What are the best practices for switching to a new sending domain?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that it's crucial to gradually increase your sending volume when using a new domain. Avoid sending large volumes of emails all at once, as this can trigger spam filters and damage your reputation. Start with smaller, targeted campaigns and gradually scale up.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that you should set up feedback loops with major ISPs to receive notifications about spam complaints. This allows you to quickly identify and address any issues that may be affecting your deliverability.
Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that segmenting your email list is essential for warming up a new domain. Send emails to your most engaged subscribers first to demonstrate positive engagement to ISPs and improve your sender reputation.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that it can be helpful to ask subscribers to add your new sending address to their address book or whitelist it with their email provider. This indicates to ISPs that your emails are wanted and can improve deliverability.
Email marketer from SendGrid explains that you should closely monitor your sending reputation when switching to a new domain. Use tools to track your sender score, bounce rates, and spam complaints to identify and address any issues promptly.
Email marketer from Litmus highlights the importance of testing email content across different email clients and devices to ensure optimal rendering and user experience, which can impact engagement metrics and sender reputation.
Email marketer from GMass shares that consider using a subdomain for your marketing emails. This isolates your marketing traffic from your transactional emails, protecting your primary domain's reputation.
Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailPro shares that maintaining consistent sending volumes helps build trust with ISPs. Avoid large fluctuations in your sending patterns, as this can raise red flags and impact deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares that it's very important to avoid using spam trigger words in your email content and subject lines. Words like "free," "guarantee," and "urgent" can increase the likelihood of your emails being flagged as spam.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from SpamResource recommends using a seedlist to check your inbox placement before sending to real subscribers. This helps identify potential deliverability issues early on. This should be done regularly and especially when migrating to a new sending domain.
Expert from SpamResource explains that a key best practice is to ensure your lists are clean, with verified and engaged subscribers, before using a new sending domain. This minimises bounces and spam complaints from inactive users.
Expert from Word to the Wise highlights the significance of properly warming up a new sending IP and domain by starting with small volumes and gradually increasing them. They emphasize the importance of monitoring the results to ensure good deliverability. This gradual approach is crucial for building a positive reputation with ISPs.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that as far as the ISP is concerned, a new domain will have issues. He suggests to not switch IPs at the same time and to warm up traffic to the new domain.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that you'll definitely want to ramp things up carefully and maybe not switch all your uses over at the same time when switching to a new sending domain.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from DMARC.org shares that you should implement Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) policy for your new sending domain to protect against email spoofing and phishing attacks. DMARC builds upon SPF and DKIM to provide a comprehensive email authentication framework.
Documentation from Microsoft shares that you should configure DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) for your new sending domain. DKIM adds a digital signature to your emails, allowing recipient servers to verify the authenticity of your messages and prevent spoofing.
Documentation from Google explains that when setting up a new sending domain, you should warm up your IP address by gradually increasing the volume of emails sent. Start with small batches to engaged users and slowly increase the volume while monitoring deliverability.
Documentation from SparkPost details an approach to IP warming using a controlled sending schedule to build a positive reputation with ISPs over time.
Documentation from RFC-Editor explains that a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record should be set up for your new sending domain. This helps receiving mail servers verify that emails coming from your domain are authorized, improving deliverability.