How should I warm up an IP address or subdomain for email sending?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Litmus recommends segmenting email lists based on engagement and sending to the most engaged segments first during the IP warm-up process. Focusing on engaged users at the beginning helps establish a positive sending reputation.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that an IP warm-up is essential for establishing a good reputation with ISPs. By gradually increasing email volume and focusing on engaged recipients, senders can improve deliverability and avoid being flagged as spam.
Email marketer from SparkPost recommends beginning the IP warm-up process by sending emails to the most engaged users first. Positive engagement signals like opens and clicks help build a good reputation quickly.
Email marketer from Reddit user shares an IP warm-up strategy involving sending to highly engaged segments first, then gradually increasing volume to less engaged subscribers. It suggests segmenting your audience by engagement level for gradual IP warm-up.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that if you're moving a very high volume mail stream over to a new sub-domain on a previously not used shared IP and you're also using a new DKIM key/selector, then maybe a warmup is needed. But for a new mail stream, i.e. a new newsletter sign-up etc., then you don't try and warm that up, you just let it warm up naturally.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that the purpose of a warm-up plan is to get mailbox providers used to the volume and frequency of email to expect from a new IP. If an IP only sends once a week, he questions the necessity of a dedicated IP.
Email marketer from SendGrid emphasizes the importance of sending consistent volumes of email during the warm-up period to build a stable sending reputation. Fluctuations in volume can negatively impact deliverability.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that an IP warm-up is a process of gradually increasing the volume of emails sent from a new IP address to establish a positive sender reputation with ISPs. This helps ensure emails reach the inbox and not the spam folder.
Marketer from Email Geeks responds that sending reputation is largely based around IP,DKIM and domain name combinations. So, if you're changing all of that then some type of structured cut-over and warm-up would be the prudent approach. However, the mailstream needs to be healthy (high engagement and low complaints, bounces etc.) for at least a 1-2 months before any changes are introduced or else it will make you look suspect to receivers.
Email marketer from MailerQ details a 30 day IP warm-up plan explaining that you need to begin by only sending to 5000 subscribers. Then increasing by 5000 each day for the first week and monitoring response rates.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that warm-up plans are really for when you move an existing mail stream from somewhere to a new IP. You don't need to anticipate natural organic list growth or try to warm-up for it - the providers won't penalise you for that.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum user shares subdomain warm-up experience and suggests treating a new subdomain similarly to a new IP. He gradually increased sending volume, closely monitored deliverability metrics, and adjusted based on results.
Email marketer from Constant Contact shares focusing on engagement metrics, such as open rates and click-through rates, is key to a successful IP warm-up. Monitor these metrics closely to ensure deliverability is improving.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Spamresource.com explains that IP warming is a gradual process where you slowly increase the volume of email sent from a new IP address. Start by sending small batches to your most engaged subscribers and gradually increase the volume over several weeks, monitoring deliverability and engagement metrics closely.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that a good IP warm-up will send consistent mail that your users want. She highlights that IP warmups don't always need to take 30 days and that some companies have success warming up very quickly. She mentions that volume is dependent on list size and engagement.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from AWS details gradually increasing email sending volume is a crucial step when warming up an IP address. They recommend starting with small batches to engaged users and increasing as reputation improves.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools details that gradually increasing sending volume is crucial when starting with a new IP or domain. This involves carefully monitoring deliverability and sender reputation using Google Postmaster Tools.
Documentation from Microsoft explains to avoid spam filters, it's important to warm up the IP by starting with a low volume of email and gradually increasing over time. Microsoft suggests monitoring the IP reputation via Sender Score and other reputation services.
Documentation from Validity ReturnPath details that warming up your IP involves sending small volumes to start and then increasing that gradually, checking your IP and Domain reputation regularly using online tools, and by making sure that people on your list are active and engaged.