was not sent as a result of prior bounces or complaints, or unsubscribes.
• Complaint → User reported as spam.
• Skipped → Email was not attempted by Clubspot. (specific to statements)
• Opened → Recipient’s email client opened the email.
• Clicked → Recipient clicked a tracked link. (Statement links are tracked)

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Detailed Status Reference

1. Delivered

• Definition: The receiving mail server (SMTP endpoint) accepted the email from Clubspot via Amazon SES.
• Key Point: The sender’s job is done here. Acceptance by the recipient’s server doesn’t guarantee inbox placement though it could still land in spam or be filtered/dropped afterward.

2. Bounced

A permanent or temporary failure to deliver the email. Bounces are categorized into:

• Hard Bounce
  • Definition: Permanent failure. Recipient’s email address is invalid, domain doesn’t exist, or the server has blocked delivery permanently.
  • Effect: Clubspot automatically places the address on its suppression list.
• Soft Bounce
  • Definition: Temporary issue. Mailbox full, temporary server error, greylisting, or connection timeout.
  • Effect: Clubspot may retry for a period. If repeated, it may turn into a hard bounce and the address will be added to the suppression list.

3. Suppressed

• Definition: An email was blocked as a result of the recipient address being on the suppression list
• Effect: Email never was attempted

4. Complaint

• Definition: The recipient marked the email as spam/junk (via their mail client, e.g., clicking “Report Spam”).
• Source: Clubspot, via Amazon SES receives this feedback via ISP/ESP feedback loops.
• Effect: Address is added to the suppression list, and sending reputation can be impacted.

5. Skipped

• Definition: Specific to statements, Clubspot did not attempt the statement send (often for the case that there was no balance due).