Why Low Performance During Domain Warm-Up is a Concern

Experiencing low performance during a domain warm-up can be a significant concern for hotel marketers. The warm-up process is crucial for establishing a positive sender reputation with Internet Service Providers (ISPs). If this process is not handled correctly, it can lead to several issues:

Poor Deliverability: Emails may end up in spam folders rather than inboxes, reducing the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
High Bounce Rates: A high number of undelivered emails can damage your domain’s reputation, making it harder to reach your audience in the future.
ISP Throttling: ISPs may limit the number of emails you can send, further hindering your marketing efforts.
Wasted Resources: Time and money spent on creating and sending emails are wasted if they do not reach the intended recipients.

Tips to Improve Performance During Domain Warm-Up

• Ensure Full Authentication: Verify that your domain is fully authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. This helps ISPs trust your emails and improves deliverability.

• Review Bounce Details: If you have a high level of bounces, analyze the bounce details to identify if they are technical or reputation related. Address these issues promptly to maintain a good sender reputation.

• Clear Unsubscribe Option: Make sure your unsubscribe option is clear and easy to find. Hidden unsubscribe options can lead to spam complaints, which negatively impact your domain warm-up.

• Analyze Campaign Engagement: Review your campaigns to see which links are being clicked. This can help you understand what content resonates with your audience. 

• Optimize Campaign Design: Adjust the photography and content in your campaigns to drive higher engagement. Engaging content can improve open and click-through rates.

  
  
  • Campaign Design Checklist
  • Campaign Checklist

• Ensure Clickable Links: Double-check that all links in your campaigns are clickable and direct to relevant landing pages. This ensures a smooth user experience and higher engagement.

• Vary Subject Lines: Change up the subject lines for each campaign to keep your emails fresh and interesting for recipients.

• Revisit Call-to-Action Buttons: Ensure your call-to-action buttons are clear and compelling. This can help drive more clicks and conversions.

• Add Pauses Between Sends: Consider adding 1-day pauses between sends. If you currently have 2-3 day pauses between campaigns, consider extending them to 5-7 days to give your audience a break.

• Engage Hotel Employees: Ensure that all hotel employees receiving the warm-up campaigns are actively engaging with the emails. This includes opening the emails and clicking on multiple links to signal positive engagement to ISPs.

Adjusting campaign schedules and design is a common practice during a warmup process and is recommended if campaigns start showing negative KPIs.