What is the best approach to warm up a new domain after a rebrand while keeping the same IP address?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit suggests focusing on sending to highly engaged users first. He explains that you should start with a small percentage of your list and gradually increase it over several weeks. Monitoring your sender reputation and making adjustments as needed is critical.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum responds that when rebranding, notify your subscribers well in advance and give them the option to resubscribe if they wish. Continue to provide valuable content to avoid being marked as spam.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests that warm-up is as slow/long for IPs as it is for domains. They suggest being hasty is a sure way to get into trouble.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests that it's all relative (and varies from on reputation system to another) and depends on the usual volumes and frequency before stopping sending, the expected volumes to be sent, at what frequency, and to which MBPs. But rules of thumb: after a month, it's cold and to plan at least one month for a ramp-up, and expect more.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign Blog responds that domain reputation is critical for successful email delivery. They suggest warming up a new domain by sending consistent, low-volume emails to engaged subscribers. Using authentication methods like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is essential to verify your identity and improve deliverability. Regularly cleaning your email list to remove inactive subscribers helps maintain a good sender reputation.
Email marketer from SparkPost Blog shares that warming up a domain or IP address involves gradually increasing your sending volume to establish a reputation with mailbox providers. They suggest starting with transactional emails and then moving to marketing emails. Consistent sending and monitoring engagement metrics are crucial for a successful warmup.
Email marketer from Gmass Blog shares that warming up a new domain involves gradually increasing your sending volume to establish a good reputation with ISPs. They suggest using a tool to automatically schedule and send emails over a period of weeks, starting with a small number of emails and gradually increasing the volume.
Email marketer from Mailgun Blog explains that a domain warmup strategy involves gradually increasing sending volume to build a positive reputation with ISPs. They suggest starting with small batches of emails to engaged users and slowly increasing volume over time. Monitoring deliverability metrics like open rates and bounce rates is crucial to adjust the warmup strategy as needed.
Email marketer from Woodpecker Blog shares that the main focus for email warmup is to set up correct authentication, engage with your target, personalize, be consistent, use low volume and allow your email to rest.
Email marketer from Email on Acid Blog explains that domain warmup is essential for establishing a good sending reputation with mailbox providers. They suggest starting with a small segment of your most engaged subscribers and gradually increasing sending volume over time. Monitoring bounce rates and spam complaints is crucial to identify and address any deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that careful consideration should be taken when establishing a new domain, suggesting letting the domain 'exist' for 30-60 days or longer before starting the warmup process. They emphasise the importance of slow and steady volume increase to engaged recipients and advising the audience of the rebrand. They suggest warming a subdomain on an established root domain can be done more quickly.
Email marketer from GlockApps Blog explains that domain warmup is a process of gradually increasing your sending volume to build a positive sending reputation with ISPs. They suggest starting with your most engaged subscribers and sending them personalized emails. Monitoring your deliverability metrics and adjusting your sending strategy is crucial for success.
Email marketer from SendGrid Blog shares that during a rebrand, it's crucial to communicate the change to your subscribers and ask them to add your new domain to their address book. They recommend segmenting your list and sending to the most engaged subscribers first, gradually expanding to the less engaged ones. Monitoring sender reputation and addressing any deliverability issues promptly is key.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource shares that warming up an IP address means gradually increasing the volume of email sent from that IP over time, to establish a positive reputation with mailbox providers. A gradual increase demonstrates you are a legitimate sender.
Expert from Email Geeks shares if it's a new domain (never used before for email) then it's the same as the warmup for an IP. If it's a warm domain you're moving to, then you can do an abbreviated warmup, to give the Machine Learning filters a chance to learn that this IP / domain combo is legit and the previous domain reputation should apply.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that it’s not that simple, because there’s the specific subdomain reputation, the primary domain reputation, and the 24 hour, 3 day, 7 day, 30 day and 90 day reputation to consider.
Expert from Word to the Wise highlights the importance of consistent engagement and clean list practices post-rebrand. They suggest focusing on delivering valuable content to maintain a positive reputation and avoid being flagged as spam. Regularly pruning inactive subscribers helps safeguard your sender reputation.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) helps protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks. Implementing DMARC involves creating a DMARC record in your DNS zone and specifying a policy for how mailbox providers should handle emails that fail SPF and DKIM checks. Analyzing DMARC reports can help identify and address deliverability issues.
Documentation from Google Support explains that to ensure emails reach Gmail inboxes, bulk senders should authenticate their email with SPF and DKIM. They emphasize the importance of maintaining a low spam complaint rate and providing an easy unsubscribe option. Google also recommends gradually increasing sending volume to establish a positive sending reputation.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your email messages, which verifies that the message was sent by an authorized sender and hasn't been altered in transit. Implementing DKIM can improve email deliverability by reducing the risk of your emails being marked as spam.
Documentation from RFC explains that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records specify which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. Setting up SPF properly can prevent spammers from forging your email address and improve email deliverability.