Domain reputation has been a theme this season. And for good reason. In the world of email, IP addresses and domains have reputations that can make or break an email’s journey. While it might seem a little technical, understanding these nuances can have a big impact on your email deliverability.

In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa discuss the differences between shared and dedicated reputation regarding IP addresses and domains. They talk about the importance of IP and domain reputation, the factors that affect them, and their impact on email deliverability. They also highlight ConvertKit's approach to maintaining a high reputation.

Join us as we discuss:

• [02:47] - The difference between shared IP and dedicated IP.
• [06:12] - Who is most likely to benefit from dedicated IP?
• [07:01] - The benefits and risks of using a dedicated IP.
• [08:30] - Shared IP and Google Postmaster Tools.
• [11:42] - The risk of shared IP pool and the importance of having good email managers.
• [15:44] - The team behind ConvertKit's deliverability and compliance.
• [16:52] - How ConvertKit monitors block lists.
• [20:51] - How IP reputation and domain reputation work together.
• [23:50] - The impact of domain reputation on mail providers.
• [30:09] - ConvertKit's new domain features.

Key Takeaways

• Most email service providers commonly use shared IP addresses which are a good option for the majority of users.
• Dedicated IP addresses are recommended for high-volume senders or those who want complete control over their reputation.
• Domain reputation is crucial in email deliverability and can impact whether emails land in the inbox or the spam folder.
• Senders need to take responsibility for maintaining a healthy domain reputation by following best practices and avoiding spammy behavior.
• ConvertKit’s new feature allows users to purchase and validate a domain within the platform, making it easier for senders to own their email identity.

Quotes

[07:19] - "If you care about completely owning the reputation of your email, you want to be low risk, and you don't want any other factor to influence your email's deliverability, you might want a dedicated IP. Your deliverability is all on you 100 percent." ~ Alyssa Dulin 

[22:56] - "Your domain reputation is extremely important and can be the cause of emails going to spam. There is nothing your ESP can do about it if you don't clean up your side of the street." - Melissa Lambert

[27:59] - "Helping our customers and senders buy their own domains and figure out their own mailboxes so that they can really own their identity and their mail is helpful to the entire ecosystem." ~ Alyssa Dulin

[31:58] - "We want to be good stewards of email and are also trying to get tooling in place to support that. We've tried to align our tooling with our belief that this is the best way for senders to have autonomy over their domain reputation, and we're going to give you a tool to make it even easier." ~ Melissa Lambert

Links

• Alison Gootee
• Braze
• Substack
• Mailchimp
• ConvertKit
• Google Postmaster Tools
• Nathan Barry
• ConvertKit's Creator Network
• Subscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!
• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

Stay in touch

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• Deliverability Defined Website

Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action

It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.