Deliverability is an increasingly problematic issue for smaller companies, in their efforts to continue marketing their client base. The cause is the absense of email neutrality.

Net neutrality fights for all internet users and web servers to be equal in the eyes of the web. Email traffic has had a similar fight but neutrality has been lost totally. Spam has forced several tiers of email senders onto the internet infrastructure. The latest tier has been added by Goodmail, another email accrediation provider Goodmail Adds 15 ESP Partners

Goodmail, the e-mail accreditation provider generating controversy through its partnership with AOL, has signed up 15 new e-mail service providers to implement its CertifiedEmail service, including BlueStreak, Acxiom Digital, e-Dialog, Epsilon Interactive, ExactTarget, Harte-Hanks Postfuture, Responsys, Yesmail and Zustek.

On the receiving side, besides AOL, Goodmail is expected to be implemented soon by Yahoo, though no details have been shared.

The reputation space is wide open, with differing methodologies competing to see which can gain ground. Goodmail's per-message fees strike some as the equivalent of e-mail postage, and has legislators and special interest groups whipped into a frenzy.

Other reputation providers, like Habeas and Return Path, take a more services-based approach, helping providers improve their sending practices instead of paying to send mail.

Which one of these methods will work best? Or will each find its own niche? Let me know what you think in the comments, or drop me a line at kevin-at-clickz-dot-com.

Nowadays large corporate marketing departments can buy good delivery of their mailing lists, whereas smaller company mailing lists do not get through.