Ten top features which businesses should expect from their email service provider or ESP have been named by StreamSend, a provider of email marketing software.

In a release, Dan Forootan, president, email marketing, StreamSend said, "Businesses have learned that permission-based email marketing is an effective way for their organization to sell to known prospects, send out an email newsletter, and build customer loyalty. They have also discovered the need for an ESP because their regular internet service provider is not designed for - and sometimes prohibits - bulk mailing. Here are ten key features they should look for in an ESP to help them execute professional, organized email marketing campaigns."

Businesses should determine if they need a private IP address. Businesses may not want to share an IP address with other customers at the ESP, if their email volume is large.

Businesses should be offered both online and phone customer support and training by their ESP. Businesses should also ensure that their ESP has a robust infrastructure and redundant locations. If not, the valuable prospects and customers reading your emails won't be able to click through if the ESP servers go down.

A variety of user-friendly reports should be offered by the ESP. These include reports related to deliverability success, open-rates, and click-through rates. Businesses should also ensure that the ESP has CAN SPAM compliance.

Businesses should be allowed to segment lists by demographic and other criteria by their ESP. Successful marketing campaigns are ensured when the business can target subset of their list with relevant content.

ESP should allow the businesses to be able to design their own HTML email templates. Practical advice on readability and reader responsiveness should be provided by the ESP. The necessary testing to make sure the emails work across all email platforms should also be provided.

Along with a free trial by the ESP, the businesses should also ensure that there is no term contract. This will ensure that the businesses will be able to terminate the services in case of dissatisfaction. ESPs usually charge some fee as they host the email list on their servers. Businesses should therefore choose a pricing structure that fits their needs.