Email Warmup vs. Domain Warmup vs. IP Warmup

Each type of warmup plays a unique role in building trust with email providers, helping emails land in the inbox rather than in spam. Here’s how email, domain, and IP warmup differ and when each one is useful:

1. Email warmup

• Purpose: Gradually builds trust for a specific email account. Email warmup is about establishing a reputation for individual addresses, especially useful for new accounts or those with little sending history.
• Process: Start by sending a small number of emails per day (often around 10-20) and gradually increase over several weeks. Aim to engage with recipients who are likely to open and reply to boost positive engagement signals.
• Use case: Great for individual email addresses, such as sales or outreach accounts, that require personalized engagement.
• Typical duration: 2–4 weeks, depending on how quickly engagement builds.

2. Domain warmup

• Purpose: Establishes credibility for the entire domain (e.g., yourbusiness.com). A gradual warmup of emails from multiple accounts on the same domain helps build a positive reputation across the board.
• Process: Increase the sending volume across various accounts on the domain over time, typically starting with smaller sends. Make sure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are set up for authentication, signaling to ESPs that your domain is trustworthy.
• Use case: Crucial for new or dormant domains to avoid deliverability issues when ramping up email sends, especially for newsletters or transactional emails.
• Typical duration: 4–8 weeks, depending on engagement and feedback from ESPs.

3. IP warmup

• Purpose: Builds a positive reputation for a dedicated IP address. New or inactive IPs need gradual increases in sending volume to establish themselves as trusted senders.
• Process: Start by sending around 50–100 emails daily, doubling volume every few days while closely monitoring engagement. ESPs monitor new IPs closely, so it’s essential to avoid sudden spikes that might flag the IP as spammy.
• Use case: Ideal for dedicated IPs used by high-volume senders (50,000+ emails monthly). For smaller senders, shared IPs may already have a warm reputation, making dedicated IP warmup unnecessary.
• Typical duration: 30–60 days, with some cases needing up to 90 days for full reputation establishment.

Summary Table:

Type	Purpose	Duration	Use Case
Email Warmup	Builds reputation for specific accounts	2–4 weeks	Cold outreach or new accounts
Domain Warmup	Establishes trust for entire domain	4–8 weeks	New or inactive domains
IP Warmup	Ensures high-volume IP credibility	30–60 days	Dedicated IPs for large senders

Each type of warmup establishes a solid foundation for email deliverability, with the approach depending on the account’s goals and infrastructure. Together, these warmup practices help ensure emails land in the inbox and maintain a positive sender reputation.