Mastering IP Warming for Salesforce Marketing Cloud Implementations

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Mastering IP Warming for Salesforce Marketing Cloud Implementations

Are you new to Salesforce Marketing Cloud or adding a new IP to your existing account? If yes, then you might have heard about the term "IP warming." IP warming is the process of gradually increasing the amount of mail that a new IP address sends.

IP warming is an essential process for establishing a good sender reputation and maintaining email deliverability. If you don't warm up your IP address, internet service providers (ISPs) may block your emails, and your domain reputation could be damaged. To achieve a high deliverability rate and prevent your emails from being labeled as spam, it is crucial to develop a comprehensive IP warming strategy.

What is IP warming, and why is it important?

IP warming is the process used to build your email's reputation. When you start sending emails from a new IP, ISPs don't know who you are or whether these emails are trustworthy. Email marketers have to monitor, gradually increase their email sending volume, and establish a positive email sending reputation.

Some of the benefits of IP warming are:

  • Establishing a good sender's reputation
  • increase the email deliverability rate
  • builds credibility with ISPs and your target audience.

Key considerations for implementing IP warming in Salesforce Marketing Cloud

If you're implementing Salesforce Marketing Cloud for the first time, here are some key considerations for implementing IP warming:

  • Understand your email audience and sending frequency.
  • Develop a comprehensive email marketing plan.
  • Prepare your email's content and format.
  • Create a suppression list for bounced and unsubscribed contacts.
  • Define your IP warming strategy and start the process slowly.
  • Monitor the process and adjust it as needed.

The top 20 things every marketing automation stakeholder should know about IP address warming

Here are the top 20 things every marketing automation stakeholder should know about IP warming, regardless of the ESP:

  1. IP warming is a necessary process for establishing a good sender reputation.
  2. IP warming is essential when starting email campaigns from a new IP address.
  3. Email marketers have to monitor, gradually increase email sending volume, and establish a positive email sending reputation.
  4. Email deliverability and sender reputation are critical metrics in email marketing.
  5. The most important factor for good email deliverability is a good sender's reputation.
  6. A poor sender reputation can lead to poor email deliverability and rejection from ISPs.
  7. Some of the factors that can influence sender reputation are IP reputation, domain reputation, email content quality, email frequency, and engagement rates.
  8. Aggressive email campaigns can harm your sender's reputation and deliverability.
  9. Email marketers must follow email compliance regulations, such as CAN-SPAM and GDPR, to avoid legal consequences and email deliverability issues.
  10. Email marketers should use a dedicated IP address assigned to their organization instead of a shared IP address.
  11. Email marketers must monitor and maintain a healthy email list and remove inactive subscribers.
  12. Email marketers should use double opt-in and re-confirmation for new subscribers.
  13. The email sending infrastructure, such as email servers, IP address configuration, and email authentication protocols such as DKIM, SPF, and DMARC, plays a vital role in sender reputation.
  14. External factors such as spam traps, email abuse reports, and ISP reputation influence sender reputation.
  15. Email marketers should use tools such as email validation, feedback loops, domain monitoring, and blacklist monitoring.
  16. Email marketers should avoid using purchased or rented email lists.
  17. IP warming should be done before sending high-volume email campaigns.
  18. The best IP warming strategy is a slow and steady approach.
  19. Email marketers should set realistic goals and KPIs for their email campaigns.
  20. Analytics is a vital tool to monitor and optimize email campaigns.

The top 20 things every marketing automation stakeholder should know about IP address warming specific to Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Here are the top 20 things every marketing automation stakeholder should know about IP address warming specific to Salesforce Marketing Cloud:

  1. Salesforce Marketing Cloud offers IP warming for new customers or users adding a new IP address.
  2. Pardot is now part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud and offers IP warming as well.
  3. B2B and B2C marketers have different marketing automation needs, and their IP warming strategies may differ.
  4. The email reputation feature within Marketing Cloud provides an overall email sender reputation.
  5. The Marketing Cloud Email Studio provides tools such as a deliverability dashboard, an email reputation dashboard, and a test send feature to monitor and optimize sending performance.
  6. The Email Studio provides engagement and deliverability metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, complaint rates, and deliverability rates.
  7. The Email Studio offers suppression list functionality for bounced or unsubscribed email addresses.
  8. Email marketers should use email validation before sending emails in Marketing Cloud to avoid bad email addresses.
  9. Marketing Cloud recommends a slow and steady approach to IP warming.
  10. Marketing Cloud recommends a 15-20% volume increase each week during IP warming.
  11. Outbound volumes should not double more frequently than every two weeks.
  12. During IP warming, sending volume should reach full volume in 4-6 weeks, depending on email list size.
  13. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to IP warming in the marketing cloud.
  14. Marketing Cloud offers deliverability consulting services to assist with IP warming.
  15. Email marketers should segment email lists and personalize email campaigns for better engagement and deliverability.
  16. Email marketers should avoid using spam-triggering keywords, fake or misleading headers, and broken links in email campaigns.
  17. Marketing Cloud Email Studio provides a pre-built IP warming segment to help get started with IP warming.
  18. Marketing Cloud offers integration with third-party email validation tools such as BriteVerify and Kickbox.
  19. Email marketers should test and optimize email content for mobile devices.
  20. Marketing Cloud provides a comprehensive email deliverability guide to help with IP warming.

IP warming strategy in Salesforce Marketing Cloud: A Step-by-Step Guide

Here is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to IP warming strategy in Salesforce Marketing Cloud:

Step 1: Plan IP warming

  • Determine the email frequency and segment the email list.
  • Define email content and format.
  • Create a suppression list for bounced or unsubscribed email addresses.
  • Set up email authentication protocols: DKIM, SPF, and DMARC.

Step 2: Start IP warming

  • Set up the sending domain.
  • Set up the IP warming segment.
  • Define sending volume based on email frequency and list size.
  • Monitor email deliverability and sender reputation.

Step 3: Increase the sending volume.

  • Increase email sending volume by 15-20% each week.
  • Monitor email deliverability and sender reputation.
  • Adjust IP warming segments and email frequency as needed.

Step 4: Reach full volume.

  • gradually reach full email sending volume in 4-6 weeks.
  • Monitor email deliverability and sender reputation.
  • Adjust IP warming segments and email frequency as needed.

Step 5: Maintain the sender's reputation.

  • Monitor email deliverability and engagement rates.
  • Remove inactive subscribers from the email list.
  • Use email validation tools and feedback loops to maintain email list hygiene.
  • Avoid aggressive email campaigns and spam-triggering content.

IP warming for Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot)

If you're implementing Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, here are some key things to keep in mind for IP warming:

  • Account Engagement uses a shared IP pool and assigns a dedicated IP address based on email volume and reputation.
  • IP warming for account engagement may take up to 12 weeks, depending on email volume.
  • Account engagement uses Engagement Studio to monitor email engagement rates and adjust email frequency.

Conclusion

IP warming is an essential process for establishing a good email reputation and maintaining email deliverability. Salesforce Marketing Cloud offers IP warming for new customers and users adding a new IP. Following these best practices and using the Salesforce Marketing Cloud tools can help you develop successful IP-warming strategies. With proper IP warming, email marketers can increase the chances of their emails reaching their intended audience and achieving good email engagement rates.

References:

  1. IP Address Warming for Email Studio
  2. Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Pardot IP Warming Best Practices 2021
  3. Building IP reputation through IP warming in Salesforce Marketing Cloud