IP Warming is important for marketers who rely on email campaigns using email platforms such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud. By following best practices can improve email deliverability rates and affect the performance of the campaigns.
The latest Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Pardot accounts are provided with new Ips that don’t have a reputation such as good or bad, with Internet Service Providers (ISVs). It’s essential that every new account follows a reputation-building period.
What is IP warming and why is it important?
The process of managing campaign volume and building outbound volume gradually week-over-week is called IP warming. The volume of outbound sends must be within the IP warming thresholds.
Internet Service Providers (ISVs) always check for IP address reputation, and if the IP lacks any email send history, then the email will be spammed and not delivered in your prospects’ Inbox. The Ips sending reputation is based on various factors like very less or no engagement, less open rate, spam complaints against sent email, not being compliant, etc.
Sending emails by gradually increasing the volume of sent might take around 4-6 weeks or more to gain good reputation for you IP address warming. And this can be performed by ticking the emails sent regularly and their engagement metrics. While IP warming the ISPs will regularly monitor if you are managing the emails responsibly or not.
What happens’ if your IP address is not warmed enough?
Not warming up your IP regularly may lead to deliverability problems and may direct all the emails to the spam folder. This may be time taking to build quality subscribers and customers interactions.
What are the best practices that are to be followed during IP warming?
1. Ensure all the authentication records like SPF/Sender ID and DKIM/DomainKeys are rightly configured and validated.
2. Always be compliant with laws such as CCPA, CAN-SPAM, and GDPR while adding all the unsubscribe links, email footers, avoiding spam words, and preference center.
3. To start with, use the first party data for sending emails.
4. Start by sending mail initially to all your most active subscribers and prospects.
5. Use the best email content that previously worked well.
6. Track all your email metrics regularly; if you see an increase in bounce rate, stop the process immediately and take necessary action.
7. Set a structured email cadence and follow it.
8. Cleaning up your email list based on the unsubscribes list, replies, and spammed complaints, etc., helps.
9. Send only relevant content that can improve the engagement rate and build your IP reputation.
10. Suddenly increasing your email volume is not recommended.
11. Use email verification tool to verify the email address.
What are the strategies for IP warming in Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
In Salesforce Marketing Cloud all the subscribers will possess email addresses from free email service providers such as Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. hence the IP warming process can be domain based. With the number of customers having email addresses with domain ends as gmail.com, Hotmail.com, outlook.com, icloud.com, etc., it’s easy to do domain segmentation. Following a domain-based IP warming can allow you to build up the send volume quickly. If a database doesn’t support domain segmentation, you can use the standard IP warming process.
What are the strategies for IP warming in Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot)?
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) provides you with an option to select between shared and dedicated IP. If you are regularly sending more than 100,000 emails per month, then you can select dedicated IP, if the number is less, you can use shared IP.
Shared IP doesn’t require IP warming, it doesn’t mean that it can improve the deliverability rate. If an account that shares your IP has underperforming campaigns that may have an adverse impact on your deliverability rate. Selecting an IP that is dedicated gives more control over your sending reputation.
What are the pre-requests before you start IP address warming?
To receive test emails, allow sending IP on your mail receiving server.
Add DKIM and SPF to your DNS and make sure it’s verified.
Segregate the list of most active prospects.
Use first party data for sending initial emails during IP warming.
Are you struggling with IP warming issues? Need help with SFMC or Pardot?
Do you need help with your IP warming exercise? Our Salesforce certified and trained experts are here to help you. We synergize our years of experience to render services that help you get the best out of your Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Pardot. Manage your campaigns and segment your audience based on your custom business rules by improving your deliverability.
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