Sending domain ramp-up

Sender domain ramp-up is the gradual increase in sending volumes from a new domain, a domain that has been inactive for some time, or one that has just been migrated to magnews. It helps build a positive reputation with providers such as Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo. A proper ramp-up helps improve deliverability and reduces the risk of emails ending up in Spam or being blocked.

What is ramp-up

Ramp-up, also known as warm-up, consists of sending emails progressively.

Instead of immediately sending to your entire contact base, start with a small group of recipients. The best approach is to begin with your most active contacts, meaning those who open, click and interact with your communications most often.

Then gradually increase the volume, day by day or week by week, until you reach the entire intended audience.

This process allows email providers to observe the domain's traffic, verify that the communications are legitimate and associate the domain with positive engagement signals.

Why it is important

Every sending domain builds its own reputation over time.

Email providers use this reputation to decide whether to deliver a message to the Inbox, move it to Spam, slow it down or reject it.

If a new, inactive or recently migrated domain starts sending large volumes of email, this behaviour may be interpreted as anomalous.

The main risks are:

• Delivery delays
• Temporary sending volume limitations
• Delivery to the Spam folder
• Temporary or permanent blocks imposed by some providers
• Deterioration of the domain's reputation

Ramp-up reduces these risks because it makes the increase in traffic more natural and gradual.

When to perform ramp-up

Perform a ramp-up when:

• You use a new sending domain
• You start using a domain again after it has been inactive for several months.
• You significantly increase your usual sending volume.
• You move to magnews from another sending platform
• You configure a customised technical sending domain aligned with the sending domain

Ramp-up is also important if, during a migration to magnews, you continue to use the same domain that was already used on the previous platform.

How to prepare for ramp-up

Before starting, define:

• The total volume of contacts to reach
• The indicative duration of the plan
• The segments to involve during the initial stages
• The metrics to monitor after each send
• The thresholds beyond which to slow down or suspend increases

The plan must be proportionate to the size of the list and the quality of the contacts.

To build a stronger reputation, start with your most engaged recipients. Positive interactions, such as opens and clicks, help providers recognise the domain as trustworthy.

Best practices

During ramp-up:

• Increase the volume gradually and consistently
• Initially send to your most active contacts
• Maintain a regular sending frequency
• Avoid sudden volume spikes
• Monitor opens, clicks, bounces and spam complaints
• Check performance for each individual email provider
• If the target is B2C and includes many Gmail contacts, use Google Postmaster Tools to monitor domain reputation and spam rate
• Suspend increases if you notice delivery problems or a deterioration in reputation

How long does ramp-up take?

There is no duration that is suitable for everyone.

The time required depends on:

• Total contact list volume
• Contact quality
• Engagement level
• Sending frequency
• Email providers' response to the new traffic

For smaller volumes, a few days may be enough. For lists containing hundreds of thousands or millions of contacts, ramp-up may take several weeks.

Move to the next step only if previous campaigns have recorded good delivery, open, click, bounce and spam complaint results.

Plan examples 

The following examples are indicative. Use them as a reference, not as a fixed rule.

Below are two examples of ramp-up plans: one for a smaller contact base (approximately 30,000 contacts) and one for a larger base (approximately 1,000,000 contacts).

Ramp-up does not end with a single send to the contact base. After the first gradual send of a communication, you must continue with additional gradual sends, progressively increasing the volumes.

If deliverability metrics remain positive, subsequent sends do not need to start from the lowest volumes: they can begin with higher quantities and grow more quickly.

The ultimate goal is to build a stable reputation and eventually send the same communication to the entire contact base in a single send.

List of approximately 30,000 contacts

First send

Second send

If the first send maintained good deliverability metrics, you can repeat the communication over a few sends, starting from significantly higher volumes than during the first ramp-up.

Third send

If the second send also confirms a stable reputation, the communication can be sent to the entire contact base in a single send.

List of approximately 1,000,000 contacts

First send

For very large contact bases, it is better to proceed with cautious increases. Accelerating too quickly can make it more difficult to recover the reputation if delivery problems arise.

Second send

Even after successfully completing a first ramp-up, it is advisable to distribute the communication over several days. You can start from much higher volumes than during the first send and increase progressively, completing the base in significantly less time.

Third send

If deliverability metrics remain positive, you can send the communication to the entire contact base in a single send.

How to manage ramp-up in magnews

In magnews, you can manage ramp-up in two ways:

• Sending in multiple phases.
• Dividing the list into sub-audiences.

The choice depends on the volume to be reached and the level of operational control you want to maintain.

Using sending in multiple phases

Sending in multiple phases allows you to schedule a single send and distribute it over multiple moments, according to percentages or volumes defined in the ramp-up plan.

Use it when you have already defined the plan and want to avoid creating a separate send for each phase.

Advantages

• Manage ramp-up from a single send
• Schedule the phases in advance
• Reduce operational work

Limitations

• You have less control if delivery problems arise
• You may need to stop the send
• You may need to check which contacts have not yet received the communication and reschedule subsequent sends

When to use it

Sending in multiple phases is suitable for smaller ramp-ups, for example up to approximately 30,000 contacts.

For higher volumes, consider dividing the list into sub-audiences.

Dividing the list into sub-audiences

With this approach, you create multiple sub-audiences, each containing the number of recipients planned for a ramp-up phase.

You then schedule separate sends of the same communication, associating the appropriate sub-audience with each send.

To create the sub-audiences, you can use the Create a random distribution action.

Advantages

• You have greater control over each phase.
• You can suspend the plan more easily.
• You can modify subsequent volumes.
• You can redefine the targets if deliverability problems arise.

Limitations

• Requires more operational work.
• You must create the sub-audiences.
• You must schedule multiple separate sends.

When to use it

This approach is recommended for ramp-ups involving high volumes, generally more than 30,000 contacts, or when you want to monitor the progress of the plan more precisely.

If you want to start with your most engaged contacts, first create an audience made up of users with the highest engagement. Then apply the random distribution only within that segment. 

When to slow down or stop ramp-up

During ramp-up, it is important to monitor the performance of each send and react quickly to negative signals. Continuing to increase volumes when delivery problems are present can compromise the sending domain's reputation.
 

When to slow down

Slow down the ramp-up when you notice signs of a possible deterioration.

You can reduce the volumes or keep the volume reached stable for a few days.

Slow down if you observe:

• A progressive decrease in the open rate, especially for a specific email provider
• An increase in unsubscribes or spam complaints
• A yellow warning appearing in the communication summary report
• Gmail spam rate above 0.1% in Google Postmaster Tools
• A deterioration in Gmail domain reputation
• Initial anomalies in soft bounces, especially block-type bounces

To check for a decrease concentrated on a specific provider, use the communication Audience report and filter by domain.

When to stop

Temporarily stop the ramp-up when the signals become critical.

Stop if you detect:

• Alerts for spam complaints or unsubscribes in the communication summary report
• Gmail spam rate above 0.3% in Google Postmaster Tools
• A significant decrease in Gmail domain reputation
• Hard bounces above 2%
• Numerous soft block bounces related to an unaccepted sender or poor reputation with Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo or other major providers
• A sudden decrease in the overall open rate or a decrease concentrated on a specific provider

In these cases, suspend the increases, analyse the causes and resume the plan only when the metrics have stabilised.
 

How magnews can help you

During ramp-up, it is important to review the results after each send and adapt the plan based on performance.

The magnews team can help you:

• Define the ramp-up strategy
• Plan volume increases
• Identify the most suitable segments for the initial stages
• Monitor deliverability indicators
• Understand when to slow down, stop or resume the plan

For support with your ramp-up strategy, contact your sales representative or the Help Desk.

FAQ

Can I send to the entire list immediately?

No, if the domain is new, has been inactive for some time or has just been migrated. Sending to the entire list immediately can damage the domain's reputation and increase the risk of spam or blocks.

Do I need to perform a ramp-up even if I use the same domain?

Yes, if you are migrating from another platform or if the domain has not sent emails for a long time. Even when using the same domain, providers need to observe the new traffic and assess its reliability.

Which contacts should I involve first?

Start with your most active contacts: users who have recently opened, clicked and interacted with your communications. These recipients generate the most useful signals for building a reputation.

What should I do if the metrics deteriorate?

Do not increase the volumes. Keep the volume reached stable or reduce it. If critical signals appear, temporarily stop the ramp-up and analyse the causes before resuming.

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