What is the best IP warmup strategy for email sending?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that warming up your IP address is a practice of gradually increasing the volume of emails sent from a new IP address. Mailjet recommends starting with your most engaged subscribers and slowly increasing the volume of emails as your reputation improves.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that either IP warm up scenario of including/excluding the engaged subscribers is fine, but you're looking to grow your volume as you have good engagement.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum answers to maintain a consistent sending schedule during warm-up, rather than sending large batches sporadically. This helps establish a predictable sending pattern and build trust with ISPs.
Email marketer from SendGrid explains IP warm-up as the process of gradually increasing the volume of email you send from a new IP address. This allows mailbox providers to learn that your email is wanted by recipients.
Email marketer from Litmus, recommends monitoring your sending reputation closely during the warm-up process. Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools to track your IP reputation and identify any deliverability issues early on.
Email marketer from GMass, shares to segment your recipient list for warm-up by engagement level. Start with your most engaged subscribers, as they are more likely to open and click your emails, signaling positive engagement to ISPs.
Email marketer from Email Vendor Guide, recommends spacing out the warm up of multiple IP addresses. If you have more than one IP to warm up, don't start them all at the same time. Stagger the process to ensure each IP gets adequate attention and monitoring.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce advises setting up proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) before starting your IP warm-up. This helps verify your identity to ISPs and improves your chances of successful delivery.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that the IP warm-up should happen in phases. Initially, send to your most engaged users, then gradually increase the volume and expand to less engaged segments while monitoring bounce rates and complaint rates.
Email marketer from Woodpecker advises to maintain a consistent sending volume during IP warm-up. Sudden spikes in sending volume can trigger spam filters and negatively impact your reputation.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow, shares to avoid sending unsolicited emails to purchased lists during the warm-up phase. This can lead to high bounce rates, spam complaints, and potential blocklisting, hindering your warm-up efforts.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains during IP warm-up, continuously monitor your deliverability metrics (bounce rates, complaint rates, inbox placement) to identify and address any issues promptly.
Expert from Spam Resource explains the best IP warmup strategy involves a gradual and consistent increase in email volume, avoiding sudden spikes that can trigger spam filters. Monitor your sending reputation and adjust the warm-up pace accordingly.
Expert from Spam Resource answers it's crucial to avoid spam traps during IP warm-up. Send only to confirmed opt-in subscribers and regularly clean your list to remove inactive or invalid addresses.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that ensuring proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential before starting IP warm-up, as it helps establish your legitimacy and improves deliverability.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Amazon Web Services explains that a gradual ramp-up is essential. Start with a small volume of emails to engaged users and slowly increase the volume over time, monitoring deliverability metrics closely. This approach helps establish a positive sending reputation with ISPs.
Documentation from Google advises gradually increasing sending volume when starting with a new IP address. Google recommends monitoring your sending reputation in Postmaster Tools to ensure your IP address is not being flagged for spam.
Documentation from Microsoft states that when establishing a new sending IP address, start with a low volume of messages. If your recipients add you to their address book, this signals to junk email filters that your email is legitimate.