Email in EmbedMyReviews falls into two buckets: transactional email and campaign email. That distinction matters because they behave differently, are billed differently, and solve different problems.
If you are running the platform as an agency, the practical question is not just can email send. It is which provider should send, whose domain should appear, and how to keep delivery strong as volume grows.
What emails the platform sends
Transactional email is the system layer. These messages are triggered by actions inside the platform and do not consume campaign email credits.
Campaign email is the review-request layer. These are the emails sent to customers asking them to leave a review, and these invites consume the customer plan email limit in normal agency-managed sending setups.
- Transactional emails include welcome emails, invitations, password resets, review alerts, approval requests, reports, contact form notifications, private feedback notifications, and other operational system messages
- Campaign emails are review request invites sent through campaigns and related invite workflows
Free built-in email vs BYOK
| Area | Free built-in email | BYOK provider |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Included with subscription | You pay the provider directly |
| Setup time | Very fast | Usually 10 to 30 minutes |
| Sender address | Always [email protected] | Your own sending address and domain |
| White-label depth | Partial | Full |
| Custom sending domains for customers | Not supported | Supported with API-based providers |
| Deliverability ownership | Shared reputation | Your own reputation |
| Tracking and webhook data | Not available | Available on most serious providers |
| Trial access | Not available during trial | Available during trial |
| Credits | Uses the customer plan email limit for campaign invites | Also uses the customer plan email limit for campaign invites in normal agency-managed sending setups |
The free service is fine for getting moving quickly. BYOK is the right choice when you want real white-label email, better deliverability control, and provider-level visibility. In both cases, campaign invites still respect the email limit you defined in the customer custom plan.
How email credits actually work
These are not separate platform-owned credits. They are the email invite limits you define inside your own customer custom plans.
In normal agency-managed sending setups, review request invites consume those plan email credits regardless of whether the message goes out through the free built-in service or through your own BYOK provider.
- 1 credit equals 1 review request invite email sent in a normal agency-managed sending flow
- Transactional emails are always free
- The most common reason an invite fails because of credits is that the assigned customer custom plan has run out of email limit
- These credits belong to the agency because the agency is the platform and controls the custom plans
- Plan-level email allowances are controlled in the custom plan builder
- The main exception is when the agency customer sends through their own connected Gmail or Outlook account from inside their own account. In that case campaign emails do not consume plan email credits.
| Plan tier | Monthly email credits | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 100 to 250 | Small businesses sending occasional invites |
| Growth | 500 to 1,000 | Active businesses running regular campaigns |
| Professional | 2,000 to 5,000 or unlimited | High-volume senders and agency-managed accounts |
The 3-tier provider priority system
When a campaign email is sent, the platform decides which sender to use through a built-in priority chain. That routing is automatic.
This routing decision is separate from custom-plan credits. In normal agency-managed sending, the invite still consumes the customer plan email limit no matter whether it is sent through your free service or your own BYOK provider.
- Tier 1: the customer's own Gmail or Outlook connection, if they have one
- Tier 2: an email provider assigned specifically to that customer organization
- Tier 3: your agency default email provider as the fallback
If Tier 1 is used and the customer is sending through their own connected Gmail or Outlook account, campaign emails do not consume plan email credits. That is the main exception agencies need to understand.
Letting customers connect their own Gmail or Outlook
This is one of the highest-trust email setups because the campaign can come directly from the customer's real mailbox. Open rates often improve because the sender already looks familiar to the recipient.
To allow it, go to `Business -> Billing & Revenue -> Plans`, edit the plan, open the `Features & Options` tab, find the `Campaigns` section, and enable `Email Provider`.
This is also the main email setup where campaign invites do not consume the customer plan email credits. The customer is effectively sending through their own mailbox.
- Customers then see a simplified email setup in their own settings
- The flow is intentionally simple: choose Gmail or Outlook, enter credentials or app password, then send a test email
- Gmail customers need 2-Step Verification enabled before creating an App Password
- Outlook customers may use their normal password or an App Password depending on their security setup
Warmup and sending reputation
EmbedMyReviews does not include a dedicated warmup tool, but warmup still matters if you are sending from a new domain or provider. Sending too much too quickly from a fresh sender is one of the fastest ways to hurt inbox placement.
The good news is that the platform already gives you throttling controls at provider setup level, so you can ramp volume gradually instead of blasting a cold sender.
- Always authenticate domains with SPF, DKIM, and ideally DMARC
- Keep the sender address consistent
- Do not send to purchased lists
- Use a subdomain such as reviews.yourdomain.com when you want to protect the main domain reputation
- Watch complaints closely and keep them extremely low
| Week | Daily volume | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 10 to 20 per day | Send to the most engaged contacts first |
| Week 2 | 30 to 50 per day | Expand carefully to previously engaged contacts |
| Week 3 | 75 to 150 per day | Broaden the list if bounce rates stay low |
| Week 4 | 200 to 500 per day | Scale if delivery quality stays healthy |
| Week 5 and beyond | Target volume | Keep monitoring deliverability and complaints |
How to choose the right provider
| Provider | Best for | Setup difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| EmbedMyReviews Free Email Service | Paid customers who want zero external setup and accept shared infrastructure | Very easy |
| SendGrid | Most agencies that want a strong balance of control and ease | Easy |
| Brevo | Budget-conscious agencies and EU-focused setups | Easy |
| Mailgun | Developer-led agencies that want more control | Moderate |
| Postmark | Teams that care heavily about deliverability quality | Moderate |
| Amazon SES | High-volume senders chasing the lowest cost per email | Advanced |
| Emailit | Agencies who want a simple low-cost provider without extra infrastructure | Easy |
| SMTP via Gmail or Outlook | Customer-level sending from their own mailbox | Very easy |
Where email settings live
- Agency provider settings live under `Platform -> Messaging -> Email`
- Customer email settings, when enabled on the plan, live under `Settings -> Email` inside the customer account
- Customers only see the simplified Gmail and Outlook flow, not the full agency provider panel