How to warm up a private IP address for a monthly newsletter send?
Summary
What email marketers say14Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if this is a review for an established program, to be hands-off unless there are indications of issues. If it is for a migration, the issue will be establishing that initial reputation and known sending pattern on a dedicated IP unless the client can be flexible with sends during warm-up. He leans towards recommending a shared IP pool to help avoid issues with zero-to-1.6MM being identified as an unexpected volume spike.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares his experience that infrequent senders should be on shared IPs because if there's any issue, troubleshooting and rebuilding reputation would be almost impossible.
Email marketer from Quora says that a key to warming up an IP is consistency. Plan a schedule for sending emails and stick to it. Monitor your sending reputation through tools like Google Postmaster Tools and adjust your strategy as needed.
Marketer from Email Geeks advises that splitting the send over a few days would reduce the spikes significantly and may help with the risk of inactivity and the sudden volume spike.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that IP warming is the process of establishing a sending reputation with ISPs. You should begin by sending small volumes of email to engaged contacts. Gradually increase the volume over time. They recommend paying close attention to bounce rates, spam complaints, and unsubscribes to avoid issues.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that for a monthly newsletter on a dedicated IP, you'll need to maintain some sending reputation in between sends. Consider sending smaller, more frequent emails to keep the IP warm or risk deliverability issues with each monthly blast.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that when warming up an IP, segment your list and start with your most active users. Monitor open rates and click-through rates closely. Slowly increase the volume while watching for any negative signals like spam complaints.
Email marketer from GlockApps explains that to warm up a dedicated IP address, it's crucial to start with low volumes and gradually increase them. Send to your most engaged subscribers first and monitor deliverability metrics. Maintain consistent sending habits after the initial warm-up period to preserve your reputation.
Email marketer from MailerLite shares that warming up your IP address correctly is important. Start by only sending to highly engaged users. Only send valuable content and maintain a schedule. They recommend using a shorter timeframe for warming if you previously had a good reputation.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that to start, identify your most engaged subscribers. These are the recipients who consistently open and interact with your emails. Send to these users first to build a positive reputation. A gradual process is key to long term success.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that if you're transitioning to a new IP address, it's crucial to warm it up gradually. Begin with a small segment of your most engaged subscribers and slowly increase volume. They advise monitoring deliverability metrics closely and adjusting your sending practices based on the data.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that so long as you build to your behavior and keep that behavior, you should be fine, especially if the quality is good. Monitor all metrics and if you find rep is dropping, dig in to see if customers are complaining after the fact, etc. Keep an eye on bounces and if you find you are getting hit by heavy rate limiting, it may increase your bounce rate due to timeouts.
Marketer from Email Geeks agrees that warming isn't really complete until the sender has sent their true monthly cadence for a few consistent months. Monthly frequency has proven to be adequate with a sender keeping their reputation and having strong deliverability. It's crucial they don't take a month off, or more, from sending or they really lose everything they've built and maintained.
Email marketer from StackOverflow advises that for infrequent sends (like a monthly newsletter), consider supplementing with transactional emails to maintain a sending reputation. If that's not possible, ensure each newsletter send is to a highly engaged list to minimize deliverability issues.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that an IP isn't really warmed until it has had its normal traffic over it for at least half a dozen sends. Treat the next 6 months of sending to the normal volume and subscribers as warmup.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that IP addresses are warmed by sending only the best mail to the best recipients. This should be over a period of time, not a single day. It is more than 'infrastructure ready to handle volume'.
Expert from Email Geeks advises to monitor the sends for at least 3 or 4 sends before making any decisions about using a private IP for infrequent, high volume sends. She also says there is no right answer, only an answer that works. It is important to monitor per MX, not just per domain.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that IP warming is critical. They explain that warming up an IP is all about building and protecting a reputation. It is important to only send wanted mail.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that monitor your IP reputation to see how Google views your sending IP. A good reputation is essential for deliverability, and warming up an IP correctly can help build and maintain that reputation. Sudden spikes in volume can negatively impact your reputation.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that warming up an IP address is a process of gradually increasing the volume of email sent from a new IP address to establish a positive sending reputation with ISPs. This is particularly important for dedicated IPs to avoid being flagged as spam.
Documentation from Mailjet advises that to warm up a dedicated IP, begin by sending small volumes of email to your most engaged subscribers. Gradually increase the volume over several weeks, monitoring your sender reputation and deliverability metrics. Aim to establish a consistent sending pattern.
Documentation from SendGrid shares that IP warming involves gradually increasing sending volume over time. Start with your most engaged users, and monitor your deliverability closely. Sending consistently and maintaining good list hygiene are crucial during this process. They recommend starting small and doubling your volume every day or two.