What are best practices for warming up a new subdomain for email sending, and how does it impact DKIM alignment?

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that MS preemptive accommodation is mainly for new IPs, suggesting submitting a ticket for the subdomain with the understanding it might have no effect. He emphasizes that warmups heavily depend on content and audience, requiring introduction of the mail stream to message filters to avoid being seen as a complaint generator. He highlights the importance of content and audience. Also notes that general advice becomes less useful as specifics of volumes and mail program increase.

Email marketer from Reddit explains that starting with highly engaged subscribers on a new subdomain is a good practice. This helps establish a positive sending reputation quickly. Monitor feedback loops and address any deliverability issues promptly.

Marketer from Email Geeks advises against moving to a new subdomain if there are existing deliverability problems. He recommends solving deliverability issues first to avoid complications.

Email marketer from SparkPost shares that subdomains inherit some reputation from the parent domain but need to establish their own sending reputation over time. Monitoring subdomain-specific metrics like deliverability rates and engagement metrics is crucial during the warmup phase.

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid explains that a key aspect of warming up a new subdomain is to consistently send high-quality content that recipients want to engage with. Low complaint rates and high open rates signal positive sender reputation to mailbox providers.

Email marketer from Mailjet explains the importance of gradually increasing email volume during a subdomain warmup. Starting with small batches of emails to engaged users and slowly increasing the volume over time helps establish a positive sending reputation. Monitor bounce rates and spam complaints during this process.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that using a DKIM domain as a subdomain of the From domain should be fine due to "relaxed alignment," where the same organizational domain is shared. He cautions about a rare edge case involving DMARC policies requiring "strict alignment" (exact match), advising to check for a DMARC record if DMARC is enabled.

Email marketer from Quora mentions engaging with email authentication, quality content and list management. They talk about the importance of avoiding spam traps to keep your IPs clean.

Email marketer from SendGrid shares a step-by-step approach to warming up a new subdomain. This involves starting with transactional emails to engaged users and gradually increasing volume while monitoring deliverability metrics. Building a positive sender reputation is crucial for long-term success.

Email marketer from Litmus shares the importance of monitoring subdomain performance metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and spam complaints during the warmup phase. This data helps identify and address any deliverability issues promptly.

Email marketer from StackOverflow notes that the DKIM signature needs to align with the domain used in the 'From' address for proper authentication. Using a subdomain for DKIM signing is acceptable as long as the alignment is configured correctly and DMARC policies are met.

Expert from Word to the Wise answers explains that to check that your authentication is working you can check the headers on the email.

Expert from Spamresource explains that establishing a positive reputation can be achieved by sending a low volume of test messages over a period of days or weeks to confirm reputation.

Documentation from Microsoft shares guidelines that consistent sending practices and proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are vital for maintaining good deliverability. Warming up a subdomain involves gradually increasing email volume and monitoring sender reputation.

Documentation from Google explains that when setting up a subdomain, ensure that SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly configured for the subdomain to authenticate email sending. Proper authentication helps establish trust with mailbox providers and prevents emails from being marked as spam.

Documentation from DMARC.org explains that DMARC uses DKIM and SPF to authenticate emails. For DMARC to pass, either DKIM or SPF must align with the domain in the 'From' header. Understanding DMARC alignment is essential for ensuring emails are properly authenticated and delivered.

Documentation from RFC Editor explains DKIM alignment modes, including strict and relaxed alignment. Strict alignment requires an exact match between the domain in the 'From' header and the domain in the DKIM signature. Relaxed alignment allows for a broader match, such as a subdomain relationship. The choice of alignment mode affects how DMARC policies are applied.