Why is a minimum sending volume needed for a dedicated IP?

A minimum sending volume is needed for a dedicated IP to allow ISPs to collect enough data to accurately assess your sender reputation. Consistent, sufficient volume helps in building trust and ensures that minor negative events don't disproportionately impact your IP's standing.

What happens if I use a dedicated IP with low email volume?

Using a dedicated IP with low volume can lead to a poor or inconsistent sender reputation. Your emails might face increased spam filtering, higher bounce rates, and disproportionate negative impacts from spam complaints or other issues. This can significantly reduce your inbox placement.

Is a shared IP ever better than a dedicated IP?

Yes, a shared IP is often better for senders with low or inconsistent email volumes. It allows you to leverage the collective reputation of other senders on the same IP, minimizing the risk that your own low volume will negatively impact your sender reputation. Modern ISPs can typically distinguish individual senders even on shared IPs.

How does IP warming relate to minimum send volume?

IP warming is the process of gradually increasing email volume on a new dedicated IP to build its reputation. Minimum send volume is crucial for warming, as insufficient volume makes it difficult to establish a trusted sending history. Without consistent volume, the warming process is prolonged and less effective, hindering deliverability.

What is the minimum send volume needed for a dedicated IP address? - Sender reputation - Email deliverability - Knowledge base

The decision to use a dedicated IP address for your email sending can significantly impact your deliverability. While it offers unparalleled control over your sender reputation, it also comes with responsibilities, especially concerning email volume and consistency.

One of the most common questions I encounter is about the minimum send volume required to justify and maintain a dedicated IP. This isn't just a technical detail; it's a critical factor that can either boost your inbox placement or land your emails in the spam folder.

Understanding dedicated versus shared IPs

When you send emails, they originate from an IP address. This IP address builds a reputation with internet service providers (ISPs) like Salesforce Marketing Cloud based on your sending habits and recipient engagement. There are two main types of IPs: shared and dedicated.

A shared IP address is used by multiple senders. While this can be beneficial for lower volume senders who can leverage the collective reputation of other good senders, it also means your deliverability can be affected by others' poor practices. If another sender on your shared IP sends spam, it might impact your own emails, even if your practices are impeccable. However, most major mailbox providers are sophisticated enough to distinguish individual sender reputations, even on a shared IP, especially if your email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is correctly configured. You can learn more about DMARC, SPF, and DKIM.

A dedicated IP address, on the other hand, is exclusively yours. This gives you full control over its reputation. It means your sender reputation is solely dependent on your own sending behavior, list quality, and engagement. This can be a huge advantage for high-volume, consistent senders who maintain excellent practices, but it's a significant responsibility for those with lower or inconsistent volumes.

The choice between a shared and dedicated IP boils down to your sending volume, frequency, and overall email strategy. It's not a one-size-fits-all answer, and what works for one business may not be suitable for another.

The minimum volume for a dedicated IP

The consensus among deliverability experts and email service providers (ESPs) is that a dedicated IP requires a consistent and sufficiently high volume to maintain a positive sender reputation. There isn't a single, universally agreed-upon minimum, as it can vary slightly between ISPs and ESPs, but a common range emerges.

Many providers suggest a minimum monthly volume of 100,000 to 250,000 emails. This volume allows ISPs to collect enough data points to accurately assess your sending behavior, complaints, bounces, and engagement, thereby building and sustaining a reliable sender reputation for your dedicated IP. Without sufficient volume, your IP may struggle to establish a consistent reputation, leading to inconsistent inbox placement. For more details on the volume needed, refer to our article on recommended minimum monthly email send volume.

Some ESPs have stricter requirements, advising volumes of 50,000 emails per day or even higher. These higher thresholds are often to ensure that the dedicated IP can be adequately warmed up and maintained from the start, minimizing the risk of deliverability issues down the line. It's crucial to understand these requirements before committing to a dedicated IP.

Provider	Minimum Recommended Volume	Notes
Salesforce Marketing Cloud	100,000 emails per month	To keep the IP warm and avoid suboptimal delivery.
Mailgun	100,000 messages per month	Required to effectively build and maintain IP reputation.
Postmark	300,000 messages per month	This volume is best for establishing a solid IP reputation.
Mailjet	150,000 emails per month, or 5,000 emails per day	Minimum required volume by most ISPs.
SMTP2GO	5,000 emails per day, 3+ days/week	For accounts with plans allowing at least 100,000 emails per month.

Risks of insufficient volume on a dedicated IP

Using a dedicated IP address with insufficient sending volume can lead to several negative consequences for your email program. One of the primary issues is the inability to consistently maintain a warm IP reputation. ISPs rely on consistent sending to gauge your legitimacy and trust your IP. Sporadic or low volume can make it difficult for their algorithms to build a reliable profile for your IP, potentially leading to increased filtering.

Furthermore, small negative events can have a disproportionately large impact on a low-volume dedicated IP. For example, if you send 10,000 emails once a week, and even a small number of recipients mark your emails as spam (say, 50 complaints for

Outlook (formerly Hotmail)), your complaint rate can quickly exceed acceptable thresholds. This can lead to your IP being added to an email blocklist (or blacklist), or facing significant inbox placement issues. You can explore our guides on how email blacklists actually work and what happens when your domain is on an email blacklist.

Risks of a dedicated IP with low volume

Poor reputation building: ISPs cannot gather enough data to establish trust, leading to inconsistent deliverability.
Disproportionate impact from negative feedback: A small number of spam complaints or bounces will significantly inflate your complaint rate.
Increased spam folder placement: Without a solid reputation, emails are more likely to be sent to spam, impacting your marketing effectiveness. Learn why your emails go to spam.
Difficult IP warming: The process of gradually increasing email volume becomes prolonged and less effective.

Monitoring your domain reputation through tools like Google Postmaster Tools is essential, regardless of your IP type. If you notice a decline in key metrics (like open rates or click-through rates) or an increase in spam folder placement without corresponding changes in your sending practices, it might indicate a deliverability issue related to your IP reputation. For more on these issues, see our article on email deliverability issues.

Views from the trenches

Best practices

Maintain a consistent sending schedule and volume to allow ISPs to build your IP reputation effectively.

Segment your audience and send relevant content to minimize spam complaints and maximize engagement.

Regularly clean your email lists to remove inactive or invalid addresses, reducing bounces and spam traps.

Common pitfalls

Moving to a dedicated IP with low or inconsistent sending volume, which can lead to poor reputation.

Ignoring feedback loops and high complaint rates, severely damaging your dedicated IP's standing.

Failing to properly warm up a new dedicated IP, resulting in immediate deliverability challenges.

Expert tips

Assess your true average daily and monthly email volume before deciding on a dedicated IP.

Consider transactional vs. marketing email separation for large volumes with different engagement patterns.

If your volume is low or inconsistent, a shared IP is generally safer and more cost-effective for deliverability.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks says they generally recommend dedicated IPs for volumes exceeding one million emails per day.

2020-03-12 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks says they are barely clearing 20,000 emails a day and successfully use a dedicated IP.

2020-03-12 - Email Geeks

Making the right choice for your sending needs

The minimum send volume needed for a dedicated IP address isn't a hard and fast rule, but rather a guideline to ensure optimal deliverability. Most recommendations point to a minimum of 100,000 to 250,000 emails per month, with a consistent sending cadence.

If your email volume is below this range or highly inconsistent, a shared IP address is generally the safer and more effective choice. It allows you to benefit from the aggregated reputation of other senders and avoids the pitfalls of a poorly warmed or maintained dedicated IP. Before making a decision, critically assess your actual sending volume and frequency. Consider if a dedicated IP is suitable for low volume senders.