How does sending monthly newsletters to a large list impact dedicated IP reputation?

Summary

Sending monthly newsletters to a large list on a dedicated IP can negatively impact IP reputation due to the resulting inconsistent sending patterns. ISPs often interpret these infrequent, high-volume sends as suspicious, potentially leading to deliverability issues, throttling, or blocks. To mitigate these risks, experts recommend strategies such as using shared IP pools, throttling sends over several days, prioritizing highly engaged users, implementing proper IP warming procedures for new IPs, maintaining consistent sending volume and frequency, cleaning email lists, and ensuring proper email authentication.

Key findings

  • Inconsistent Sends are Detrimental: ISPs view infrequent, high-volume sends as a red flag, damaging IP reputation.
  • Engagement is Paramount: High recipient engagement can help offset the risks, but relies on an enthusiastic audience.
  • Warming is Necessary: New IPs require a gradual warming process to establish a positive reputation.
  • Consistent Volume Matters: Maintaining consistent sending volume and frequency is crucial for a good IP reputation.
  • Shared IPs as Alternative: Consider using a shared IP pool if maintaining consistent sending is not feasible.

Key considerations

  • Establish Sending Schedule: Develop a consistent sending schedule to avoid sudden volume spikes.
  • Implement IP Warming Strategy: Gradually increase sending volume to warm up the IP address before large sends.
  • Practice List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list to remove unengaged or inactive subscribers.
  • Prioritize Engagement: Focus on sending to highly engaged recipients to build positive reputation signals.
  • Authenticate Your Emails: Ensure proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for improved deliverability.
  • Consider Throttling: Throttle newsletter dispatches over several days to distribute the volume.

What email marketers say
12Marketer opinions

Sending monthly newsletters to large lists can negatively impact a dedicated IP's reputation due to the inconsistent sending patterns. ISPs often view these infrequent, high-volume sends as suspicious behavior, potentially leading to deliverability issues. Maintaining consistent sending schedules, warming up IPs gradually, segmenting lists for more frequent sends, and ensuring high engagement are crucial for mitigating these risks.

Key opinions

  • Inconsistent Sending: ISPs flag infrequent sending to large lists as unusual, impacting IP reputation negatively.
  • Engagement is Key: High recipient engagement can offset some risks associated with infrequent sending, but it's difficult to achieve without an enthusiastically opted-in audience.
  • Dedicated IP Challenges: Dedicated IPs require consistent sending habits; sparse sends to large lists can lead to filtering issues.
  • Warming is Crucial: New dedicated IPs require a gradual warming-up process to establish a positive reputation before sending large volumes.
  • Segmentation: Segmenting your email list and sending smaller volume emails more frequently helps to maintain consistent IP reputation.

Key considerations

  • Sending Schedule: Establish a consistent sending schedule to avoid sudden spikes in volume followed by inactivity.
  • IP Warming: If using a new dedicated IP, implement a gradual IP warming strategy before sending to the entire list.
  • List Hygiene: Maintain a clean email list by removing unengaged recipients to improve engagement metrics.
  • Engagement Levels: Assess recipient engagement levels and prioritize sends to the most engaged users to build positive signals.
  • Authentication: Ensure proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to improve deliverability and sender reputation.
  • Shared IP Pool: Consider using a shared IP pool if consistent sending volumes cannot be maintained on a dedicated IP.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks recommends using a shared IP pool for monthly newsletters due to inconsistent results on a dedicated IP with sparse sendings to large lists.

April 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from GMass shares that one of the most important aspects of maintaining a healthy IP reputation is to ensure that you are maintaining a proper sending schedule. For newsletters, it is key to ensure that the IP has enough time to warm up, especially when sending to large lists.

October 2022 - GMass
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares an example of it working with a client who had highly engaged recipients, emphasizes best practices, and suggests it is difficult without an enthusiastically opted-in recipient base.

May 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog explains that infrequent sending to a large list can negatively impact IP reputation because ISPs may view it as unusual sending behavior, potentially leading to deliverability issues. Consistent sending schedules are better for building a positive reputation.

November 2022 - Neil Patel's Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that sending a monthly newsletter to a large list can cause deliverability problems if not managed correctly. A dedicated IP requires consistent sending habits; otherwise, the IP reputation might suffer due to a lack of engagement signals.

January 2025 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora shares that if you are using a dedicated IP, you need a consistent sending schedule; otherwise, ISPs might penalize you. If you only send monthly, ensure the content is highly engaging.

October 2021 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that infrequent sends to a large list is a common issue with dedicated IPs. It can impact IP reputation. Consistency is essential, so segment your lists and try to send more regularly.

September 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares past issues with infrequent sending, noting that some ISPs measure inactive days and include zero volume to determine expected daily volume, potentially causing throttling or blocks due to the "bursty" nature of the volume.

January 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Stack Overflow shares that it is important to consider the IP reputation with dedicated IP, especially when having large lists, it is important to spread out the emails. It is key to maintain a positive sender reputation.

August 2022 - Stack Overflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks agrees that monthly sends of that volume are a challenge using a dedicated IP, but it can work if you are patient with domain/IP reputation warming and consistent volume, along with other best practices like domain usage and authentication.

September 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that sending large volumes infrequently can harm IP reputation. ISPs monitor sending patterns, and sudden spikes followed by inactivity can be seen as suspicious. They recommend warming up the IP address gradually and maintaining a consistent sending volume.

November 2023 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid answers that when using a dedicated IP address, you must maintain consistent send volumes and frequency, otherwise, your IP will have deliverability problems. Sending to a large list, with low frequency can be a red flag

September 2021 - EmailOnAcid

What the experts say
3Expert opinions

Sending monthly newsletters to large lists significantly impacts dedicated IP reputation negatively due to inconsistent sending patterns. Experts suggest throttling newsletter dispatches over several days, prioritizing engaged users, and soft-suppressing inactive ones. Infrequent, large-volume emails are flagged as spam-like behavior by mailbox providers, damaging IP reputation as it indicates poor list hygiene or list buying. Consistent sending habits are vital to avoid being perceived as a spammer and maintaining a positive IP reputation.

Key opinions

  • Throttling Sends: Throttling newsletter sends over multiple days can help mitigate negative impacts.
  • Spam Signal: Infrequent, large volume sends are a strong indicator of spam-like behavior to mailbox providers.
  • Poor Reputation: Inconsistent sending damages IP reputation and labels you as a potential spammer.
  • Engaged Users: Prioritizing sends to highly engaged users helps maintain positive engagement metrics.

Key considerations

  • Sending Frequency: Maintain a consistent sending frequency to avoid triggering spam filters.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive subscribers and reduce bounce rates.
  • Engagement Monitoring: Monitor engagement metrics closely and adjust sending strategies based on recipient behavior.
  • Throttling Implementation: Implement a throttling mechanism to gradually send emails over time.
  • Suppression Strategy: Develop a soft-suppression strategy for inactive subscribers to avoid sending to unengaged recipients.
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource details that inconsistent sending habits damage your IP reputation. Sending monthly to a large list makes you look like a spammer.

November 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains that sending infrequent, large volume emails after periods of silence looks like spam behavior to mailbox providers. This negatively impacts IP reputation because providers assume that the sender is buying lists or has poor list hygiene. Consistent sending is key to maintaining a positive reputation.

March 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests throttling the newsletter dispatch over a few days or most of the month, prioritizing the most engaged users and soft-suppressing those who have ignored recent newsletters.

June 2024 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Sending monthly newsletters to a large list negatively affects dedicated IP reputation, according to various email service provider documentation. Consistent sending volume and frequency are crucial for building a positive IP reputation. Sudden changes in sending patterns, such as infrequent large blasts, can lead to filtering issues, especially with low engagement or new IPs. Proper IP warming strategies are necessary, and sending without an established reputation can damage the IP address's reputation, causing messages to be marked as spam.

Key findings

  • Consistency is Key: Maintaining a consistent sending volume and frequency is essential for a positive IP reputation.
  • Sudden Changes Harmful: Sudden changes in sending patterns, like infrequent large sends, negatively impact deliverability.
  • IP Warming Required: A proper IP warming strategy is necessary for dedicated IPs, especially when starting.
  • Reputation at Risk: Sending without an established reputation damages IP reputation and leads to spam marking.

Key considerations

  • Establish Consistent Volume: Maintain a consistent sending volume over time.
  • Implement IP Warming: Gradually increase sending volume to warm up the IP address before sending to the entire list.
  • Follow Sender Practices: Adhere to good sender practices such as authentication and list hygiene.
  • Monitor Engagement: Monitor engagement metrics to ensure recipients are actively engaging with emails.
  • Avoid Sudden Spikes: Avoid sudden spikes in sending volume after periods of inactivity.
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft SNDS shares that consistent volume and good sender practices are vital for dedicated IP reputation. Sending infrequent large blasts to a list can lead to filtering issues if engagement metrics are low or the IP is new.

March 2025 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost explains that with dedicated IP addresses, a proper IP warming strategy is necessary. If you send monthly newsletters to a large list without an established reputation, your IP will likely face deliverability issues. Gradually increase volume over time.

November 2022 - SparkPost
Technical article

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that maintaining a consistent sending volume and frequency helps build a positive IP reputation. Sudden changes in sending patterns, such as large monthly sends after periods of inactivity, can negatively impact deliverability to Gmail users.

March 2024 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from AWS SES highlights that having a good IP address reputation is paramount to ensure your messages are not marked as SPAM, especially with dedicated IPs. Sending monthly newsletters to large lists without properly warming-up your IP addresses can damage your IP address' reputation.

January 2023 - AWS