Summary
In email marketing, having a good sender reputation is important for getting your messages to the right people and their inboxes. It helps improve deliverability rates and reach your intended audience.
In this article, we will unlock the secrets to a successful email warm-up, empowering you to elevate your marketing campaigns to new heights.
Pre-requisite:
Authentication Protocols Implementation: Ensure the implementation of essential authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
What is Email Warm-up?
Picture this: you’re moving into a new neighborhood (your email domain), and you want to make friends (build a relationship with ISPs). The email warm-up process is like your friendly wave to the neighbors, gradually increasing the number of waves (emails) until everyone knows you’re a friendly face, not a stranger (spam). It’s about sending just the right number of emails over those crucial first 12 weeks to build a good, trustworthy domain reputation.
Understanding the landscape: Domain, IP, and Email Warm-up
Whether it’s your domain, IP, or individual email address, think of warm-up as your personal introduction to the community (the ISPs). It’s about showing you’re a good neighbor, not someone who’ll throw loud parties (send spam). Each introduction (email sent) is a step towards being part of the community’s trusted circle.
The logic remains the same: spam filters are machine learning tools that require slow intake of gradually increasing amounts of data to make correct decisions.
How to warm up your email?
1. Segmentation and prioritization
Imagine your email list as a community garden. You want to nurture each plant (subscriber) according to its needs. Start with the plants that are already thriving (engaged subscribers) to show the rest of the garden (ISPs) that you’re a good gardener (sender). Keeping your garden flourishing (maintaining a 35%+ open rate) shows you’re committed to a healthy, vibrant community.
Effective segmentation and prioritization during the warm-up process is similar to a targeted marketing strategy. By focusing on the most engaged subscribers first, you set a positive precedent with ISPs and demonstrate the high engagement rates that are critical to maintaining a strong sender reputation.
The starting point for your warm-up should be your most recent openers (30 days, then 60 days, then 90 days,…) and if this data isn’t available, your most recent signups.
One metric to look for is your unique open rates. You must maintain at least 35%+ unique open rates throughout your warmup. Otherwise, the lack of engagement can negatively impact your email deliverability.
2. Start slow and gradual
Just like learning to walk, start your journey with small, steady steps. Send a few emails a day and gradually increase your cadence and the number as you gain confidence and trust. The point is to show ISPs that you’re here for a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood, not a disruptive sprint.
This cautious approach prevents ISPs from marking your emails as spam due to sudden spikes in volume, ensuring a smooth introduction of your new email domain or IP to the network.
Our experts at MailSoar recommend usually starting with 500 emails per day, increasing the maximum 10/20% more at each sending day.
3. Establish a consistent sending pattern
Consistency in sending emails is like having a regular coffee catch-up with friends. It shows you’re reliable and not just a once-in-a-blue-moon visitor. This regular rhythm helps ISPs recognize you as a familiar, welcome presence in the inbox neighborhood.
Strategically breaking down your engagement groups into smaller segments and spreading your sends over multiple days can prevent volume spikes and signal to ISPs that your sending practices are both deliberate and considerate.
For instance, if your email list has grown and you have 10,000 recent openers you normally connect with twice a week, it’s wise to divide this big group into smaller, more intimate gatherings. Split them into 3 or 4 groups and spread your emails across multiple days instead of one massive send-off.
This approach not only reinforces a positive sender reputation but also respects the capacity and preferences of your recipients, ensuring your communications are a welcome sight in their inboxes.
Irregular sending patterns can trigger spam filters, while consistency indicates reliability, improving your chances of achieving a favorable sender reputation.
4. Monitor and Adapt
Use email warm-up tools as your neighborhood watch. Keep an eye on delivery rates, open rates, and any feedback. Just like neighbors chatting over fences, these tools give you the insights to adjust your approach and keep your email neighborhood happy and engaged.
Monitoring your performance with tools like Google Postmaster and Microsoft SNDS provides valuable insights into your deliverability and sender reputation. By checking your placement with tools like GlockApps, you can also check your email and get detailed insight into where they are placed in recipients’ inboxes. Regularly analyzing these metrics allows you to make data-driven adjustments to your warm-up strategy, ensuring optimal performance.
5. Engagement Optimization
Now, think of your emails as personal letters. Crafting engaging, relevant content is like writing a heartfelt note to a friend. It shows you care and understand their needs, making your messages some