Custom Domain and IP Warmup

Bailey Lawson Updated by Bailey Lawson

Hive’s IP and domain warmup feature automates the sending of increasing email volume off of your new subdomain and sending the remaining volume off of a Hive shared domain that has a reputation built.

If you have set up a custom domain in Hive, you may see the below message when sending an email:

Why is IP/domain warmup necessary?

When switching ESPs or setting up a new subdomain, a key consideration for email deliverability is building trust with ISPs (e.g. Gmail, Outlook) and proper warm-up sends the right signals. 

During warmup, show ISPs that you are a trusted sender by sending emails to an increasing volume of contacts who are engaging (opening and clicking) with your email. If you immediately send to thousands of subscribers in your full list, this looks like spam to ISPs and your email will more likely be marked as such. 

See other reasons why your email is ending up in the spam folder.

How does Hive's automated IP/domain warmup work?

For your first send with Hive on your subdomain, we separate out your most engaged subscribers and send to them from your new subdomain. The rest of your email volume will be sent off Hive’s shared domains (@mail-1.hive.co, @mail-2.hive.co, etc.). Bonus: you’re still able to set the email's ‘From’ name for clear branding.

With each email send, Hive automatically increases the volume of emails sent from the new subdomain - until all emails are sent off your new subdomain. This allows you to slowly build a good sender reputation with ISPs. When sending an email, you will see how many emails per day you're able to send off your custom domain.

Once your subdomain is fully warm and ready to go, all of your volume will be sent from that subdomain.

Note: This all happens automatically in the backend, so you don't have to worry about waiting to blast your email list. While your subdomain is being validated, Hive will send the emails from Hive's shared domains, which already have a good sender reputation built up.

How did we do?

How to Manage Multiple Brands

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