W H I T E P A P E R
Improve Email Deliverability
with a Dedicated IP
by Chris Kolbenschlag,
Director of Deliverability at Bronto Software
Deliverability is a primary concern for email marketers. There are many nuances that can impact how your messages are delivered. Understanding the technical infrastructure and options available to you can help ensure not only higher delivery rates but also faster issue resolution if they should arise. This white paper explains the most common sending environments and answers the frequently asked questions around why and when to make the transition to a dedicated IP (Internet Protocol) address. If you are sending mail from an Email Service Provider (ESP), you most likely may be given the option to choose to send your mail from a single dedicated IP or from a shared IP pool. First, let’s define the two most common options for associating your email deployments to an IP address.
Shared IP Pool: A shared IP pool includes
multiple senders with lower volumes and mailing less frequently.
Dedicated IP Address: A dedicated IP is a single IP
address assigned to a single sender with high volume and mails frequently. Multiple IP address may be dedicated for some extremely high volume email programs.
Both scenarios can have positive benefits and we will explore the details of each one to help you determine which option is the best fit for you.
First, ask yourself what issues may currently exist: • Are open rates and conversions declining? • Are delivery times longer than normal?
• Are deployments blocked by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for an unknown reason?
• Have bulked email rates increased? • Have you been blacklisted?
Answering “yes” to any of these questions could mean you mail from a shared IP pool and you are a victim of poor reputation with ISPs. This may not be a result of what
you send and to whom, but could be caused by another member of the shared IP pool negatively impacting your program. Low volume and infrequently mailing on a dedicated IP could also produce the same results. All of the issues listed above can be experienced by senders on both shared and dedicated IPs.
Let’s take a look at both solutions.
Shared IP Pool
A shared IP pool is ideal for a sender with low volume or who mails infrequently. One benefit of a shared IP pool is that while you may not send frequently, there are other marketers sending email and maintaining a key factor in an IP’s reputation which is volume and cadence. So while you are developing your next send, others are keeping the IP’s reputation maintained so that you can return the favor later when your message deploys and they may not be sending. All senders in the shared IP pool are working together to maintain the volume on that IP.
The main concern with a shared IP is that while you can reap the benefits of a shared IP pool by having others mail while you are not sending, a bad send within the group can negatively impact the reputation of the IP. Sending on a shared IP removes a sender’s requirement of maintaining high volume but adds the risks of other senders causing issues with high bounce and complaint rates. While the volume is consistent, there may be inconsistencies in the amount of invalid addresses on a list as well as the number of complaints generated. The three main factors to an IP’s reputation are volume, spam complaints, and bad addresses. The number of spam complaints from an IP is a significant factor in determining inbox or spam folder delivery. Making sure all senders maintain low complaint rates and low bounce rates creates a pool of strong senders benefiting from each other following these policies and working together. Should one sender’s email receive a high spam complaint rate, that IP’s reputation takes a hit and can be flagged. This can result in mail going into the bulk mail folders until the good reputation is reestablished on that IP.
Dedicated IP Address
Sending from a dedicated IP address provides the greatest benefit to a sender with high volume and frequent cadence. Since volume is a part of the reputation factor for some of the ISPs, this is the first question to answer when considering a dedicated IP. If your average email is sent to at least 20,000 subscribers and you consistently send multiple times a week, you are ready for a dedicated IP. A major benefit of sending from a dedicated IP is that you are on your own and responsible for your own reputation. No longer will you need to worry about other senders negatively impacting your program.
The cost of setting up a dedicated IP is minimal, but should be considered when deciding whether to move to a dedicated IP. For high-volume senders, the cost is justified because of the positive impact that a dedicated IP will likely have on open, click, and conversion rates. This increase in engagement and therefore revenue is simply due to the improved reputation on the dedicated IP which led some of the previously bulked mail on shared IPs to be delivered to the inbox. You can spend days preparing your campaigns but if they never make it to the inbox, your subscribers will never see them. Your messages need to be delivered to the inbox for the subscriber to respond. Moving to a dedicated IP and maintaining good reputation will help greatly.
Q&A
Why should I consider moving to a
dedicated IP?
Being in a shared IP pool requires cooperation by all senders within that pool to maintain a good reputation with the ISPs. Having your own dedicated IP isolates you and puts you in control of and accountable for your own reputation. If you feel you can outperform other senders in the pool via lower bounce rates and lower complaint rates and you meet the volume and frequency outlined in this document, you should consider a dedicated IP.
Should I request a warm or cold
dedicated IP?
When a decision has been made to move to a dedicated IP, the next key question you will want to ask your ESP is whether the IP you will be assigned is cold or warm. A cold IP has never been used to send any email or has not sent email in a long time, and this will have negative consequences. A warm IP has been used to send email for a sustained period of time with good reputation.
Cold IPs will have to go through a “warm up” period. This is the time it takes for an IP to be recognized by ISPs as a legitimate, spamming, or neutral IP. When a cold IP first starts to send, the ISPs label the IP as “guilty” or “neutral” and the IP must prove itself over time. The time required to warm an IP varies greatly due to key factors such as the reputation of the IP and varying ISP policies. If you send from a cold IP and have a great reputation (low bounces, low complaints, high volume, and frequent cadence) then it could be a matter of weeks for you to see your mail finally get to the inbox for some of the major ISPs. Whereas if you have a poor reputation, you may never see your emails get into the inbox and your campaigns may be placed in the spam folder until steps are taken to improve your reputation.
Sending email from a cold IP can lead to a huge loss of revenue due to emails going into the spam folder for weeks or months while the ISPs carefully monitor your sends. In addition to spam folder placements, cold IPs can increase throttling limits whereby an ISP will accept email at a much slower rate, delaying the delivery of your message. The thresholds and tolerance on a cold IP by the ISPs can be unfavorable for a marketer. A warm IP might be able to survive a 1% spam complaint rate but thresholds on a cold IP are much more sensitive. A small number of spam complaints can result in bulk folder placement, throttling, and potentially blocks. Your subscribers will not receive your messages and you will experience declining engagement metrics. Delivery to the spam folder over an extended period of time may result in a subscriber forgetting about your brand or worse. The subscriber may not remember opting in and flag your email as spam once it finally makes it to the inbox after weeks of trying to warm up the IP. Cold IPs greatly affect the performance of your campaigns as you try to establish a good reputation with the ISPs and prove yourself not to be a spammer
Having the option to use a warm IP rather than a cold IP means saving anywhere from weeks to months to getting into the inbox. With a warm IP, you can expect immediate inbox placement and will not be bogged down with this warm up period. As a marketer with a program that incorporates email best practices, knowing that your very first send on a dedicated IP will make it to the inbox is vital to your success.
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What are the most important factors in
determining whether or not to move to a
dedicated IP?
Volume and cadence are key in determining if the time is right to move to a dedicated IP. One important reputation factor for some ISPs is how many emails you send and how often you send them. It is important to have both of these bases covered. Too little volume can cause suspicion and poor reputation which will likely result in messages going into bulk or spam folders. Sending high volume emails once or twice a month can also cause harm. ISPs become concerned when a large volume send on an IP is followed by no mailings for a week or two, and then spikes again with a large volume send. For maximum performance on a dedicated IP, there should be a balance between a consistent cadence as well as consistent volumes. A good rule to follow is that if you are consistently sending 2-3 times a week with volumes around 20,000 per send, then it is time to consider the move.
What benefits will I see on a dedicated IP?
When moving to a warm dedicated IP from a shared IP pool, one of the immediate and most important results you will experience is inbox delivery and avoiding the fallout of the warm-up period of a cold IP. If you were sending from a shared IP pool, you were depending on your reputation as well as the reputation of others. If there was an issue with the reputation on that IP, you shared the impact and may have seen a portion of your mail get placed into bulk or spam folders. Senders with low bounce and complaint rates on shared IP pools increase their open and click rates by moving to a dedicated IP. The improved engagement metrics are due to transitioning from a shared IP pool to a dedicated IP where they rely solely on their own reputation and thus reach the inbox. None of these positive results are possible without first having a good reputation yourself. You must have a healthy list and correct opt-in permissions. If you have a history of high complaint and bounce rates, these benefits of a dedicated IP will be very short lived. IPs can lose months of positive reputation with just one bad send. To enjoy optimal results on your own IP, review your permissions and prior results to ensure your complaint and bounce rates are low.How can I get better results from my
shared IP?
If you continue to use a shared IP pool, it is important to know if your ESP is committed to ensuring that their clients are following permission-based email practices and organic list growth. Research the ESP because the shared IP pool is not used for your mail only - they are sending mail for many others. It is in your best interest to know what types of clients they allow to send on their IPs since these other senders can significantly impact the reputation and success of your email program.
Does moving to a dedicated IP guarantee
reaching the inbox?
Moving to a dedicated does not guarantee that you will reach the inbox every time, nor does it guarantee increased open rates and revenue, but it does put you in control of your own reputation. If you are sending relevant email to engaged subscribers and on a dedicated IP, you are going to see immediate results. Either way, a dedicated IP or shared IP pool can be the right choice for you and it depends on your specific needs. If you are a low volume, infrequent sender, being in a shared IP pool makes the most sense for you. While you are not sending, others in the shared IP pool are sending and maintaining the volume and cadence reputation for you. If you meet the recommended criteria and feel you are ready to make the move, then a dedicated warm IP is waiting for you.
About Bronto
Bronto Software provides the leading marketing platform for retailers and other commerce-focused companies to drive revenue through email, mobile and social campaigns. Over 1,000 organizations worldwide including Party City, Armani Exchange, Timex, Samsonite, and Trek Bikes rely on Bronto to increase revenue through interactive marketing. The company won the Stevie Award for Best Customer Service in 2009 and 2010, was named a CODiE Award Finalist for Best Marketing Solution in 2011 and is one of Inc Magazine’s top 100 fastest growing software companies.