How to warm up a dedicated IP address with high bounce rates from POS data?
Summary
What email marketers say15Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email on Acid suggests implementing a process to validate email addresses collected through the POS system before adding them to your mailing list. This can include real-time validation APIs or regular list cleaning using email verification services.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests the bounce could be due to the user not existing, pointing back to bad data from the POS, or a mislabeled block message. It also may be a block, and could go away by removing the POS message stream.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests temporarily suppressing problematic POS data during the IP warm-up phase. They state that this allows you to build a positive sending reputation without being hindered by bounces from bad data.
Email marketer from Litmus advises that you should focus on sending to your most engaged subscribers initially, which is key to establishing a positive sender reputation with ISPs. Over time, they advise, expand sending to the entire list while continually monitoring metrics.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that 40 emails per week is too low to warm up an IP address and recommends starting from 2-3k per receiving domain.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests using list validation after POS collection but before sending emails, mentioning SendGrid's API for real-time validation. The best long term solution is to clean data at the source or not force an email address at POS.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests evaluating the need for a dedicated IP, especially if the volume is low. They believe it might be hard to achieve sufficient volume/reputation history with mailbox providers at a low sending volume.
Marketer from Email Geeks emphasizes the importance of data quality, especially during the warmup phase. Suggests starting with engaged recipients to slowly increase volume and working on validating the POS data to improve its quality.
Email marketer from SendGrid answers that monitoring key metrics like bounce rates, complaint rates, and engagement metrics, it is important to adjust your sending strategy accordingly. If you notice high bounce rates, pause sending and investigate the cause before continuing the warm-up.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow advises to gradually increase sending limits on a new IP while simultaneously monitoring metrics and working to improve data quality at the point of capture from POS systems.
Email marketer from Neil Patel emphasizes the importance of starting with a small volume of emails to highly engaged subscribers and gradually increasing the sending volume over time. Focus on sending valuable content to maintain a good sender reputation.
Email marketer from Quora advises implementing confirmed opt-in to ensure that only valid and engaged subscribers are added to your list. This practice can significantly reduce bounce rates and improve deliverability. Implementing data validation helps prevent the addition of invalid email addresses from the start.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor warns that high bounce rates negatively affect sender reputation. They advise to address data quality issues promptly. High bounce rates indicate that many email addresses are invalid or inactive, and can lead to deliverability problems.
Email marketer from GlockApps suggests monitoring your IP address against blocklists and spam traps. It might be an indicator as to the quality of your email and to check for any problems early in the warm up process.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that clean data is crucial for a successful IP warm-up. They suggest cleaning up your email list by removing invalid or inactive email addresses to minimize bounce rates during the warm-up process.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise suggests cleaning up mailing lists and only using valid recipients as part of the best practice for staying out of the spam folder. Invalid recipients from the Point of Sale system is a recipe for disaster when warming up an IP.
Expert from Spamresource emphasizes that managing data quality is fundamental when warming up an IP, particularly if the data originates from a POS system. They note that high bounce rates arising from this source indicate a severe data problem that directly impairs deliverability, and needs immediate address.
Expert from Spamresource states that IP warm-up must be done carefully, starting with highly engaged subscribers and gradually expanding to less engaged ones. They emphasize the importance of monitoring deliverability metrics closely and being ready to adjust sending practices in response to any identified issues.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that unless the email group has specified the Point of Sale (PoS) capture flow, assume it's a garbage source and will require careful handling and confirmation.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from AWS SES explains that warming up an IP address involves gradually increasing the volume of emails you send over a period of time. The goal is to establish a positive sending reputation with ISPs. They recommend monitoring bounce rates and sender reputation metrics closely and adjusting your sending schedule accordingly.
Documentation from Mailchimp indicates that if you're encountering problems like high bounce rates during IP warm-up, it's crucial to immediately address the underlying data quality issues. They recommend implementing data validation and cleaning processes to prevent future deliverability problems.
Documentation from SparkPost recommends segmenting your email list and starting with your most engaged subscribers. They recommend gradually increasing volume to good recipients, and closely monitoring engagement metrics during the IP warm-up process.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools highlights the importance of monitoring your IP reputation using their tools. Low or poor reputation scores can indicate deliverability issues. They advise monitoring reputation, especially during IP warm-up.