How do open rates and send rate throttling behave during a new subdomain warmup?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Litmus shares that open rates will naturally be higher when you initially start as you're only sending to the most engaged segment of your list. Over time, these should normalise and you need to send high quality and engaging content to keep them up.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that as you introduce new IPs or subdomains, mailbox providers will be carefully watching your sending behavior, and it takes time to build up a positive sending reputation. Don't rush the process and always monitor metrics and feedback loops.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if the total Gmail audience is less than 5,000 per day, throttling may not be necessary unless Google Postmaster Tools indicates a problem. He recommends doubling the volume weekly after starting the warmup process.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that initially, send only to your most engaged subscribers. Open rates are likely to be higher during the early stages of your warmup. Increase the sending volume gradually, keeping a close eye on your deliverability metrics. Gradually increase your sending speed, while monitoring feedback loops and block lists. Don't start with your full sending speed immediately.
Email marketer from Gmass explains that email addresses should be warmed up similarly to IP Addresses and subdomains. You can do this by sending to engaged lists and asking them to reply to the email. They will need to be sent slowly to improve reputation.
Email marketer from Reddit advises to start with very low volumes and gradually increase them over several weeks. Open rates will likely be higher initially due to sending to your most engaged users. Monitor sender reputation and adjust throttling as needed.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that the length of the warm-up is dependent on the size of your list and current reputation. If you are coming from a shared IP and had poor sending history, warming will take longer.
Email marketer from StackOverflow shared that it's vital to monitor bounces and complaints closely. High bounce rates or complaint rates indicate deliverability problems that need immediate attention. Adjust your sending practices based on this feedback.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that metrics tend to decline during subdomain warmup as lower engagement recipients are introduced. He advises that send rate should be managed per mailbox provider, increasing until SMTP responses show problems, then dialing it down for just that vendor. He believes this granular approach achieves the best and fastest warmup.
Email marketer from SendGrid responds that send rate throttling needs to happen at the start to protect your IP reputation. As you warm up your IP, you can reduce the throttling slowly, until there is none. You should start by only sending to highly engaged users so that the mailbox providers see you as a trusted sender.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that during IP Warmup, the recipient engagement is the most important factor. Send to your most engaged recipients and use rate throttling to allow the mailbox providers to learn your sending patterns. Focus on quality content so the recipients mark as important.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that with new IPs/Subdomains, it is important to follow best practices for warming as the mailbox providers are carefully watching the sender. Be careful to monitor feedback loops and domain reputation to ensure a good sending reputation.
What the documentation says6Technical articles
Documentation from Google explains that using Google Postmaster Tools, you will be able to see your spam rate and IP reputation. These should both be monitored when warming up an IP or Subdomain and if either goes into the red, you should reduce your volume and increase throttling.
Documentation from ReturnPath explains the importance of sender reputation, as it directly influences the likelihood of your emails reaching the inbox. By following best practices during the warm-up process, you protect your reputation and increase the chances of successful delivery.
Documentation from RFC details the standards of SMTP - which should be adhered to for best results. This will reduce the chances of your emails being flagged as spam. Sending too many emails at once could be marked as spam.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that during IP warmup, open rates are initially high as you are sending to your most engaged users. As you gradually increase volume, open rates may stabilize or slightly decrease as you reach a broader audience with varying engagement levels. Rate throttling should start conservatively and gradually increase over time, monitoring for deliverability issues.
Documentation from AWS shares that when you first start sending emails from your new AWS account, your account has sending limits. If you exceed these, your emails could be blocked and your account reputation is damaged. Gradually increase sending and monitor reputation as part of the warming process.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that rate limits are applied to prevent abusive behavior and maintain system performance. During warmup, be mindful of these limits and gradually increase sending volume to avoid triggering them. Monitor your sender reputation in Microsoft's SNDS program.