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IP warmup deliverability guide ip-warmup-deliverability-guide

Last update: Fri Dec 12 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

CREATED FOR:

  • Experienced
  • Admin

When launching email campaigns with new IP addresses or domains in Adobe Journey Optimizer, understanding deliverability fundamentals is crucial for building a strong sender reputation. This guide covers the key concepts, preparation steps, and best practices to help you transition from zero reputation to successful inbox placement.

➡️ Learn about deliverability fundamentals, reputation building, and best practices for IP warmup in the video from this Adobe blog post.

NOTE
For step-by-step instructions on implementing IP warmup plans in Adobe Journey Optimizer, refer to Get started with IP warmup plans.

Why IP and domain reputation matter reputation-matters

Mailbox providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple Mail, and others) evaluate every sender based on four key pillars:

  • Complaints: Did recipients mark your messages as spam?
  • Engagement: Do recipients open, click, or reply to your emails?
  • Infrastructure: Is your sending infrastructure authenticated, stable, and trustworthy?
  • Content: Does your message content appear legitimate and valuable?

IP warmup primarily addresses the first three pillars by gradually demonstrating to mailbox providers that your new infrastructure is legitimate and wanted before you scale to full sending volume.

Pre-flight checklist pre-flight-checklist

Before you begin warming up your IP addresses, ensure all foundational elements are in place. The table below outlines the essential tasks to complete before starting your IP warmup plan.

Task
Why it matters
How to accomplish
Reserve fixed IP(s) and delegate subdomains in AJO
All future reputation attaches to these infrastructure elements.
Navigate to Administration > Channels > Email settings > Subdomains. Learn more
Configure SPF and DKIM
Confirms your sending server is legitimate and authorized.
Automatically handled by Adobe after subdomain delegation and channel configuration creation.
Ensure DMARC record is configured (p=none)
Enables email authentication reporting and future enforcement policies.
Check that DMARC record is set up for all delegated subdomains. When delegating a new subdomain, you can set up DMARC directly in the interface. Learn more
Configure seed list monitoring
Detects inbox placement issues early in your warm-up process.
Add seed addresses when creating your channel configuration. Learn more
Build Phase 1 high-engagement audience
Boosts early engagement metrics with your most active recipients.
Create an audience of less than 5,000 contacts who opened or clicked in the last 30 days. Learn more
CAUTION
Authentication issues (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) cannot be resolved through volume ramping. Ensure these are correctly configured before you begin sending.

Sample four-week warmup calendar warmup-calendar

This sample calendar provides a progressive volume ramp based on percentage of your ultimate daily volume (UDV). Adjust these numbers to fit your specific sending requirements and work with your deliverability consultant to create a customized plan.

Days
% of UDV
Target audience
Content recommendations
1–3
0.5%
Your most engaged recipients
Use short, plain-text format with a clear call-to-action above the fold.
4–7
1%
Engaged users plus recent buyers
Add a lightweight hero image, limit links to 3 or fewer.
8–14
5%
Broader active subscriber list
Introduce your standard email template, but avoid heavy promotional content.
15–21
25%
Active plus lightly-inactive subscribers
Use normal marketing content while monitoring complaint rates closely.
22–28
50–100%
Full list (respecting suppression lists)
Transition to your steady-state sending cadence.

Using the IP warmup plans feature ajo-warmup-feature

Adobe Journey Optimizer includes a streamlined IP warmup plans feature that eliminates the need for manual volume capping through complex journey setups. This functionality ensures a standardized approach to building sender reputation.

How it works

  1. Create IP warmup campaigns: Build one or more campaigns with the IP warmup plan activation option enabled. Learn more

  2. Set up your plan: Access Administration > Channels > Email settings > IP warmup plans and upload your phased warmup template prepared with your deliverability consultant. Learn more

  3. Execute phases: Select a campaign for each phase and activate the corresponding runs. The system automatically excludes profiles from previous runs to prevent over-contacting. Learn more

  4. Monitor and adjust: Use the consolidated reporting dashboard to track progress, monitor run statuses, and modify your plan if issues arise. Learn more

Real-time monitoring and key metrics monitoring

Adobe Journey Optimizer provides built-in reporting capabilities to track your IP warmup performance:

  • Live reports: Access real-time measurement and visualization of your campaigns from the Last 24hrs tab. Learn more

  • All time reports: For deeper insights, leverage Customer Journey Analytics to analyze data from Adobe Experience Platform and create custom visualizations. Learn more

Target metrics

Monitor these key performance indicators throughout your warmup:

Metric
Target threshold
Corrective action
Complaint rate
≤ 0.1%
If exceeded, audit segment and suppress chronic complainers.
Hard bounce rate
≤ 2%
If exceeded, review list quality and hygiene practices.
Open rate
≥ 10%
If too low, verify you’re targeting engaged audiences.

Troubleshooting playbook troubleshooting

Use this decision matrix to address common issues during your warmup:

Symptom
Likely cause
Recommended action
Yahoo temporary failures (421 errors)
Volume increased too quickly
Pause sending for 24 hours, then restart at the previous tier.
Open rate below 2% across seed accounts
IP blocklisting
Check Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS; open a deliverability ticket if needed.
Complaint rate exceeds 0.3%
Mis-targeted or stale audience
Audit segment definitions and exclude chronic complainers from your suppression list.
IMPORTANT
It’s better to slow down your warmup than to attempt to repair a damaged sender reputation later. Always prioritize maintaining healthy metrics over aggressive volume ramping.

Post-warmup best practices post-warmup

Once you’ve completed your warmup plan and metrics have stabilized:

  • Maintain consistency: Keep daily volume increases below 30% week-over-week to preserve your established reputation.

  • Monitor continuously: Schedule quarterly reputation health checks to identify and address issues proactively.

  • Respect engagement signals: Continue to prioritize engaged recipients and implement re-engagement campaigns for inactive subscribers.

  • Keep authentication current: Regularly verify that your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records remain properly configured.

Key takeaways key-takeaways

  • IP warmup is essential: Skipping the warmup process costs more time and reputation than the effort required to do it properly.

  • Data-driven decisions: Track complaint, bounce, and engagement rates daily and adjust your strategy before ISPs penalize you.

  • Authentication first, volume second: Resolve all SPF, DKIM, and DMARC issues before beginning to ramp volume.

  • Consistency matters: Mailbox providers favor predictable sending patterns; avoid sudden volume spikes or irregular sending schedules.

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