IP Warmup
IP warming is a process that gradually builds the reputation of your IP address. To successfully warm up an IP address, you must send carefully planned content to highly engaged recipients.
Warm-up recommendations
In order to optimize the success of your warm up, we recommend sending:
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Campaigns that promote awareness of your new sender identity (that is, "Add-To-Address Book")
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Welcome emails to subscribers that have been recently acquired through highly reliable acquisition channels
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Content that has had good reception in the past
Your target audience during warm up should be populated with high quality data as the goal is to minimize complaints and bounces. Initial lists should include subscribers that have recently opted-in, have opened or clicked within the last 6 months, or are known to be consistently brand loyal. During the initial phase of warm up, you should avoid sending to addresses older than 6 months as they are more likely to hit the “spam” button. Older addresses also have a higher risk of being spam traps.
Start the warm-up process by sending the same low daily volumes for a few days at a time. The below warm-up schedule provides guidance around the level of volume that should be sent to the various ISPs or domains.
If a list does not meet the suggested volume level at a particular ISP or domain, send the volume that is available and continue to follow the schedule for the other domains. If the list does not contain the below domains in significant volume we recommend warming up your top 3 or 4 domains on your list. Any other domains with volume less than 10,000 do not require an official warm up or ramp up.
Warm-up schedule
| ISP | Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six | Day Seven |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 12,500 | 12,500 |
| Hotmail | 7,500 | 7,500 | 7,500 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 |
| Yahoo! | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 7,500 | 7,500 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Other | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 12,500 | 12,500 |
| Total Daily Volumes | 32,500 | 32,500 | 32,500 | 37,500 | 37,500 | 50,000 | 50,000 |
Ramp-up recommendations
Following a successful IP warm-up and establishment of initial reputation, volume on the new IP should be gradually brought up to a sender’s full volume levels. Depending on frequency and level of aggression, full ramp up may take anywhere from 2-4 weeks. The below “Ramp Up Schedule” provides suggestions for phasing volume in over time. We have outlined the first four phases; however the actual number of phases will be dependent on your total volume. If you have not yet reached your full volume level by phase four, continue with the same percentage increase until your full volume is reached.
Our recommendation is to increase volume in increments of 25%. With each increase, you should mail at the new level of volume for a minimum of 2-3 days before progressing to the next phase.
Ramp-up schedule
|
(Min 2-3 days of consistent volume for each phase) |
Recommended | Moderately Aggressive | Very Aggressive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 25% increase from last day of Warm Up volume | 33% increase from last day of Warm Up volume | 50% increase from last day of Warm Up volume |
| Phase 2 | 25% increase from phase 1 volume | 33% increase from phase 1 volume | 50% increase from phase 1 volume |
| Phase 3 | 25% increase from phase 2 volume | 33% increase from phase 2 volume | 50% increase from phase 2 volume |
| Phase 4 | 25% increase from phase 3 volume | 33% increase from phase 3 volume | 50% increase from phase 3 volume |
As you open up your contacts list and increase your volume, list quality tends to deteriorate. It is important to continually monitor the performance of each segment and avoid segments that go against best practices. If list quality is poor and an aggressive ramp-up strategy is chosen, your IP reputation will be established at a lower point than desired.