How to warm up a new domain for 6k active contacts when moving from a shared domain to a private domain?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum suggests focusing on the quality of your email content. Make sure your emails are relevant and valuable to your subscribers. Avoid using spammy language or tactics. This will help you improve your sender reputation and increase your deliverability.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce advises to validate your email list, create engaging content, warm up your IP address, send consistently, and monitor your results. This will help you build a positive sender reputation and improve your email deliverability.
Email marketer from SendGrid states that warming up your IP address (or in this case, domain) is important to establish a positive sender reputation with ISPs. Start by sending small volumes of email to your most engaged users and gradually increase the volume over time. Monitor your deliverability metrics closely and adjust your sending schedule as needed.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that domain warming is all about building a good sender reputation with ISPs (Internet Service Providers) like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. When you start sending emails from a new domain, ISPs are cautious because they don't know if you're a legitimate sender or a spammer. By gradually increasing your email volume and maintaining good sending practices, you demonstrate to ISPs that you're a trustworthy sender.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that sender reputation is key, and to maintain a good one by consistently sending valuable content that recipients want to receive. Monitor engagement metrics and promptly address any deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Neil Patel recommends ensuring your email list is clean and up-to-date. Remove any invalid or inactive email addresses to reduce your bounce rate. Use a double opt-in process to confirm that subscribers want to receive your emails.
Email marketer from Reddit advises to segment your list into highly engaged, engaged, and unengaged contacts. Start by sending to your highly engaged contacts first, then gradually add in your engaged contacts. Monitor your open rates and bounce rates closely. If you see any issues, slow down your ramp-up.
Email marketer from GlockApps advises to monitor your email deliverability with a tool like GlockApps to track your inbox placement and identify any deliverability issues. Pay attention to your spam folder placement and blocklist status. If you see any problems, take corrective action immediately.
Email marketer from Woodpecker advises that it's not only about volume but about engagement. Aim to get replies and positive interactions to signal that the emails are wanted and valuable.
Marketer from Email Geeks advises prepping the list from the old shared domain in advance to expect a new domain and to check the spam folder.
Email marketer from GMass shares the importance of segmenting your list by engagement. Start by sending to your most engaged users, then gradually increase the volume to less engaged users. Also, be sure to authenticate your domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve deliverability.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that it is ok to send only 1 send per day, and that Microsoft isn’t as picky as Gmail.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that for a list of 6K active contacts, the domain warmup can be done relatively quickly, suggesting a ramp-up from 1K to 2K to 4K to the whole list.
Expert from Word to the Wise states the importance of maintaining a clean email list. Remove unengaged subscribers and validate email addresses to prevent bounces and spam complaints. This will improve your sender reputation and deliverability. Ensure that you use double opt-in.
Expert from Spam Resource advises to start slowly with the warming up, even if you are moving from a shared to a private IP. Segment your list and start with your most engaged users. Monitor your results, especially your bounce rate and complaint rate.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Google Support advises senders to start with a small sending volume and slowly increase it over time. If you're switching from a shared IP to a dedicated IP, it's especially important to warm up the new IP address. Google recommends following industry best practices for gradually increasing sending volume to avoid being flagged as a spammer.
Documentation from RFC explains that SPF records help prevent email spoofing by allowing domain owners to specify which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of their domain. This helps improve email deliverability and protect against phishing attacks.
Documentation from Microsoft recommends to ensure your sending domain is properly authenticated using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. This helps mailbox providers verify that you are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. Also, monitor your sender reputation with Microsoft's Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) tool.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that IP warm-up is a critical process when you begin sending mail from a new IP address. It involves gradually increasing the volume of email you send over time to build a positive reputation with mailbox providers. For new domains, a similar, though often shorter, process applies.