What is the best practice for warming up a new client's email list in Klaviyo?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor Blog explains to start with a welcome email. Don't assume they know you - explain the relationship and how they were added to your list. Make sure you deliver on what you promised to increase engagement.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares options for implementing opt-in, including creating a form in Klaviyo, leveraging e-commerce platform integrations (like Shopify), or using Klaviyo's Subscribe to List API.
Email marketer from Email Geeks advises to ensure the list is properly sourced and to consider its age. If the list is old (over a year), it's recommended to start fresh due to potential deliverability issues. If the list is newer, segment based on available data like purchasing history and take the warming up process slow, focusing on building a relationship through a welcome series that introduces the brand and explains where the recipients' email addresses were obtained.
Email marketer from Omnisend Blog advises to ensure list hygiene. This includes removing inactive subscribers and cleaning up invalid email addresses before beginning the warm-up process. This prevents high bounce rates and improves deliverability.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign Blog recommends focusing on sending valuable content that encourages engagement during the warm-up period. They also suggest actively managing your subscriber list by removing inactive users to improve your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Shopify Blog explains warming up an email list by initially sending targeted campaigns to highly engaged subscribers. This establishes a positive sender reputation with ISPs. Gradually increase sending volume and broaden the target audience, monitoring key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates to adjust strategy as needed.
Email marketer from GMass Blog shares to avoid sending to cold leads right away. Instead, find warm leads and start there. Make sure you're sending relevant information and content to your target list.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog suggests segmenting your email list based on engagement levels and sending to the most active subscribers first. This approach helps build a positive sender reputation. Then slowly send to less engaged segments, and clean any unengaged subscribers off the list.
Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog highlights the need for warming up IP addresses as well as email lists. Start with small volumes of emails to highly engaged recipients. Ensure your emails have clear unsubscribe options and monitor engagement metrics closely to avoid spam filters.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests cleaning the list with a list cleaning service to remove bouncers, bots, and dormant emails if the list hasn't been mailed to in a while.
Email marketer from HubSpot Blog shares using double opt-in to build a list as a great starting point, and segmenting a list into 'engaged' and 'unengaged' groups. Then target 'engaged' first to get engagement metrics up.
Email marketer from EmailGeeks Forum suggests beginning with a smaller, highly engaged segment of your list, and focusing on delivering value-added content that prompts engagement. User then suggests gradually increasing sending volumes once you're seeing positive engagement signals (opens, clicks, replies).
Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailNoob recommends segmenting by engagement and slowly increasing volume. They also recommend focusing on the first impression of a new subscriber so welcome emails, and introducing the customer to the brand is a must.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks advises to invite recipients to join the newsletter or marketing program, emphasizing the importance of obtaining explicit opt-in to avoid complaints. If opt-in is not possible, introduce the mail and provide a very easy-to-find unsubscribe link.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that using old lists will get you into trouble with spam traps. She advises how important it is to follow best practices in data handling from the very beginning, to not end up in the situation of sending to old lists.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that maintaining a clean and engaged list is crucial for deliverability. Regularly remove inactive subscribers and those who haven't engaged in a while. Use sunset policies to identify and remove these inactive subscribers from your mailing list.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains the gradual process of sending email from a new IP address to build a positive reputation with ISPs. It involves starting with a small volume of emails to engaged subscribers, then gradually increasing the volume and broadening the targeting over time.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft 365 Documentation advises authenticating your domain using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to improve email deliverability and sender reputation. They also recommend monitoring your sending IP address for blacklisting and promptly addressing any issues.
Documentation from SparkPost advises starting with transactional emails, or targeted campaigns rather than mass bulk emails and gradually increase email volume by 10-20% per day. This helps establish a positive sending reputation.
Documentation from Klaviyo Help Center emphasizes the importance of gradually increasing sending volume when starting with a new Klaviyo account or a new IP address. Klaviyo recommends starting with your most engaged segments and monitoring deliverability to maintain a healthy sender reputation. They also advise to authenticate your sending domain.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools Help advises establishing a consistent sending volume and avoiding sudden spikes. Google recommends gradually increasing the number of emails you send and monitoring your reputation in Postmaster Tools to ensure you're not being flagged as spam.