Best practices for building an IP's reputation

Upgrading to a new dedicated IP? When making the switch to the new IP unfortunately you are unable to take your sender reputation with you. Below are some helpful tips to build up your sender score as well as a strong reputation.

* If you send large amounts of emails, start by sending 15,000/day maximum and slowly increase that total over three to six months.

* Include opt-ins or better yet, double opt-ins.

* Aggressively handle opt-outs.

* Keep your lists clean. SimplyCast's system will take care of hard bounces for you but you should also clean your lists on a regular basis.

* Don't surprise your customers. If they expect an email from you every month don't start sending them one every day or else complaint rates may increase (make sure they opt in to receive an increase in the amount of mail from you).

* Have a good subject line that stays away from using capital letters, exclamation marks, and words such as "FREE", "consolidate", "earn" etc.

* Consider sending text-only emails to get high open rates to start. If you are sending emails with images your open rate can be falsely represented if a recipient doesn't click "show images".

The important thing to remember is that you and nobody else controls the reputation of your IP. As long as you follow best practices by sending legitimate emails, cleaning your lists and avoiding complaints, you have nothing to worry about.