In the world of email deliverability, building and maintaining a great IP reputation is critical. A strong IP reputation sets the stage for an email program to achieve high inbox placement rates, clicks, and conversions—but reputations need to be built and earned.
Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that have no sending history or haven’t been used to send email in a significant period of time are referred to as “cold.” Before an IP address can be used to send email campaigns, it needs to be “warmed up.”
However, the IP warming process takes time—and some senders try to take shortcuts that end up harming them in the long run. More and more frequently, we see companies offering services that claim to remove any effort from the IP warming process.
So, let’s review some of these common workarounds and discuss better alternatives.
What is IP warming, and why does it matter?
First, let’s cover some background.
IP warming is the gradual introduction of your brand and sending practices to receiving internet service providers (ISPs). This is achieved by incrementally increasing volume on the new (or cold) IP address over time. The goal of an IP warmup is to develop your email identity and gain mailbox providers’ confidence. IP warmups can be challenging, but they are a fundamental part of helping a sender build trust and increase the likelihood of your emails being delivered to subscribers’ inboxes with mailbox providers like Gmail and Yahoo.
Just like most things in the email ecosystem, there are no shortcuts. Whether a company offers pre-warmed IPs, leverages automation to “make a warmup look natural,” or piggybacks on the high reputation of existing IP addresses, the old saying holds true: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
The dangers of IP warming shortcuts
Don’t be surprised if the tactics these services use backfire. Let’s dive into the risks of taking IP warming shortcuts.
Authentic vs. manufactured engagement
Positive subscriber engagement is an important factor in a successful warming. Typical IP warming plans leverage a strategic approach that combines gradual volume increases with targeting positively engaged subscribers, particularly early in the process. Positive subscriber engagement (i.e., clicks) sends a strong, undeniable signal to the mailbox providers: subscribers actually want to receive your messages.
Some services use seed or test addresses to mimic positive subscriber engagement during an automated warmup. They claim to convincingly imitate organic engagement. This approach raises significant concerns to established email strategists for two main reasons:
- Mailbox providers have robust filtering algorithms that are trained to recognize (and address) suspicious sending behavior—as well as suspicious user behavior. They are keenly aware of how subscribers interact with their mailboxes, and leveraging the same set of email addresses for IP warming purposes would likely raise a red (spammy) flag.
- Authentic, organic engagement includes negative metrics, too. Do these services delete messages without opening them? Do they mark messages as spam like real subscribers do? Brands that try to game the system through elevated positive engagement rates show obvious hallmarks, including a serious lack of negative email engagement.
Domain reputation matters
IP addresses are one part of the sending structure—domains are the other.
Yes, domain warmups exist! Domain reputation is increasingly used by mailbox providers to identify spam, so ensuring that volume is introduced to a new domain properly is vital to reducing the likelihood of deliverability problems. IP and domain warming go hand in hand and should be done simultaneously.
Services that offer pre-warmed IPs have failed to take domain reputation into account. Introducing a brand-new domain to mailbox providers with high volumes and previously unassociated IPs can have serious consequences, including spam folder placement.
Consistency > bait and switch
Each brand has its own email cadence, calendar, branding, and creative. Whether IPs have been pre-warmed, leveraged manufactured engagement, or piggybacked on existing high reputations, the odds that your email program looks and performs anything like an automated email warming process are slim. To the mailbox providers, this can look like a bait and switch.
These warming services are the email deliverability equivalent of catfishing: they lure mailbox providers into a positive reputation based on fictional sending practices. Major unexpected changes are suspicious to mailbox providers. So when the pre-warmed IPs or artificial engagement is finished and your brand’s email program takes over, the results can look very different.
An automated warming process does not guarantee future inbox placement.
The better path: Building sender reputation gradually and sustainably
The risks of taking shortcuts with IP warming services outweigh the rewards. Instead, senders should prioritize building sound email practices and authentic subscriber relationships rather than relying on automated warmup solutions.
Not for nothing, traditional IP warming strategies can save precious resources and, potentially, a lot of time.
Validity can help
If you’re getting ready to warm an IP address, remember to be wary of grandiose promises and quick fixes. Instead, look to a trusted deliverability partner like Validity.
Whether you’re embarking on an ESP migration, rebranding, or introducing new IPs to your email program, Validity is there to support you with our best-in-class data, tools and expert knowledge.
Validity’s Professional Services team knows that IP warming can be stressful, but our team of Email Strategists is here to help. IP warming plans are our jam. We regularly create customized IP warming plans tailored to your timeline, subscriber base, and objectives to ensure your email program has the best chance of reaching subscriber inboxes during the warmup and beyond.
Validity’s Sender Certification program sends a positive signal to mailbox providers that your IP addresses are trusted, vetted, and legitimate. It can afford your new IP addresses with stability and exclusive data during the warming process.
To learn more about Sender Certification and how it helps senders thrive during the busy holiday marketing season, read our cheat sheet, How Validity Sender Certification Protects Holiday Email Performance.