What are best practices for IP warming strategy and email volume scaling?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that it's essential to gradually increase sending volume over several weeks, starting with a small percentage of your list and slowly increasing it each day or week.
Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailExpert recommends starting with a very small send volume (e.g., a few hundred emails) and doubling it every few days, while closely monitoring bounce rates and spam complaints. Adjust the scaling rate based on the feedback you receive.
Email marketer from HubSpot emphasizes focusing on sending to highly engaged subscribers during the initial stages of IP warming. This helps demonstrate positive engagement metrics to ISPs, improving deliverability.
Email marketer from SparkPost explains that segmenting your email lists and prioritizing sending to your most engaged segments during IP warming is crucial. This helps build a positive sender reputation quickly.
Email marketer from Litmus shares the importance of closely monitoring deliverability metrics (e.g., bounce rates, spam complaints) during IP warming. Adjust sending practices based on these metrics to ensure optimal deliverability.
Email marketer from Mailgun explains that gradual IP warming is crucial. Start with a small volume of emails to engaged users, gradually increasing the volume over several weeks. This helps build a positive reputation with ISPs.
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid shares that proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential during IP warming to verify your sending identity and improve deliverability.
Email marketer from Mailjet highlights the importance of cleaning your email list before and during IP warming to remove inactive or invalid email addresses. This helps reduce bounce rates and improve your sender reputation.
Email marketer from SendGrid shares the importance of maintaining a consistent sending volume and frequency during IP warming. Avoid sudden spikes or drops in volume, as this can negatively impact your sender reputation.
Email marketer from StackOverflow user EmailGuru emphasizes the importance of sending high-quality, engaging content during IP warming. Content that generates opens, clicks, and replies will improve your sender reputation and deliverability.
What the experts say6Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource explains that IP warming involves gradually increasing the volume of emails sent from a new IP address to establish a positive reputation with ISPs. They recommend starting with a small, highly engaged segment of your audience and slowly increasing the volume over time.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests using a mix of domains during IP warming. Provides an example of how 7,000 emails could be distributed across Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Comcast, and other domains.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests doubling email sends week over week during IP warming. Starting with 1% of the list in week one, then 2% in week two, 4% in week three, and so on until the entire list is reached in a week.
Expert from Spam Resource shares that during IP warming, it's crucial to avoid sending spam or triggering spam traps, as this can lead to blacklisting. They advise carefully monitoring your sender reputation and addressing any issues promptly.
Expert Laura Atkins from Word to the Wise shares that leveraging engagement data (opens, clicks, replies) during IP warming is essential. Sending to engaged subscribers helps build a positive reputation and improves deliverability. They also stress the importance of list hygiene.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that different ESPs have varying IP warming recommendations, including rate limiting and gradual IP shifting. Matt typically starts with volume-based sending, increasing recipients daily, with the specific numbers depending on factors like brand, number of IPs, and mail type.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Gmail Help explains that new IP addresses sending mail to Gmail should follow a warming-up period. Google recommends starting with a low volume and gradually increasing it based on user engagement.
Documentation from RFC details the standards for SMTP, emphasizing the importance of adhering to established best practices for email sending, including proper authentication and avoiding spam-like behavior, which are relevant during IP warming.
Documentation from Microsoft outlines sender best practices for Outlook.com, suggesting a gradual ramp-up of sending volume for new IPs. They recommend monitoring sender reputation and adjusting volume accordingly.