IP Warm-Up Strategy

How to Warm Up an Email for Cold Outreach

What is IP Warm-Up?

IP warm-up is the process of gradually increasing the volume of emails sent from a specific IP address over time. This helps build a positive reputation with email service providers (ESPs), ensuring that your emails are delivered to the inbox instead of being marked as spam.

IP warm-up Schedule

Weeks 1-2: Start by sending emails to your most active subscribers—those who have shown positive engagement in the past 30 days.
Weeks 3-4: Expand your outreach to include moderately active subscribers, those with positive engagement in the past 60 days.
Note: During the first 6 weeks, avoid contacting subscribers who haven’t engaged in the past 90 days.
Tip: If your email volume exceeds 10,000 during the warm-up, consider adding another IP address to distribute the load.

IP Wram-up Week 1

Week 1	Daily Volume
Day 1	20
Day 2	40
Day 3	70
Day 4	100
Day 5	150
Day 6	200
Day 7	350

IP Wram-up Week 2

Week 2	Daily Volume
Day 8	500
Day 9	750
Day 10	1500
Day 11	2000
Day 12	3000
Day 13	4000
Day 14	5000

What to Expect During IP Warm-Up

Deliverability to Yahoo!, AOL, and Gmail: Positive engagement metrics from a few initial sends can improve your chances of landing in the inbox. Regularly send emails to engaged subscribers to maintain a good reputation.
Handling Delays: Delays with ESPs like AOL, Microsoft, and Comcast are common. These providers may retry delivery for up to 72 hours; if unsuccessful, they will log a 421 error. Such delays are normal and will decrease as your IP reputation improves. If you experience frequent timeouts, consider reducing your email volume to that provider.
Avoiding Blocks: Blocks often occur when your email list isn’t sufficiently engaged. Careful segmentation is key to maximizing engagement and minimizing blocks.
Monitoring Metrics: Keep a close eye on your metrics throughout the warm-up period to optimize your strategy and achieve the best results.

How to Avoid or Remove Spam Traps

Avoid Purchasing or Renting Poor-Quality Lists: These can contain spam traps that damage your sender reputation.
Remove Hard Bounces: Regularly clean your list to remove hard bounces, which can signal to ESPs that you are sending to invalid addresses.
Engage Inactive Subscribers: Try to re-engage subscribers who haven’t been active. If they remain unresponsive, consider removing them from your list to avoid potential issues.
Default Unengaged Subscribers: If attempts to reconnect with inactive subscribers are unsuccessful, it’s best to stop emailing them to maintain a clean list and protect your sender’s reputation.