{"id":3814,"date":"2026-01-24T13:24:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T12:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/?p=3814"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:43:10","slug":"smtp-imap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/smtp-imap\/","title":{"rendered":"SMTP &#038; IMAP: What Is It? How Does It Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/glossary\/pop-post-office-protocol\/\"><span id=\"urn:enhancement-b2bd7a52\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">SMTP<\/span> &amp;\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-144683a1\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">IMAP<\/span><\/a> are the two main protocols that allow you to send and receive <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5fb0262b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span>. Why am I even writing about this? Well, sometimes we take crucial things for granted. We use them every day and don&#8217;t ever think about how they work. I believe that this is one of such things. And I think\u00a0that it&#8217;s\u00a0worth understanding how sending your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-88361bfb\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span> works, especially if you send a lot of them as a part of your job.<\/p>\n<p>This will also allow you to understand better how <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fd14fa70\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> automation systems work, and how sales <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7e253003\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> automation systems, such as Woodpecker, <a href=\"\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/cold-email\/cold-email-vs-newsletter\/\u201d\" target=\"\u201d_blank\u201d\" rel=\"\u201dnoopener\u201d noopener\">differ from <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f9037e78\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> marketing<\/a> systems, like MailChimp or GetResponse. Read on to learn more about how <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c75a4be2\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">SMTP<\/span> and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ba7e417d\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">IMAP<\/span> work for\u00a0your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-37444f53\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email, or watch the video:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NHRxVz0jnsU\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n<aside \n    class=\"tip-block tip-block--yellow\" \n    \n>\n    <div class=\"tip-block__content\">\n        <p>To learn more about deliverability and other important email mechanisms that are called long fancy names which need abbreviations, make sure to check also:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/spf-dkim\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What is SPF &#038; DKIM? And Why You Want to Have It Set Up >><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/dmarc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DMARC: What Every Email Sender Should Know >><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/cold-email\/boost-cold-email-deliverability\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Can We Do to Boost Our Cold Email Deliverability? >><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/cold-email\/deliverability-faq\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">8 Answers to Frequently Asked Email Deliverability Questions >><\/a><\/p>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/aside><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"smtp\">What is SMTP? How does it work?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>S<\/strong>imple <strong>M<\/strong>essage <strong>T<\/strong>ransfer <strong>P<\/strong>rotocol (<span id=\"urn:enhancement-fb72161f\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">SMTP<\/span>) is<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> what your email client (e.g. Gmail, Thunderbird, Outlook, etc.) uses to send your email messages to your email server. The email server is often\u00a0hosted by your email service provider, for instance Google, but it can be also hosted by your Internet service provider (most often by\u00a0the same one that hosts your domain).\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b3867de\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">SMTP<\/span> is also used by the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4cb272cd\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> server to send your message to the mailbox of your recipient\u2019s <span id=\"urn:enhancement-efda790a\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> server. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What is IMAP? How does it work?<\/h2>\n<p>Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is then used by the recipient&#8217;s email client to fetch your message from the email server and put it in their inbox.<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3825 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2017\/08\/10.08.2017-SMTP_i_IMAP-general-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"652\" height=\"596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2017\/08\/10.08.2017-SMTP_i_IMAP-general-3.png 652w, https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2017\/08\/10.08.2017-SMTP_i_IMAP-general-3-300x274.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 652px) 100vw, 652px\" \/>\n<h2>Why is it good to know that?<\/h2>\n<p>We\u00a0use <span id=\"urn:enhancement-39c32358\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> every day. According to a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.radicati.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Email-Statistics-Report-2015-2019-Executive-Summary.pdf\">Radicati&#8217;s report<\/a>, the number of business <span id=\"urn:enhancement-28ae7562\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span> sent per day in 2017 is estimated at\u00a0120.4 billion. Every\u00a0day! What&#8217;s interesting, the total daily number of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-638dd6f2\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span> sent worldwide is estimated\u00a0at 225.3 billion. That means over a half of all <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d675d48d\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> messages sent daily are actually business <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7f9f0ef5\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>This technology still grows despite the onset of other means of communication online, like social media, chats, video chats, live streaming, and so on. That means people keep using it, even if\u00a0they start using new ways of communication.<\/p>\n<p>You definitely want your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c607c908\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span> to be smoothly sent and safely delivered to their\u00a0destinations <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013<\/span> especially if they are business <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b1afa98b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span>. Once you understand the mechanisms that are used to send and receive <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5a808a4b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span>, you will be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>take control over the process of your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-aa20b972\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> delivery,<\/li>\n<li>better understand the mechanisms that affect your <a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/cold-email\/boost-cold-email-deliverability\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">email deliverability<\/a>,<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/deliverability-checks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">improve your deliverability<\/a> and the engagement of your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-32ba7470\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> recipients,<\/li>\n<li>and as a result, get more replies from interested prospects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And\u00a0those are the\u00a0reasons behind this post.<br \/>\n\n<aside class=\"cta-block cta-block--a-version js-cta-block ab-no-10-cta-block ab-no-11-cta-block\">\n  <p class=\"cta-block__heading u-heading-preset-md-600\">Send emails that land<br \/>\nin the main inbox<\/p>\n  <div class=\"cta-block__form-container\">\n    <form class=\"js-cta-block-form\" action=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/signup\/\" class=\"cta-block__button-only-form js-cta-block-no-input-form\">\n      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<button class=\"c-button js-button c-button--color-main c-button--size-small u-focus-visible-outline\">\nTry Woodpecker\n<\/button>    <\/form>\n    \n    <form class=\"c-input-button-form js-cta-block-form cta-block__form\" action=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/signup\/\" method=\"POST\" novalidate>\n        \n  <div class=\"c-form-field js-form-field  c-input-button-form__form-field\">\n    \n    <label class=\"c-label c-form-field__label\" for=\"cta-block-form-email-2052195495\">Work email<\/label>\n\n                    \n  <input class=\"c-input  js-input c-input-button-form__input\" placeholder=\"will@woodpecker.co\" name=\"email\" id=\"cta-block-form-email-2052195495\" type=\"email\" \/>\n            \n    <span class=\"c-form-field__error js-error\">\n                                      Invalid email format\n        \n\n                <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"c-input-button-form__button\">\n          \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<button class=\"cta-block__button c-button js-button c-button--color-main c-button--size-small u-focus-visible-outline\">\n                Try Woodpecker\n        \n\n<\/button>        <\/div>\n\n            <\/form>\n  <\/div>\n<\/aside><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"automation\">SMTP &amp; email automation<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re using <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4e9a06bd\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> at work, there&#8217;s a high probability that you&#8217;re also using some kind of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-43c5aa88\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> automation. You may be, for instance, sending marketing <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c9db282e\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span> or newsletters using a marketing automation tool like MailChimp, FreshMail, or GetResponse. Or you may use <span id=\"urn:enhancement-23ccd68\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">sales<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-77d804e9\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> automation for <a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/how-to-write-a-cold-email-that-actually-works-six-step-tutorial\/\">cold <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e882845d\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span><\/a> sequences, using <a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Woodpecker<\/a> or similar tools.<\/p>\n<p>Now, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a1afabca\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> marketing tools and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-11eb9b2b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">sales<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1c5d4b3a\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> automation tools differ in terms of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-79cf0c85\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">SMTP<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013<\/span> that is, in terms of how they actually send your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1f0e1e45\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span>. And I really want you to know the difference because this will allow you to understand why you should use the right type of a tool for sending a specific type of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b68375bd\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> campaigns.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"how\">How does an email marketing tool send your emails?<\/h3>\n<p>First of all, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-297c8295\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> marketing tools, like MailChimp, host their own <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9d632761\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">SMTP<\/span> servers. That means, your marketing <span id=\"urn:enhancement-aec73d7\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> campaigns won&#8217;t really get sent from your regular <span id=\"urn:enhancement-facee8b7\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> server. Your addressee will see your address as the sender of the message, but the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-48c6bf0b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> won&#8217;t be sent from your mailbox.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, because <span id=\"urn:enhancement-510cc5ae\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> marketing tools use\u00a0many servers for sending a lot of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-477c2d2c\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> at once, your messages will be sent very quickly, even if there&#8217;s a lot of them scheduled to be sent.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-72d96a1f\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> marketing tools, like MailChimp,\u00a0were designed to send newsletters, info about promotions, and updates. That is why the messages sent by those tools will get into the <em>Promotion<\/em>s or <em>Updates<\/em> folders of your receivers&#8217; inboxes.<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3828 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2017\/08\/10.08.2017-SMTP_i_IMAP-mailchimp7.png\" alt=\"SMTP-IMAP-mailchimp\" width=\"652\" height=\"596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2017\/08\/10.08.2017-SMTP_i_IMAP-mailchimp7.png 652w, https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2017\/08\/10.08.2017-SMTP_i_IMAP-mailchimp7-300x274.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 652px) 100vw, 652px\" \/>\n<p>Plus, even if you use a\u00a0drip campaign option to send some follow-ups, your prospects&#8217; replies won&#8217;t get detected, so the following messages will be sent to them even if they respond to one of your previous <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3071733d\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span>. And that&#8217;s a real bummer.<\/p>\n<h3>Why not\u00a0use email marketing tools to send cold emails?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If your plan is to send an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e4905231\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> with a beautiful HTML template, promoting your new service, or encouraging people to click a link to your new landing page, and you want to send it quickly to hundreds or thousands of subscribers (people who&#8217;ve previously opted in to get info via <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c23a8e0f\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> from you), you should go for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d3479496\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> marketing tools like <a href=\"https:\/\/mailchimp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MailChimp<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/convertkit.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ConvertKit<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/freshmail.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FreshMail<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ok, but why can&#8217;t I send <a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/how-to-write-a-cold-email-that-actually-works-six-step-tutorial\/\">cold <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f552e0ac\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span><\/a> using these tools?&#8221; <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013<\/span> if this question has just come to your mind, here are two convincing answers: 1.) Email marketing tools are <em>not<\/em> designed to send cold <span id=\"urn:enhancement-78a4a864\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span>, and most of them <em>do not allow<\/em> this kind of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a8d00e3e\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> delivery in their terms of use. 2.) Even if you try sending your cold <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5b0befdf\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span> this way, and you won&#8217;t get caught, your cold <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f99a3ae8\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span> will get to the <em>Promotions<\/em> or <em>Updates<\/em> tabs, where your prospects are less likely to open or read them,\u00a0not least reply to them.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"woodpecker\">How does Woodpecker\u00a0send your emails?<\/h3>\n<p>In terms of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-949199ad\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">SMTP<\/span>, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8ae276dd\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\">Woodpecker<\/span> is more similar to an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9c0f9050\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> client than to a marketing automation tool. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1e492323\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\">Woodpecker<\/span> will actually use your own <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6ffa5655\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">SMTP<\/span> on your regular <span id=\"urn:enhancement-147922c0\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span>\u00a0server to send the messages. So the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fa34dcbb\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">emails<\/span> will be actually sent from your own mailbox.<\/p>\n<p>That means you won&#8217;t be able to send hundreds or thousands of messages over a very short time period. Actually, you won&#8217;t be able to send even two messages at the very same moment. Your messages will be sent one by one, and sending a campaign to 40 people will actually take at least an hour (but it may take even more, depending on your delivery time settings).<\/p>\n<p>As a result, your messages will be delivered straight to the Primary tab of your prospect&#8217;s mailbox. In there, they&#8217;ll be most likely to opened, read, and responded to.<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3827 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2017\/08\/10.08.2017-SMTP_i_IMAP-woodpecker3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"652\" height=\"596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2017\/08\/10.08.2017-SMTP_i_IMAP-woodpecker3.png 652w, https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2017\/08\/10.08.2017-SMTP_i_IMAP-woodpecker3-300x274.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 652px) 100vw, 652px\" \/>\n<p>And once the prospects respond, <a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/features\/followup-automation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Woodpecker will detect that<\/a> and stop the automatic follow-up sequence, so that they don&#8217;t get any messages they aren&#8217;t supposed to get. That&#8217;s why sending cold <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4acd2c3e\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> campaigns from <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c30c869c\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\">Woodpecker<\/span>, or other similar tools designed for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b3cda361\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">sales<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f326169\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> automation, is actually more effective and safer.<br \/>\n\n<aside class=\"cta-block cta-block--a-version js-cta-block ab-no-10-cta-block ab-no-11-cta-block\">\n  <p class=\"cta-block__heading u-heading-preset-md-600\">Deliver results<br \/>\nwith cold emails<\/p>\n  <div class=\"cta-block__form-container\">\n    <form class=\"js-cta-block-form\" action=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/signup\/\" class=\"cta-block__button-only-form js-cta-block-no-input-form\">\n      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<button class=\"c-button js-button c-button--color-main c-button--size-small u-focus-visible-outline\">\nTry Woodpecker\n<\/button>    <\/form>\n    \n    <form class=\"c-input-button-form js-cta-block-form cta-block__form\" action=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/signup\/\" method=\"POST\" novalidate>\n        \n  <div class=\"c-form-field js-form-field  c-input-button-form__form-field\">\n    \n    <label class=\"c-label c-form-field__label\" for=\"cta-block-form-email-612157088\">Work email<\/label>\n\n                    \n  <input class=\"c-input  js-input c-input-button-form__input\" placeholder=\"will@woodpecker.co\" name=\"email\" id=\"cta-block-form-email-612157088\" type=\"email\" \/>\n            \n    <span class=\"c-form-field__error js-error\">\n                                      Invalid email format\n        \n\n                <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"c-input-button-form__button\">\n          \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<button class=\"cta-block__button c-button js-button c-button--color-main c-button--size-small u-focus-visible-outline\">\n                Try Woodpecker\n        \n\n<\/button>        <\/div>\n\n            <\/form>\n  <\/div>\n<\/aside><\/p>\n<h3>Can I use a sales email automation tool to send a newsletter too?<\/h3>\n<p>If you plan to send a <a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/build-saas-user-onboarding-email-sequence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cold <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8baeed79\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> sequence<\/a> to people who haven&#8217;t subscribed to any of your lists and don&#8217;t know you yet, use a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ec876458\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">sales<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3affdd65\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\">email<\/span> automation tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Woodpecker<\/a>. This will allow you to get to the prospects&#8217; primary inboxes and make sure that they don&#8217;t get any unnecessary automated follow-ups.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ok, so can I use Woodpecker to send my newsletters as well? I want my subscribers to notice them, open them, and engage with them!&#8221; <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 if you couldn&#8217;t stop this question from popping up in your mind, here&#8217;s an answer: <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I wouldn&#8217;t use Woodpecker to send newsletters if I were you. First of all, I couldn&#8217;t send all of the planned marketing messages at the right time. Secondly, I couldn&#8217;t use any HTML\u00a0templates to style the message. Third of all, I wouldn&#8217;t like my subsequent messages stopped from being sent in a case when someone replies to my newsletter (and that happens to me regularly).<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>How about an external SMTP?<\/h3>\n<p>External SMTP might work for you in some cases. For example, when you need to send an occasional high-frequency campaign, or when you&#8217;ve done everything by the book but still your deliverability suffers, and you think there might be an issue with your IP reputation.<\/p>\n<p>In most cases, though, you don&#8217;t really need it. It is an additional cost, plus you need to take care of the advanced domain and DNS server configuration. Usually, your email service provider&#8217;s SMTP should be enough.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to see if external SMTP service could be useful for you, <a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/cold-email\/smtp-cold-emails\/\">check out our previous post<\/a> that describes\u00a0it\u00a0in more detail.<\/p>\n<p>Sendgrid and Mailgun are two examples of email providers that offer external SMTP service. Keep in mind, though, that they provide only an SMTP service, not IMAP.<\/p>\n<p>See how to <a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/cold-email\/mailgun-sendgrid\/\">connect external SMTP from Mailgun and Sendgrid to Woodpecker<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><b>SMTP and IMAP in the context of cold email tools<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding SMTP and IMAP matters more if you&#8217;re connecting a non-Gmail, non-Outlook account to a cold email tool. Native OAuth integrations (like Woodpecker&#8217;s direct Gmail and Outlook connections) handle the protocol layer for you. But if you&#8217;re using a custom email host or a less common provider, you&#8217;ll configure the SMTP and IMAP settings manually.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For cold outreach, a few practical points worth knowing:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SMTP is the sending protocol. When you set up a custom mailbox in Woodpecker using &#8220;Other email provider,&#8221; you&#8217;ll enter your SMTP server address and credentials. This tells the tool where to route your outgoing emails. If your SMTP settings are wrong, your emails won&#8217;t send \u2013 or will fail silently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IMAP is the receiving protocol. It&#8217;s what allows Woodpecker (or any email tool) to detect when a prospect replies, so the automated sequence can stop. Without a properly configured IMAP connection, reply detection breaks \u2013 your campaign continues sending after a prospect responds, which is exactly the kind of mistake that gets you flagged as spam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One configuration worth double-checking if you&#8217;re on a custom host: make sure IMAP is enabled on your email account. Some providers have it disabled by default, especially on business plans. Without it, your reply detection won&#8217;t work regardless of how well the rest of your campaign is set up.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Why is it important to understand how email works?<\/h2>\n<p>SMTP is used to send your messages. IMAP is used so you could receive them in your email client. Email is still a widely popular technology, especially in business environments \u2013 that&#8217;s why it&#8217;s important to understand how it works, at least in general.<\/p>\n<p>Email marketing tools \u2013 designed to send newsletters, and sales automation tools \u2013 designed for sales email outreach, send your emails in a significantly different way. That&#8217;s why it&#8217;s crucial to use the right type of a tool for the right type of email delivery.<\/p>\n<p>I hope this post clarified some of the technicalities of the email sending process, and that it will help you choose the right tools for sending various kinds of your business emails.<\/p>\n<p>If you have 3 more minutes, read on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/cold-email\/cold-email-vs-newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Difference Between Cold Emails and Marketing Emails &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>FAQs<\/h2>\n<h3>What is the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) and how does it work?<\/h3>\n<p>The Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) allows email clients to access and manage emails stored on a remote server. IMAP stores emails on the server, enabling users to view and organize their emails across multiple devices with an active internet connection.<\/p>\n<h3>How does the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) facilitate email sending?<\/h3>\n<p>The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is used to send emails from the sender&#8217;s email client to the receiver&#8217;s mail server. The SMTP client connects to the SMTP server to transfer the message, which is then relayed to the recipient&#8217;s mail server using a mail transfer agent.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the difference between IMAP and POP3?<\/h3>\n<p>IMAP stores emails on a remote server, allowing users to access and manage their emails from multiple devices. In contrast, the Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3) downloads emails from the server to a single device and deletes them from the server, making it less suitable for use on multiple devices.<\/p>\n<h3>How does an email client retrieve messages using the IMAP protocol?<\/h3>\n<p>An email client retrieves messages using the IMAP protocol by connecting to the IMAP server. The client can then access, read, and organize emails directly on the server, allowing synchronization across multiple devices.<\/p>\n<h3>What role does an SMTP server play in email communication?<\/h3>\n<p>An SMTP server is responsible for sending and relaying outgoing emails from the sender&#8217;s email client to the recipient&#8217;s mail server. It ensures that the email is correctly routed and delivered to the recipient&#8217;s mailbox.<\/p>\n<h3>How do email clients like Apple Mail support multiple devices?<\/h3>\n<p>Email clients like Apple Mail support multiple devices by using the IMAP protocol. This allows users to synchronize their email accounts across various devices, ensuring that any changes made on one device are reflected on others.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3), and how is it different from IMAP?<\/h3>\n<p>The Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3) downloads emails from a remote server to a single device and then typically deletes the emails from the server. Unlike IMAP, which stores emails on the server and supports multiple devices, POP3 is intended for use on a single device.<\/p>\n<h3>How does an email client connect to a remote server using email protocols?<\/h3>\n<p>An email client connects to a remote server using email protocols like IMAP, POP3, and SMTP. IMAP and POP3 are used for retrieving emails, while SMTP is used for sending emails. The client communicates with the corresponding server to manage and transfer emails.<\/p>\n<h3>Why is the SMTP protocol important for sending emails?<\/h3>\n<p>The SMTP protocol is important for sending emails because it defines how emails are transmitted from the sender&#8217;s email client to the recipient&#8217;s mail server. It ensures that emails are correctly routed and delivered, enabling reliable email communication.<\/p>\n<h3>How do email protocols like IMAP and POP3 enhance email accessibility?<\/h3>\n<p>Email protocols like IMAP and POP3 enhance email accessibility by providing different methods for retrieving emails. IMAP allows for synchronized access across multiple devices, while POP3 is designed for downloading emails to a single device. Both protocols ensure that users can access their emails as needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SMTP &#038;\u00a0IMAP are the two main protocols that allow you to send and receive emails. Why am I even writing about this? Well, sometimes we take crucial things for granted. We use them every day and don&#8217;t ever think about how they work. I believe that this is one of such things. And I think\u00a0that it&#8217;s\u00a0worth understanding how sending your emails works, especially if you send a lot of them as a part of your job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":9213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.11 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>SMTP &amp; IMAP for Dummies: What Is It? How Does It Work?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SMTP &amp; IMAP are the two main protocols that allow you to send and receive emails. 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