Understanding the SMTP Log

SMTP logs show the communication between the email sender we used for your message and the recipient's email server. Within JangoMail, you can view the SMTP log for every recipient of your campaign (including transactional messages if you are an SMTP user) after it has been completed (i.e., sent). 

The SMTP log will appear like so: 

 - 220+mx.google.com+ESMTP+g84si11519689ioj.33+-+gsmtp - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -
 EHLO xl33-a.jsmtp.net - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -
 - 250+mx.google.com+at+your+service,+[173.244.184.206] - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -
 MAIL+FROM <[e-mail]> - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -
 - 250+2.1.0+OK+g84si11519689ioj.33+-+gsmtp - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -
 RCPT+TO <[e-mail]> - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -
 - 250+2.1.5+OK+g84si11519689ioj.33+-+gsmtp - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -
 DATA - - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -
 - 354++Go+ahead+g84si11519689ioj.33+-+gsmtp - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -
 DCOMPLETE  - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -
 - 250+2.0.0+OK+1461783492+g84si11519689ioj.33+-+gsmtp - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -

But the question is this: what does all of this mean? How do I know if my message was successfully delivered? 

SMTP logs provide a wealth of information. When you want to confirm that the recipient server really did, in fact, accept your message for delivery, you can look for these indicators:

"DCOMPLETE"
"250 OK"

The "DCOMPLETE" indicates that we have successfully passed over the data of your message. The "250 OK" from the recipient server means, "We got this!" While the final line from the recipient server may provide more detailed technical data, "250" and "OK" are usually consistent to confirm successful delivery. 

Once the message has been accepted for delivery, it's in the hands of the receiving server to move it into your recipient's inbox. Make sure you're following best practices, watch and improve your spam score, and make sure to take advantage of personalization to achieve the most success!