How do you migrate an email sending domain from one platform to another?
Summary
What email marketers say15Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Geeks says that they do not encourage to delegate their subdomains and that DNS plays a critical role in security, and delegating a part of it is convenient, but might be dangerous. He suggests contacting them and tell them you want a double-run.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that you can choose to switch MX the day you start with provider B, or the day you start sending more emails with B than with A, or the day you stop sending with A entirely and that it depends on your plan, and he's not sure there's a perfect solution for that.
Email marketer from Email on Acid Blog explains you should segment your email list and migrate in batches. Start with your most engaged subscribers and gradually add more segments. This allows you to monitor deliverability and engagement as you migrate.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog responds that when migrating to a new email platform, you often get new IP addresses. He suggests gradually increasing your sending volume to warm up these IPs, establishing a positive sender reputation with ISPs and ensuring higher deliverability.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign blog explains that it's important to have a rollback plan in case something goes wrong during the migration process. This allows you to quickly revert to your old email platform if needed, minimizing any disruption to your email marketing efforts.
Email marketer from Sendinblue's Blog shares that it's essential to monitor email deliverability metrics like bounce rates, spam complaints, and open rates during and after migration. This helps identify and address any issues that may arise due to the change in platform.
Email marketer from Email Geeks agrees that an entirely new domain can create a break in brand continuity and should be avoided if possible. He also mentions that a good sender reputation for the original domain would be lost.
Email marketer from Reddit answers that using a subdomain for email sending can help protect your primary domain's reputation. When migrating, set up the subdomain in the new platform and gradually switch sending from the old to the new.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow responds that you should export your email templates from the old platform and import them into the new one. Ensure that all the dynamic content and personalization tags are correctly mapped and tested to avoid any display issues.
Email marketer from Digital Marketing Forum shares that regularly review your email authentication settings (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to ensure they are correctly configured and up to date. This helps maintain a positive sender reputation and prevent deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Mailchimp shares that to inform your subscribers about the migration and encourage them to add your new sending domain to their address book. This can help improve engagement and deliverability.
Email marketer from Litmus blog answers that before fully migrating, test your emails in the new platform to ensure they render correctly across different email clients and devices. Use tools like Litmus or Email on Acid to preview and fix any rendering issues.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares you can setup the same sub-domain to be used for both providers; the only limitation is that the MX record has to point to one place only, so if it currently points to provider A, you'll have to switch to provide B at some point in the process.
Email marketer from Gmass blog shares, If you plan to send large volumes of email, consider using multiple IP addresses to distribute your sending volume. This can help prevent any single IP from being flagged as spam and improve deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that switching is rarely helpful for long I terms of deliverability though it does provide separation protecting the organizational domain to contain damage, and that you’d never cancel the old one unless and until fully established with new one.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that creating a new domain causes more consumer confusion and can train them to be phish victims, so she generally doesn’t recommend it. She prefers to use subdomains when migrating.
Expert from Email Geeks explains you’ll also need to do a piece of subdomain warming, not as much, but Google does look at IP / domain combo.
Expert from wordtothewise.com explains that when migrating, it's crucial to migrate your sender reputation by warming up your new IP address and monitoring deliverability metrics. Your existing sending history is valuable and should be leveraged to ensure a smooth transition.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that careful planning is vital when migrating an email domain. This includes assessing your current setup, identifying all necessary DNS changes, and creating a detailed migration timeline to minimize disruptions.
Expert from Email Geeks explains there's no reason you can't have different return paths at two different providers, while using the same domain in the From: header, simultaneously. The only customer visible domains that have to change are the tracking links, and they're only _marginally_ customer visible.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from AWS explains that carefully updating DNS records is crucial for a smooth migration. Ensure that all the necessary records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX) are correctly configured in the new platform's DNS settings. Incorrect DNS settings can lead to deliverability issues.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that you should update your domain's SPF records to include the sending IP addresses or domain names of the new email platform to authorize it to send emails on behalf of your domain. This helps prevent your emails from being marked as spam.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that DMARC policies help control what happens to emails that fail SPF and DKIM checks. Setting up a DMARC policy tells receiving mail servers how to handle unauthenticated emails, either by quarantining or rejecting them, which helps protect your domain from spoofing and phishing.
Documentation from Mailjet explains that you need to generate DKIM records in your new email platform and add them to your DNS settings. This authenticates your emails with a digital signature, proving that the email was not tampered with during transit, thus improving deliverability.
Documentation from Sparkpost explains setting up Feedback Loops (FBLs) to receive spam complaints from ISPs. This allows you to identify and remove subscribers who mark your emails as spam, improving your sender reputation and deliverability.