Summary
Warming up a domain with a small email list involves gradually building a positive sending reputation by consistently sending high-quality, relevant content to engaged subscribers. Experts and documentation sources recommend starting with low volumes and slowly increasing the sending frequency and volume over time. Segmentation based on engagement is crucial to prioritize active users. Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential for validating email sources and improving deliverability. Monitoring sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS helps identify and address deliverability issues. Maintaining a consistent sending schedule and avoiding sudden volume spikes prevents triggering spam filters. For very small lists, warming may not be strictly necessary, but following best practices is still beneficial. Ensuring genuine opt-in and easy unsubscribe options are also key for maintaining a positive sending reputation.
Key findings
- Engage Subscribers: Send relevant, high-quality content to engaged subscribers.
- Gradual Volume Increase: Slowly increase sending volume and frequency over time.
- Prioritize Segmentation: Segment your list by engagement and focus on active users.
- Authenticate Emails: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for proper email authentication.
- Monitor Reputation: Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS to track your sender reputation.
- Maintain Consistency: Follow a consistent sending schedule and avoid sudden spikes in volume.
Key considerations
- Relevance: Ensure your content is highly relevant and valuable to recipients.
- Technical Setup: Verify your technical setup, including DNS records and email authentication.
- List Hygiene: Maintain a clean list with genuine opt-in and easy unsubscribe options.
- Volume Threshold: Consider whether warming is truly necessary for extremely small lists.
- Patience: Warming takes time; avoid sending too much too soon.
What email marketers say
7 marketer opinions
Warming up a domain with a small email list involves gradually building a positive sending reputation. Experts recommend starting by sending emails to the most engaged subscribers with relevant, high-quality content. It's crucial to increase the volume and frequency of sends slowly, while closely monitoring engagement metrics like open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and spam complaints. Segmenting the list by engagement level helps prioritize active subscribers. Avoiding sudden spikes in email volume is essential to prevent triggering spam filters. Consistent sending habits, proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and easy unsubscribe options are also important. Some also highlight tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS for monitoring sender reputation.
Key opinions
- Engage Subscribers: Start by sending emails to your most engaged subscribers with content they want.
- Gradual Increase: Slowly increase the volume and frequency of your sends over time.
- Monitor Metrics: Closely monitor engagement metrics like open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and spam complaints.
- Segmentation: Segment your list based on engagement level and prioritize active subscribers.
- Avoid Spikes: Avoid sudden spikes in email volume to prevent triggering spam filters.
Key considerations
- Content Quality: Ensure your content is relevant, high-quality, and valuable to recipients.
- Authentication: Properly authenticate your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify your sending domain.
- Unsubscribe: Make it easy for people to unsubscribe from your emails.
- Monitoring Tools: Utilize tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS to monitor your sender reputation.
- Consistency: Focus on consistent sending habits and maintain a regular sending schedule.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that warming up a new domain with a small email list requires sending emails to your most engaged subscribers first, then gradually increasing the volume and frequency of your sends. They recommend monitoring your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS to ensure that your emails are reaching the inbox and not being marked as spam.
3 Jun 2023 - Mailjet
Marketer view
Email marketer from StackOverflow recommends starting with transactional emails to known customers and gradually introducing marketing emails. This helps build a positive reputation with ISPs. Monitor blocklists and immediately address any issues that arise.
29 May 2022 - StackOverflow
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Experts recommend a slow and steady approach to domain warming, particularly for small email lists. The common advice is to gradually increase sending volume and maintain consistency. Some suggest splitting the list initially, sending to portions over several days before consolidating to a single day. However, it's also noted that for very small lists, warming might not even be necessary. Consistency in sending is highlighted as crucial to avoid triggering spam filters.
Key opinions
- Gradual Ramp-up: Increase sending volume slowly and gradually.
- Consistency: Maintain a consistent sending schedule.
- Split Initial Sends: Consider splitting initial sends over a few days.
- Small Lists May Not Need Warming: Warming may not be necessary for very small volumes.
Key considerations
- Patience: Avoid sending too much email too quickly.
- Spam Filters: Be mindful of inconsistent sending patterns triggering spam filters.
- Specific Strategy: Although helpful, strict warming strategies may not be completely necessary.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks suggests splitting a small list over a couple of days initially, then migrating to a single day over a few weeks. He proposes sending to 33% of the list each day for three days for a couple of weeks, then 50/50 for a couple more weeks, and finally migrating to one day in about a month.
27 May 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Spamresource explains that slow and steady often wins the race when warming up a domain. Sending too much email too fast can be a recipe for deliverability disaster. Patience and a gradual ramp-up are key.
14 Sep 2022 - Spamresource
What the documentation says
3 technical articles
Email providers like Google and Microsoft emphasize the importance of gradually increasing sending volume for new domains. They recommend proper email authentication using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to validate email sources and improve deliverability. Monitoring sender reputation through tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS is also crucial. Consistency and avoiding sudden changes are key to prevent triggering spam filters.
Key findings
- Gradual Volume Increase: Slowly increase sending volume to establish a positive sending reputation.
- Email Authentication: Use SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to authenticate your emails and verify your sending domain.
- Monitor Reputation: Monitor your sender reputation using tools provided by email providers (e.g., Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft SNDS).
Key considerations
- Compliance: Comply with all applicable laws and regulations related to email sending.
- Domain Setup: Ensure your sending domain is correctly set up and configured.
- Sudden Changes: Avoid sudden changes in sending behavior to prevent triggering spam filters.
- Spam Complaint Rate: Monitor and keep your spam complaint rate below recommended thresholds (e.g., below 0.10% for Gmail).
Technical article
Documentation from Google explains that when sending email to Gmail users, it's important to follow bulk sending best practices. Gradually increase sending volume, authenticate your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and monitor your sender reputation in Google Postmaster Tools. Google recommends starting with a small volume of emails and gradually increasing it over time, as well as monitoring your spam complaint rate and keeping it below 0.10%.
12 Sep 2021 - Google
Technical article
Documentation from RFC-Editor details that using SPF, DKIM and DMARC will help validate the source of email messages which will help improve deliverability. These are essentially used by mailbox providers to ensure that the email that claims to have come from your domain, actually did.
20 Oct 2021 - RFC-Editor
How do you warm up a new dedicated sending domain for automated email flows with a welcome series?
Do I need to warm up a new domain for a small email list?
How do I warm up a new IP address for transactional emails?
What are the best practices and schedules for warming up an IP address for email sending?
How long does it take to warm up an IP address for email marketing?
Is IP warming necessary for low volume email senders with a dedicated IP?
