What is the best approach to fix an IP warming strategy when facing a Gmail block and deliverability issues with low sending volume?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks advises that if using a shared IP, it's important to check who else is on the IP address and consider contacting Gmail and/or MC about any offenders.
Email marketer from Litmus Blog responds that closely monitoring key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates is crucial for identifying deliverability issues. They suggest setting up alerts to detect any sudden changes in these metrics.
Email marketer from Email on Acid Blog recommends conducting thorough deliverability testing to identify any issues before sending to your entire list. This includes checking your sender score, IP reputation, and content for spam triggers.
Email marketer from SendGrid Blog emphasizes the importance of list hygiene. Regularly remove inactive or unengaged subscribers to improve your sending reputation and reduce bounce rates. This can help avoid blocks due to low engagement.
Email marketer from StackOverflow shares importance of setting up feedback loops with ISPs to receive complaint data. Analyzing these complaints can help identify and address issues that are causing deliverability problems.
Email marketer from Quora suggests avoiding the use of spam trigger words in your email content and subject lines. These words can increase the likelihood of your emails being flagged as spam by ISPs.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that focusing on re-engagement campaigns for inactive users is key. This includes offering incentives, personalizing content, and clearly communicating the value of staying subscribed.
Email marketer from SparkPost Blog shares the importance of sending relevant content to engaged users. They suggest reviewing your content strategy and ensuring that emails provide value to recipients, which can improve engagement and reduce complaints.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that gradually increasing sending volumes is crucial. If facing issues, reduce volume significantly and then very slowly increase it, monitoring deliverability metrics closely. They also suggest segmenting your list and starting with highly engaged users.
Marketer from Email Geeks asks about the regular sending cadence post IP warm-up, pointing out that warming with low send frequency can be challenging as ISPs need an accurate picture of future sending patterns. They also mention the difficulty of varying content for warm-up due to creative support or content limitations.
Email marketer from Gmass Blog explains that personalizing emails can improve engagement and reduce the likelihood of recipients marking your messages as spam. Personalization can include using the recipient's name, referencing past interactions, and tailoring content to their interests.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource explains that monitoring your IP address on various blocklists during the IP warming process is critical. If you encounter a blocklist listing, immediately investigate the cause and take steps to resolve it before continuing the warming process.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that a Gmail block is often domain reputation related and suggests ensuring Sender Authentication Package (SAP) is fully implemented with Marketing Cloud, checking the DKIM d= on sends to ensure it's your domain and enabled. He also suggests contacting SFMC support to pull raw bounces from Gmail to check for specific technical problems.
Expert from Word to the Wise emphasizes the importance of proper sender authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to establish credibility with ISPs. Implementing these protocols correctly can significantly improve deliverability, especially during and after an IP warming period.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests asking SFMC support for a sample of raw bounces from Gmail and offering to give opinions on it if shared.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft Postmaster highlights that sender reputation is critical for deliverability. Sudden drops in reputation can lead to blocks. They suggest monitoring your sender reputation using tools like Sender Score and addressing any negative feedback promptly.
Documentation from RFC details the standards for SMTP, emphasizing the importance of adhering to protocol specifications to ensure proper email delivery. This includes proper formatting of email headers and adhering to established sending limits.
Documentation from Gmail Help outlines sender guidelines, emphasizing the importance of authenticating your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. They also state that a consistent sending volume should be maintained. If you have a sudden spike, then it should be gradually increased.
Documentation from DMARC.org explains the importance of implementing DMARC to protect your domain from spoofing and phishing attacks. DMARC helps ISPs verify that emails claiming to be from your domain are actually authorized, which can improve deliverability.