Should I use a new subdomain to warm up old contacts?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks advises against creating a new subdomain for mail expected to perform poorly, as new subdomains require warming. Suggests folding the data into higher-performing traffic or not sending to them at all if there is a worry of risk to deliverability.
Email marketer from Reddit shares to segment your old contacts based on how old they are. Start by sending to the most recent ones first, and gradually work your way back. Also, clean your list by removing hard bounces and unsubscribes before starting your warm-up campaign.
Email marketer from SendGrid Blog answers that using a new subdomain for cold contacts is not an effective strategy. Subdomain reputation is built over time with consistent sending to engaged recipients. Starting with unengaged contacts would negatively impact the subdomain's reputation from the outset.
Email marketer from StackOverflow shares that it is important to avoid sending a high-volume email to cold leads at once. You should use a steady approach where you increase your email volume slowly over time.
Email marketer from HubSpot Blog shares the importance of cleaning your email list before sending to old contacts. Remove inactive subscribers, hard bounces, and unsubscribes to improve your sender reputation and avoid being flagged as spam.
Email marketer from EmailToolTester shares that it is important to slowly build an email cadence using a tool, where you gradually increase email volumes to new contacts. Also recommends to review your IP health and reputation
Email marketer from Litmus Blog explains that proper list segmentation is crucial for deliverability when dealing with old contacts. Segment your list based on engagement, demographics, and purchase history to tailor your messaging and avoid sending irrelevant emails that can hurt your reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that you can use a third party to identify which emails have engaged elsewhere in order to minimize risk when sending to old contacts.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog advises against using a new subdomain to warm up old contacts. Warming a new subdomain requires sending to engaged users, which is the opposite of what you're trying to do with old contacts. Focus on cleaning and segmenting your list instead.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign Blog responds to implement a re-engagement email campaign to warm up your old contacts. Send a series of emails offering value and incentives to encourage them to re-engage with your brand. Monitor their responses and remove those who don't respond from your list.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that when warming an IP or Domain you are showing email providers that you are a good sender and that you have permission with your recipients. It is important to send to your best subscribers when warming, instead of old contacts. It is also key to authenticate your email.
Expert from Email Geeks recommends checking with a user or using Kickbox to verify old email addresses, as some may no longer exist.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that you should ensure that the list being emailed is legitimate and contains real people and not spam traps. Also when warming up you should not use old contacts, they should be active and responsive users.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from DKIM explains signing your emails with a DKIM signature to verify their authenticity. DKIM helps receiving mail servers verify that the content of your emails hasn't been tampered with during transit.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains how to improve your email deliverability by following their best practices. Authenticate your emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and monitor your sender reputation to ensure you're not being flagged as spam. This can help you to avoid issues.
Documentation from RFC answers implementing SPF records to authenticate your emails and prevent spoofing. SPF helps receiving mail servers verify that the emails you send are authorized by your domain, improving your deliverability.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that you should monitor for NDRs (Non Delivery Reports) or bounce messages for undeliverable emails. If you see a higher amount of bounces than normal you could have a higher chance of being marked as spam.
Documentation from DMARC explains how DMARC helps protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks by providing a policy for handling emails that fail SPF and DKIM authentication. Implementing DMARC can improve your deliverability and protect your brand reputation.