Why is warming an IP address during the holidays generally not recommended?

IP warming requires building a gradual, positive reputation. The holiday season is characterized by extremely high email volumes, heightened ISP scrutiny, and potentially lower engagement rates due to inbox competition. This environment makes it difficult to send the consistent, high-engagement traffic needed to effectively warm up an IP address and can lead to a damaged reputation.

What steps can be taken if an IP warm-up during the holidays is unavoidable?

If unavoidable, send very conservative volumes, targeting only your most engaged subscribers. Monitor all deliverability metrics closely (opens, clicks, bounces, complaints) and be prepared to pause or reduce sending if issues arise. Focus on consistent positive engagement over high volume during this sensitive period.

What are the long-term consequences of a failed holiday IP warm-up?

A new IP that struggles to build a positive reputation during the holidays may face sustained deliverability challenges. This can result in emails consistently landing in spam folders, being throttled, or even being blocked. Recovering from a poor initial reputation can take months, affecting future campaigns. It's similar to what happens when your IP gets blocklisted due to poor sending practices.

How does reduced recipient engagement during the holidays affect IP warming?

Engagement rates naturally dip during the holidays because recipients receive a higher volume of emails, making it harder for any single email to stand out. This competition for attention means fewer opens and clicks, which negatively impacts the positive signals required for a successful IP warm-up.

When is the ideal time to start an IP warm-up to prepare for the holiday season?

It's best to complete new IP address warm-up well before the holiday season begins, ideally by early October. This provides sufficient time (typically 2-4 weeks or more, depending on volume) to establish a solid reputation before the peak sending period.

Is warming up an IP address during the November to December holiday season a bad idea? - Sender reputation - Email deliverability - Knowledge base

The holiday season, spanning November and December, is a critical period for many businesses. Email volumes surge, consumers are highly engaged, and marketing teams are often pushing their biggest campaigns of the year. It's also a time when many consider launching new email infrastructure, including warming up new IP addresses. However, the question often arises: is warming up an IP address during this intense period a bad idea?

The general consensus among deliverability experts leans towards caution. While it might seem like a good opportunity to build reputation with high sending volumes, the unique dynamics of the holiday season introduce significant risks that can derail your warming efforts and impact your overall email performance.

I've seen many companies face challenges during this period due to misjudged IP warm-up strategies. The goal of IP warming is to gradually establish a positive sending reputation with internet service providers (ISPs) like

Google

Yahoo.

Microsoft, and others, by sending a controlled volume of mail to engaged recipients. This careful process is often at odds with the typical holiday season sending patterns.

Why holiday season warming is risky

During the holiday season, ISPs are inundated with an unprecedented volume of email traffic. Their filters are operating at peak sensitivity to combat the increased spam and unwanted mail that also accompanies this period. Any new or unestablished sending IP (or domain) is naturally viewed with more suspicion than usual. This heightened scrutiny can lead to aggressive throttling, increased deferrals, or even direct blocking of your emails, pushing them to the spam folder or outright rejecting them. The goal of IP warming is to build a positive reputation gradually, which becomes exceedingly difficult when the email environment is this turbulent and suspicious.

Engagement metrics are the backbone of a good sender reputation. During a warm-up, you rely on strong opens, clicks, and low complaint rates from highly engaged recipients. However, during the holidays, even engaged users receive a flood of emails. This competition for attention can naturally depress your engagement rates, even for legitimate mail. Lower engagement, coupled with higher scrutiny from ISPs, sends negative signals about your new IP, potentially leading to a poor reputation from the outset. This could result in your emails being placed on a blocklist (or blacklist), which significantly impacts deliverability.

Should your emails face deliverability issues, the holiday season is the worst time to try and remediate them. Postmaster teams at major ISPs are overwhelmed with requests, and response times can be significantly longer. This delay can leave your emails in limbo, unable to reach the inbox, while your sender reputation continues to suffer. Recovering from a poor start during this period can take much longer than usual, impacting your deliverability well into the new year. It's often advised to avoid launching new IP warming campaigns during peak seasons like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

Different goals, different outcomes

The fundamental goals of IP warming and holiday email sending are often at odds. For a successful warm-up, the primary objective is to build a positive sender reputation. This requires sending highly targeted, wanted email to a small segment of your most engaged recipients. The focus is on quality interactions that teach filters your mail is legitimate and desired. Conversely, holiday sending often prioritizes volume and reach, aiming to capture as many sales as possible by tapping into broader segments of your database. This can include less engaged contacts who might not interact positively with your emails.

When you try to combine these two disparate goals, you risk compromising both. A rapid increase in volume to less engaged audiences during a warm-up period can quickly damage your new IP's reputation, leading to lower inbox placement and higher spam rates. This is a critical factor to consider, as the consequences of not warming up an IP address correctly can be long-lasting. It’s far better to dedicate the holiday season to maximizing deliverability with your established sending infrastructure.

IP warming goals

Focus on building a strong, positive sender reputation with ISPs through gradual increases in volume and consistent positive engagement.

Targeted sends: Send to small segments of highly engaged, active subscribers.
Quality over quantity: Prioritize inbox placement and positive interactions (opens, clicks, low complaints).
Consistent monitoring: Closely watch deliverability metrics and adjust sending volume as needed.

Holiday sending goals

Maximize reach and sales during a peak commercial period, often requiring high sending volumes and broader audience targeting.

Broad reach: Send to larger segments, potentially including less engaged contacts.
Volume focus: Aim for high message throughput to capitalize on sales opportunities.
Competitive environment: Emails compete with numerous other brands for recipient attention.

Strategies if it's unavoidable

While it's generally ill-advised, sometimes circumstances dictate that an IP warm-up must occur during the holiday season. Perhaps you're migrating off an old email service provider (ESP) or launching a new platform with a hard deadline. In such unavoidable situations, it's crucial to proceed with extreme caution and a well-defined, conservative strategy. This isn't the time for aggressive sending ramps or experimental campaigns.

If you must warm up an IP during this period, your audience selection is paramount. Focus exclusively on your most active and engaged subscribers, the ones who consistently open and click your emails. Keep your sending volumes much lower than you typically would during a standard warm-up, and prioritize positive engagement signals over sheer volume. Sending relevant content to these highly engaged users can help mitigate some of the risks. You can find more details on best practices for dedicated IP warm-up to apply in this difficult scenario.

Constant monitoring of your deliverability metrics is non-negotiable. Pay close attention to your open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and complaint rates. Be prepared to pause or significantly reduce sending at the first sign of trouble. Patience is also critical; don't expect to hit your full sending volume goals quickly. It will take longer to establish a solid reputation when competing with holiday traffic. While challenging, warming up a new IP during the holidays is not impossible if executed with extreme care and a deep understanding of email deliverability principles, as outlined in guides like how to warm up a new IP address.

It’s important to remember that successful IP warming is a long-term investment in your email program's health. Sacrificing this foundation for short-term holiday sending gains can have detrimental effects on your email deliverability for months to come. If you can, defer any IP warming initiatives until after the holiday rush, when traffic patterns normalize, and ISPs are less on edge.

Views from the trenches

Final thoughts on holiday IP warming

While there isn't an inherent flaw in email deliverability during the November to December holiday season, the context makes IP warming highly risky. The combination of increased email volume, heightened ISP scrutiny, depressed engagement rates due to inbox competition, and slower remediation times creates a challenging environment for establishing a new IP's reputation. This period fundamentally conflicts with the gradual, positive-signal-driven process that IP warming requires.

I always advise prioritizing the long-term health of your email program. If possible, avoid initiating new IP warm-ups during the holiday rush. Instead, focus on maximizing your existing, well-established sending infrastructure and list hygiene. If you absolutely cannot avoid it, proceed with extreme caution, maintain very conservative sending volumes, and monitor your metrics obsessively. This careful approach can help mitigate the risks and prevent your new IP from ending up on a blacklist or blocklist, protecting your overall email deliverability.