Setting up and managing a dedicated IP is an important step toward improving your email deliverability and sender reputation. A dedicated IP gives you full control over your sending reputation — but it also means your results depend entirely on your sending habits and adherence to best practices.
To ensure strong performance from the start, it’s essential to properly configure authentication, follow email best practices, and maintain a healthy contact list.
Set Up DKIM Authentication
DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) is an authentication standard that allows mailbox providers to verify that your emails were authorized by your domain and haven’t been altered in transit.
Properly setting up DKIM improves trust with mailbox providers and is one of the most important steps in establishing your sending reputation.
Learn more: Setting up DKIM for your domain
Follow Email Sending Best Practices
Building and maintaining a positive sender reputation requires consistent, responsible sending. This includes sending only to engaged contacts, keeping content relevant, and gradually ramping up sending volume (IP warm-up).
Reference: Keap Email Deliverability Handbook: Email Marketing Best Practices
Key principles include:
- Start with your most engaged contacts first (those who have opened or clicked recently).
- Maintain a consistent sending schedule — avoid sudden volume spikes.
- Avoid spam-triggering words, excessive links, and deceptive subject lines.
- Monitor engagement metrics (opens, clicks, bounces, complaints) closely.
Maintain List Hygiene
A healthy, permission-based contact list is critical to sustaining strong deliverability. Poor list hygiene leads to high bounce rates, spam trap hits, and complaint issues — all of which can harm your IP reputation.
Regularly:
- Remove unengaged or invalid email addresses.
- Avoid purchasing or importing unverified contact lists.
- Honor unsubscribes promptly.
Learn more:
Continue Improving Your Deliverability
While DKIM setup, adherence to best practices, and list hygiene are foundational, long-term success with your dedicated IP depends on ongoing monitoring and refinement.
We recommend exploring our full collection of articles on email deliverability for deeper guidance on optimizing performance and maintaining compliance.
Explore more: Email Deliverability Help Center
Summary
Getting started with a dedicated IP requires:
- Authenticate your domain with DKIM.
- Follow sending best practices to build trust with mailbox providers.
- Keep your list clean and engaged to maintain high deliverability.
- Monitor and adjust as you build a positive reputation over time.
By following these steps, you’ll set a strong foundation for consistent inbox placement and reliable email performance.