Why dedicated IPs for email is not the best option for everyone

Email deliverability is affected by a number of factors - content, frequency, mailing list characteristics, and many more. It’s not so easy to write marketing emails that will reach a high level of deliverability. In addition, it’s extremely easy to end up in the SPAM folder and on the blacklist, making your life even harder.

As a matter of fact, each email you send uses an IP address. It carries a message from your email service provider to users’ inboxes. With Coresender, your emails are typically sent from a pool of shared IP addresses. Our team of engineers keep their fingers on the pulse and do their best to make sure those IPs are as healthy as possible in order to maintain the highest deliverability for all our customers. Should any bugs occur, they’re on duty to fix the problems as quickly as possible.

However, some of our customers insist on using dedicated IPs to send emails. This is perfectly fine, especially for those who send a lot of emails, and it's an option we offer in order to reach high levels of deliverability. Lots of sources admit to using dedicated IPs, and a number of factors determine whether or not this type of IP is for you. In this article, you'll have some guidelines regarding this topic.

To determine what would suit you best, it’s crucial to understand the differences between dedicated and shared IP addresses. This Is where we will start.

The differences between shared and dedicated IPs

You certainly use an email sending provider (ESP) if you run email marketing campaigns and communicate with your customers through this channel. Each of these delivery services assigns every user with one or a set of IPs and distributes messages on their behalf using these addresses. What’s the difference between using shared and dedicated IP addresses, though? Let’s see.

Shared IP addresses are used by more than one sender. They use the same IP address, so if one of them causes a problem then the whole group suffers. In this instance, it’s a collective responsibility to carry out, but ESPs keep an eye on the stats and weed out any troublemakers.

With dedicated IP addresses, things are a little bit different. Here, everyone is responsible for their own business. Each IP address is used by only one sender. You are responsible for it from day 1, building up a history and thus credibility. Before you become a reliable user, you need to warm up your address.

It's important to add that very often you can buy a dedicated IP as an upgrade or separate plan.

The pros and cons of shared IPs

Pros:

• There’s no need to go through “a warm up period”. You don’t have to gain the trust of ISPs (Internet Service Providers), so you can hit the ground running from the very first day and benefit from your email marketing campaigns provided you follow the no-spam rules.

• Since you share the IP with others, you can benefit from their reputation and achieve better deliverability levels than on your own.

• The risk of damaging the IP reputation is low. Even if one sender collapses, others work in favor of the group.

• It’s a good solution for inconsistent senders - one month you send 50 emails per user and then you have a four-month break. There’s no problem with that because while you might have stopped, others are actively messaging their clients and maintaining the reputation of the whole pool.

• Compared to dedicated IPs, which are generally considered as upgrades, shared IPs are usually much cheaper.

Cons:

• One of the biggest drawbacks of this type of IP is that your deliverability is affected by other senders.

• You have no control over the reputation of the IPs you're using.

The pros and cons of dedicated IPs

Pros:

• You have full control over your reputation. Only you are responsible for your actions, so no other sender can damage your reputation.

• Any IP-related problems can be pinpointed and fixed more easily since you’re the only person who uses that address.

• Dedicated IPs are easier to whitelist - that is, be identified as a safe sender- because you're not sharing the IP with anyone else.

Cons:

• You have to go through a “warm up period”, which takes some time and is quite demanding.

• If any mistakes occur, they immediately affect your reputation and there are no other senders to help you with that. Moreover, it takes time to regain a good image.

• If you want to use dedicated IP, your list should be really high quality so you don't damage your reputation with bounces or low engagement.

• You have to be consistent with your mailing schedule, so taking a four month break is not possible as delays or spikes will hurt your deliverability.

• Costs may be pretty high, as we mentioned above, since IPs are often considered to be upgrades that you need to pay extra for.

Do you really need a dedicated IP to send emails?

After getting to know all the benefits and drawbacks of both types of IPs, it’s time to get down to business. There are dozens of guides out there that recommend switching to dedicated IPs, but is it really worthwhile? Let’s take a look.

Generally, you should consider moving to a dedicated IP address if:

• Sending large volumes of emails (by which we mean 100,000+ per month) is part of your daily routine.

• You need to have a high level of control over your reputation.

• Your email list is top-quality, meaning it is completely permission-based with a high engagement rate.

• A significant part of your emails include sensitive or confidential data.

If you decide to adopt this route and choose dedicated IPs, remember you won't be able to start sending a high volume of emails from day one. This is completely out of the question.

You need to warm up a dedicated IP first

The warming up process involves progressively increasing the volume of mail sent through a dedicated IP address over a specific period of time. It establishes a reputation as a legitimate email sender with internet service providers (ISPs).

A provider will immediately begin studying the traffic flowing from a new or "cold" IP address. It’s recommended that you begin sending low to moderate volumes of emails and gradually work up to larger amounts. By doing so, the ISPs will be able to monitor your sending habits and keep track of how your recipients interact with your emails. As a result, your credibility will begin to grow.

Unfortunately, gradual warm-up does not automatically result in a perfect sending reputation. Nevertheless, it’s still important to follow best sending practices and conduct a “warm up process”, which takes from two to four weeks. depending on the quality of your list.

For some it’s best to stick to a shared pool of IPs

Small businesses, senders with small lists, and those with limited budgets will find this solution ideal. And that's just fine.

Dedicated IP addresses require a lot of time and staff management to properly cope with them, but sadly almost every small business lacks these resources. That’s why many choose to send emails to clients and prospects via a trusted email marketing service.

Sharing an IP address allows you to benefit from other senders, even if you only send weekly or monthly newsletters. There are other users thanks to whose activity your reputation will remain high. Isn’t it a perfect situation?

In order to provide the best possible service quality, the Coresender team monitors all emails sent from our shared IPs. We perform vetting, routine checks, and other actions related to compliance in order to ensure that all senders are behaving correctly. If you want to get to know us better, start for free!

Conclusion

When it comes to IP addresses, as with pretty much everything else in digital marketing, a "one size fits all" approach does not work. Different businesses mean different needs, and that’s a fact. Ultimately, it’s your job to make the right choice.

Dedicated IP addresses do have some good pros in their favour, but only if you want to manage your reputation, send a large volume of emails, and build your reputation from scratch. If not, you would probably be better off with shared IPs.