Summary
Switching to a dedicated sending domain and IP necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the disadvantages and IP warm-up requirements. A primary disadvantage is the sole responsibility for building and maintaining a positive sending reputation, making good sending practices critical. The warm-up process involves gradually increasing sending volume to engaged users over weeks to months, avoiding sudden spikes, and maintaining consistent sending habits. Proper list hygiene, including sending to clean and engaged lists, is crucial to prevent bounces and complaints. Monitoring sending metrics like bounce and complaint rates, as well as utilizing tools like Google Postmaster Tools, is essential. Furthermore, dedicated IPs are not suitable for low-volume senders, and organizations should assess if their volume justifies the costs and effort. Authenticating emails and using consistent 'From' information aids in establishing credibility with ISPs. The warm-up duration can vary, potentially taking several weeks to months, depending on factors like list size and existing deliverability.
Key findings
- Reputation Responsibility: Senders are solely responsible for building and maintaining a positive IP reputation with a dedicated IP.
- Warm-up Necessity & Duration: Proper IP warm-up is crucial, typically taking weeks to months, involving gradual volume increases.
- Low Volume Suitability: Dedicated IPs are not suitable for low-volume senders; consistent, high volume is needed.
- Deliverability Impact: Poor sending practices directly and quickly impact deliverability with a dedicated IP.
- Monitoring is Essential: Continuous monitoring of sending metrics and IP reputation is necessary to identify and address issues.
- Cost Consideration: Costs (time, resources, monetary) associated with managing a dedicated IP should be considered.
Key considerations
- List Hygiene: Maintain a clean and engaged email list to minimize bounces and complaints.
- Gradual Volume Increase: Gradually increase sending volume during warm-up, avoiding sudden spikes.
- Consistent Sending Habits: Establish consistent sending habits to build a stable sending reputation.
- Email Authentication: Implement email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for credibility.
- Metric & Reputation Monitoring: Actively monitor bounce rates, complaint rates, and IP reputation using available tools.
- Engagement Targeting: Focus initial warm-up efforts on the most engaged subscribers.
- Volume Suitability Assessment: Assess if your sending volume is sufficient to justify a dedicated IP.
- Avoid Sudden Volume Spikes: Avoid sudden spikes in email volume as it could be damaging to your reputation
What email marketers say
10 marketer opinions
Switching to a dedicated sending domain and IP offers benefits but introduces disadvantages and warm-up requirements. A key concern is the sole responsibility for building and maintaining IP reputation; poor practices directly impact deliverability. Warming up the IP involves gradually increasing sending volume to engaged users over weeks to months while maintaining consistent volume. Proper list hygiene is crucial to prevent bounces and complaints. Dedicated IPs are less suitable for low-volume senders due to the need for consistent traffic to establish a good reputation. There are also costs in both time, resources and money associated with maintaining a dedicated IP.
Key opinions
- Reputation Responsibility: With a dedicated IP, you are solely responsible for maintaining a positive sender reputation. Poor practices directly affect deliverability.
- Warm-up Importance: A proper IP warm-up strategy is crucial. Gradually increase sending volume to engaged users over weeks to months to build a positive reputation.
- Deliverability Risks: Switching can cause temporary deliverability blips as filters adjust to the new setup.
- Low Volume Incompatibility: Dedicated IPs are not ideal for low-volume senders, as consistent traffic is needed to maintain a positive reputation.
- Cost Implications: There are direct costs (IP cost) and indirect costs (time, resources) for managing dedicated IPs.
Key considerations
- List Hygiene: Ensure your email list is clean and engaged to avoid bounces and spam complaints during warm-up.
- DKIM Alignment: If you already have aligned DKIM signing, the transition may be smoother.
- Volume Consistency: Maintain consistent sending volume after warm-up to avoid negatively impacting your reputation.
- Monitoring: Actively monitor your IP reputation and deliverability metrics to address any issues promptly.
- Volume Assessment: Assess if your sending volume is high enough to justify a dedicated IP; it may not be necessary for small businesses with low volume.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that there's a risk that the cutover process causes a blip in deliverability when switching to a dedicated sending domain because filters can take a little while to get used to the new setup. However, if you are already doing aligned DKIM signing, there is not much to worry about.
9 Nov 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Litmus points out that there are direct and indirect costs associated with dedicated IPs. Besides the cost of the IP itself, time and resources are needed to manage the IP and any deliverability issues that arise.
8 Nov 2022 - Litmus
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Switching to a dedicated sending domain necessitates a careful approach to IP warming and reputation management. Experts emphasize that the need for warming depends on list size and volume; large senders should warm up their domain post-DKIM implementation, while those with good deliverability may delay until after peak sending periods. IP warm-up is expected to take weeks to months, requiring gradual reputation building through consistent sending habits and email authentication best practices. Avoiding sudden spikes in mail volume is also crucial for a smooth warm-up process.
Key opinions
- Warming Need Varies: The necessity of IP warm-up depends on list size, sending volume, and current deliverability.
- Warm-up Duration: Expect the IP warm-up process to take several weeks to months.
- Gradual Reputation Building: Building a sending domain's reputation gradually is crucial.
- Spike Avoidance: Avoiding sudden spikes in mail volume during warm-up is essential for a smooth transition.
Key considerations
- List Size and Volume: Assess the size of your email list and weekly sending volume to determine the appropriate warm-up strategy.
- Existing Deliverability: If your current deliverability is good, consider delaying full implementation and warming until after peak sending seasons.
- Consistent Sending Habits: Establish and maintain consistent sending habits throughout the warm-up process.
- Authentication Practices: Ensure you follow email authentication best practices (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) to build credibility.
- Monitor Reputation: Monitor your sending reputation closely during and after the warm-up period to identify and address any issues.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource (John Levine) says that one should expect an IP warm-up to take several weeks to months when transitioning to a dedicated IP and to monitor reputation closely.
15 Mar 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that whether an IP warm-up is needed when switching to a dedicated sending domain depends on the size of the email list and volume. Given the sender's subscriber count (800K) and weekly email volume (1 million), Al suggests that warming up the domain after implementing DKIM would be ideal, and if deliverability is good, wait until after the holidays to implement fully, otherwise domain warming is advisable.
5 Jun 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Switching to a dedicated IP requires a structured warm-up approach, starting with small email batches to engaged users, gradually increasing volume over several weeks. It's crucial to monitor sending metrics like bounce and complaint rates closely during this process, addressing issues promptly to protect IP reputation. Utilizing tools like Google Postmaster Tools is essential for continuous reputation monitoring. Credibility with ISPs is built through consistent 'From' information and targeting engaged subscribers.
Key findings
- Structured Warm-up Schedule: A structured IP warm-up schedule, starting with small batches and gradually increasing volume, is recommended.
- Metric Monitoring: Close monitoring of sending metrics like bounce and complaint rates is essential during warm-up.
- Reputation Monitoring Tools: Tools like Google Postmaster Tools are necessary for monitoring IP reputation.
- Credibility Building: Consistent 'From' information and targeting engaged subscribers build credibility with ISPs.
Key considerations
- Engaged Subscribers: Prioritize sending to your most engaged subscribers during the initial warm-up phase.
- Bounce and Complaint Rates: Actively monitor and address high bounce and complaint rates, as they can damage IP reputation.
- Content Quality: Ensure your email content is relevant and engaging to minimize complaints.
- ISPs Credibility: Use consistent 'From' information and authenticate your emails to establish credibility with ISPs.
- Tools Usage: Utilize tools like Google Postmaster Tools to gain insights into your sending reputation and deliverability.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailchimp details guidelines, including sending to engaged subscribers and using consistent 'From' information to establish credibility with ISPs during the IP warm-up period.
18 May 2023 - Mailchimp
Technical article
Documentation from Amazon SES recommends monitoring sending metrics closely during IP warm-up, especially bounce rates and complaint rates. High rates indicate potential problems with list quality or email content, requiring immediate attention to avoid damaging IP reputation.
26 Sep 2023 - Amazon SES
Are custom sending domains worth the money and effort?
Are IP warming services effective for improving email deliverability?
Do ESPs charge for dedicated IPs and how much do dedicated IPs cost?
Do I need an IP warm-up when moving to a new ESP with shared IPs?
How do I warm up a new IP address for transactional emails?
How do you warm up a new dedicated sending domain for automated email flows with a welcome series?
