What is the best practice for warming up a new client's email list in Klaviyo?

Summary

Warming up a new client's email list in Klaviyo involves a multifaceted approach to build a positive sender reputation and improve deliverability. It starts with ensuring the list is properly sourced, cleaned of invalid addresses, and segmented based on engagement levels. Gradually increase sending volume, focusing initially on the most engaged subscribers with valuable content and a clear welcome message. Implement explicit opt-in processes and provide easy-to-find unsubscribe options to respect recipient preferences. Domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial. Avoid sending to old or cold lists, and consistently monitor deliverability metrics to adjust your strategy. Proper IP warming is essential, especially with new accounts.

Key findings

  • List Hygiene & Sourcing: Properly sourcing, cleaning, and segmenting your email list are fundamental steps to prevent deliverability issues and improve engagement.
  • Gradual Volume Increase: Gradually increasing sending volume, particularly with a new account or IP address, is crucial for building a positive sender reputation and avoiding spam filters.
  • Engagement-Focused Approach: Start with your most engaged subscribers, deliver valuable content, and focus on building a relationship through a welcome series.
  • Explicit Opt-In and Unsubscribe: Gaining explicit opt-in consent and providing easy unsubscribe options are essential for respecting recipients' preferences and avoiding complaints.
  • Authentication Matters: Domain authentication using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is critical for verifying your sender identity and improving email deliverability.
  • Avoid Old Lists: Using old or cold lists will likely result in low engagement, spam trap hits, and a damaged sender reputation.

Key considerations

  • List Age and Quality: Assess the age and quality of the list. If it's old (over a year), consider starting fresh.
  • IP Warming Strategy: Develop a specific IP warming strategy, gradually increasing volume over time, especially with a new Klaviyo account.
  • Content Value and Relevance: Ensure your content is valuable, relevant, and tailored to your audience to maximize engagement.
  • Continuous Monitoring: Continuously monitor key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and spam complaints to identify and address any issues proactively.
  • Compliance and Best Practices: Adhere to email marketing best practices and comply with relevant regulations (e.g., GDPR, CAN-SPAM) to maintain a healthy sender reputation and avoid legal issues.
  • Segmentation and Personalization: Use data and segmentation to personalize email campaigns and deliver relevant content, increasing engagement and reducing the likelihood of unsubscribes or spam reports.

What email marketers say
13Marketer opinions

Warming up a new client's email list in Klaviyo requires a strategic approach focused on building a positive sender reputation and ensuring high engagement. Key steps include verifying list origin and age, cleaning the list to remove inactive or invalid addresses, and segmenting based on engagement levels. The initial focus should be on sending valuable content to the most engaged subscribers, gradually increasing volume and broadening the target audience. Implementing a welcome series, offering clear opt-in options, and monitoring deliverability metrics are essential for success.

Key opinions

  • List Quality: Ensure the email list is properly sourced, relatively recent, and cleaned of invalid or inactive addresses to avoid deliverability issues.
  • Segmentation: Segment your list based on engagement levels and target the most active subscribers first to build a positive sender reputation.
  • Gradual Increase: Gradually increase sending volume to avoid triggering spam filters and establish a consistent sending pattern.
  • Valuable Content: Focus on delivering valuable and engaging content, especially in the initial stages, to encourage opens, clicks, and replies.
  • Opt-in Practices: Implement clear opt-in options (like double opt-in) to ensure subscribers want to receive emails, reducing complaints and improving engagement.
  • Welcome Series: Prioritize a welcome email to introduce the brand.

Key considerations

  • List Age: If the list is old (over a year), consider starting fresh due to potential deliverability risks associated with outdated or unengaged contacts.
  • IP Warming: Consider the need for IP warming, especially when using a new Klaviyo account or IP address, by gradually increasing sending volume.
  • Engagement Metrics: Monitor key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates to adjust your warming strategy and maintain a healthy sender reputation.
  • Unsubscribe Options: Always ensure emails have clear unsubscribe options to respect recipients' preferences and avoid being marked as spam.
  • List Hygiene: Maintain ongoing list hygiene by regularly removing inactive users and invalid email addresses to improve deliverability.
  • Authentication: Implement email authentication methods (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to verify your sending domain and improve deliverability.
Marketer view

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.

April 2024 - Campaign Monitor Blog
Marketer view

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.

April 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

January 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

July 2022 - Omnisend Blog
Marketer view

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.

August 2024 - ActiveCampaign Blog
Marketer view

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.

September 2024 - Shopify Blog
Marketer view

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.

March 2022 - GMass Blog
Marketer view

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.

August 2021 - Mailjet Blog
Marketer view

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.

December 2022 - Sendinblue Blog
Marketer view

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.

June 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

February 2022 - HubSpot Blog
Marketer view

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).

April 2021 - EmailGeeks Forum
Marketer view

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.

February 2023 - Reddit

What the experts say
4Expert opinions

Warming up a new email list involves obtaining explicit consent, avoiding old lists to prevent spam trap hits, gradually increasing sending volume from a new IP, and maintaining a clean, engaged list by removing inactive subscribers.

Key opinions

  • Explicit Opt-in: Gaining explicit consent to receive emails is crucial for avoiding complaints and building a positive sender reputation.
  • Avoid Old Lists: Using old email lists can lead to deliverability issues and spam trap hits, emphasizing the importance of good data handling practices.
  • Gradual IP Warming: Gradually increasing email volume from a new IP address is necessary to establish a positive reputation with ISPs.
  • List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean and engaged list by removing inactive subscribers is essential for optimal deliverability.

Key considerations

  • Consent Options: If explicit opt-in is not possible, providing an easy-to-find unsubscribe link is crucial for respecting recipients' preferences.
  • Data Handling: Implement best practices in data handling from the outset to avoid using old or improperly sourced lists.
  • Volume Control: Monitor and control the sending volume during IP warming to avoid being flagged as spam.
  • Sunset Policies: Implement sunset policies to identify and remove inactive subscribers from your mailing list to improve engagement rates.
Expert view

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.

August 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

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.

January 2022 - Spam Resource
Expert view

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.

October 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

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.

May 2023 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Warming up a new client's email list involves gradually increasing sending volume, starting with engaged segments or transactional emails, and consistently monitoring deliverability. Authenticating your domain using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is also crucial for building and maintaining a healthy sender reputation. Avoid sudden spikes in sending volume.

Key findings

  • Gradual Volume Increase: All sources emphasize the importance of gradually increasing sending volume, especially when starting with a new account or IP address.
  • Engaged Segments First: Start by sending emails to your most engaged segments to establish a positive sender reputation.
  • Domain Authentication: Authenticating your sending domain using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is critical for improving deliverability and sender reputation.
  • Consistent Volume: Establishing a consistent sending volume and avoiding sudden spikes helps prevent being flagged as spam.

Key considerations

  • Deliverability Monitoring: Continuously monitor your deliverability metrics to identify and address any issues promptly.
  • Start with Transactional: Consider starting with transactional emails or targeted campaigns rather than mass bulk emails.
  • Reputation Monitoring: Monitor your sending IP address for blacklisting and address any issues immediately.
  • Volume Increase Pace: Increase email volume gradually, such as by 10-20% per day, to establish a positive sending reputation.
Technical article

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.

April 2024 - Microsoft 365 Documentation
Technical article

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.

October 2024 - SparkPost Documentation
Technical article

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.

February 2022 - Klaviyo Help Center
Technical article

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.

May 2024 - Google Postmaster Tools Help