5 Tips for Warming Up Mailing IPs
Warming Up IPs
Using a mailing platform like VoloMP instead of an ESP challenges you to get skilled at IP management. Good IPs are the life-blood of high-volume email. It's the main reason ESPs get so pricey as you up your volume and it's why sending off your own IPs can make mailing much more cost efficient (once you know what you're doing). What you don't want to do is wing-it --purchase an IP block and just hit "send" while hoping for the best. You want to warm those babies up first. Once you spill the IP milk it's a royal pain to clean it up, better keep a cool hand from the get go. The 5 Noble Truths of IP Prep 1. Slow and Steady Wins the Race Once you've reached this level of mailing --using your own servers and IPs-- you're understandably eager to start reaping the rewards pronto. It's tempting to just blast away. But if you get too feisty, you'll just end up shooting yourself in the foot. Repairing bad IP reputation is more time consuming and costly than purchasing the IPs themselves --as if hunting down fresh IPs isn't hard enough. It can take weeks to repair a block. That's money down the drain. So take it slow. 2. Rotation = good! Traditional ESPs do not want you rotating IPs, because that's a the hallmark of ne'er-do-well, black-hat mailing. But when you're managing your own mailing ecosystem and mailing at significant volume, IP rotation is a must. This is the KEY difference between ESPs and mailing platforms. The main reason delivery with an ESP is great is because of diversity. You're sending millions of messages per day from a single IP, that's probably in the same range as a mailer that's doing far less mailing than you and with different content. That's a direct benefit to you, the big sender. Of course, this is the exact same reason an ESP charges you an arm and a leg and follows you around the store like you're a criminal. One fat finger move, where you hit a trap or an angry, vocal subscriber, and you're trouble with your ESP because you've endangered the reputation of all their clients (within that IP block) and their company as a whole. You're mailing is halted and you're out time and considerable money. 3. With IP Freedom Comes Responsibility Independent, high-volume sending requires not only IP rotation, but also impeccable sending practices. The joy of sending large volumes at an affordable price means you've got to be on top of your game. You've got to keep all the plates spinning: keeping your lists clean, understanding the quirks of individual ISPs and being responsive to their demands, and of course sending on a smart schedule that fits your unique data. 4. Vitamin Transactional ISPs have a warm place in their hearts for transactional email. It's a good idea to mix in those mundane little password resets or order confirmations along with more salesy emails. ISPs see your transactional emails as proof that you're the real deal. Your subscribers LIKE you! They REALLY like you! This helps fortify your IPs, keeping them strong and healthy for when a screamer comes along.
5. Keep it Clean Sending off your own IPs means you can send heaps and heaps of email at a low, low price. But that can end quickly if you've got dirty data. Be ruthless about scrubbing-out known screamers and in-actives. Strive to make your messaging engaging and personalized. Yes you have more leeway in your sending content and volume when using a mailing platform but, your deliverablity/ IP reputation can be severely hampered if you fail to perform proper list hygiene. All and all, IP warm up is a must. Don't fight it. Just do it. You and your bottom-line will be glad you did. At VoloMP we work with clients to offer the best mailing strategies and advice to maximize IP reputation. We've been at this for 15 years and have a highly trained support staff to help you as needed. So hit us up and when you're ready to warm up IPs with us.