Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Pardot (MCAE) IP Warming Best Practices – Improve Email Deliverability

IP warming is done by gradually increasing the email send volume; it might take 4-6 weeks or even more to gain a good reputation for your IP address. This can be gauged by regularly tracking the sent email engagement metrics. During the IP warm-up period, ISPs monitor whether you manage emails responsibly. It is a crucial rite of passage that every marketer has to go through!

What happens if your IP isn’t warm enough?

ISPs can become like Goldilocks. Not warming up your IP can lead to deliverability problems and emails being directed to the spam folder. Ouch! It can also take a lot of time and effort to build quality subscriber/customer interactions.

Best Practices to be followed during the IP warming period

• Ensure your authentication records such as SPF/SenderID and DKIM/DomainKeys are correctly configured and validated.
• Be compliant with laws like CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and CCPA by adding unsubscribe links, preference centre, email footer, and avoid spam words, etc.
• Use First-party data for sending initial emails during IP warming, to start with.
• Initially, start sending mails to your most active Prospects/Subscribers.
• Use the best email content that worked well previously.
• Track your email metrics regularly; if you see an increase in bounce rate, stop the process immediately and take action.
• Set and follow a structured email cadence.
• Clean up your email list based on the replies, unsubscribe, spam complaints, etc.
• Sending relevant content can improve your engagement rate, which can help to improve your IP reputation faster.
• Don’t suddenly increase your email volume.
• Verify the email address using the email verification tool.

To understand how these concepts work together, Understand the marketing cloud features that support email deliverability. This resource provides complementary insights to deepen your knowledge.

IP Warming Strategies for Pardot