List Armor

Amazon SES Integration

Automatically sync bounces and complaints from Amazon SES to your suppression lists via SNS notifications.

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Overview

The Amazon SES integration uses SNS (Simple Notification Service) to deliver bounce and complaint notifications to List Armor, automatically adding affected email addresses to your suppression lists.

Architecture: SES → SNS Topic → HTTPS Subscription → List Armor Webhook
Real-Time Sync

Events via SNS notifications

Native AWS

Uses standard SNS/SES flow

Auto-Suppress

Configurable event handling

Prerequisites

  • An AWS account with SES and SNS access
  • A verified SES identity (domain or email)
  • A List Armor campaign with at least one suppression list
  • IAM permissions to create SNS topics and subscriptions

Setup in List Armor

  1. Navigate to your campaign and click ESP Integrations
  2. Click Add Integration and select Amazon SES
  3. Choose the Target Suppression List where opt-outs will be added
  4. Configure which events to auto-suppress:
    • Hard bounces (recommended)
    • Spam complaints (recommended)
  5. Save the integration and copy the Webhook URL

Configure AWS

Step 1: Create SNS Topic

  1. Open the SNS Console
  2. Click Create topic
  3. Select Standard type
  4. Name it (e.g., ses-list-armor-notifications)
  5. Click Create topic

Step 2: Create HTTPS Subscription

  1. In your SNS topic, click Create subscription
  2. Protocol: HTTPS
  3. Endpoint: Paste your List Armor webhook URL
  4. Click Create subscription
  5. List Armor will automatically confirm the subscription

Step 3: Configure SES Notifications

  1. Open the SES Console
  2. Go to Identities and select your verified identity
  3. Click the Notifications tab
  4. For Bounce feedback, select your SNS topic
  5. For Complaint feedback, select your SNS topic
  6. Enable Include original headers (recommended)
  7. Save changes
Important: Configure notifications for each verified identity (domain/email) that sends mail.

Supported Events

SES Event List Armor Action Default
Bounce (Permanent) Add to suppression list Enabled
Bounce (Transient) Logged only (not suppressed) N/A
Complaint Add to suppression list Enabled
Note: Amazon SES does not send unsubscribe notifications. Use List Armor's preference center or opt-out pages for unsubscribe handling.

Testing

After configuring SNS and SES, verify the integration:

  1. Check that the SNS subscription shows as Confirmed
  2. Use the SES mailbox simulator to send to bounce@simulator.amazonses.com
  3. Check your List Armor integration for the Last webhook received timestamp
  4. Verify the bounced address appears in your suppression list
Simulator addresses:
• bounce@simulator.amazonses.com — Triggers a hard bounce
• complaint@simulator.amazonses.com — Triggers a complaint

Troubleshooting

  • Verify the webhook URL is correct
  • Check that the List Armor integration is saved and active
  • Delete the subscription and recreate it
  • Ensure no firewall is blocking SNS requests

  • Verify SNS topic is configured for the correct SES identity
  • Check that both bounce and complaint notifications are enabled
  • Ensure the sending identity matches the configured one
  • Check CloudWatch logs for SES delivery issues

  • Check that auto-suppress is enabled for the event type
  • Transient bounces are not suppressed by default
  • Verify the target suppression list is active

Need Help?

Having trouble with your Amazon SES integration? Our support team can help.

Contact Support