How to ensure you reach more inboxes with Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s Sender Authentication Package (SAP)

Optimising Email Deliverability with Salesforce Marketing Cloud: The Power of a Good IP Address Warm-Up Plan 

An effective IP address Warm-Up Strategy for Salesforce Marketing Cloud is essential for ensuring high email deliverability. Without it, emails risk being flagged as spam, blocked by inbox providers, or missing key audiences altogether. This guide will walk you through the process of optimising your sender reputation, so your emails land in inboxes—not spam folders. If your organisation has invested in Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s Sender Authentication Package (SAP), you now have full control over your email sending reputation.

But here’s the catch: A new dedicated IP address comes with no reputation, meaning inbox providers don’t yet know you as a trusted sender. Without a proper IP address warm-up strategy, your emails could be blocked, flagged as spam, or ignored entirely.

This guide breaks down what an IP address is, why sender reputation matters, and how to successfully warm up your dedicated IP address on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud platform —so your emails get delivered, opened, and engaged with.

Why Does Your IP Address Matters in Email Marketing?

Your IP address is the digital “sender ID” for your emails. It tells inbox providers like Gmail or Outlook where messages are coming from — and whether they should be trusted.

SAP can include a dedicated IP address, giving your organisation full control over reputation.

What is Sender Reputation?

Sender reputation is a score that email providers assign to your IP address based on:

• Engagement: How many people open and interact with your emails.
• List Quality: The number of emails that bounce or are sent to inactive addresses.
• Spam Complaints: How often your emails are marked as spam.

A strong sender reputation leads to better inbox placement, while a poor reputation can result in your emails going to spam.

For more insights on email performance, check out our guide on Automation in Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

How Does Your IP Address Affect Sender Reputation?

Shared IP Addresses vs. Dedicated IP Addresses: When using a shared IP address, your reputation is impacted by the sending practices of others. Whilst with SAP’s dedicated IP address, your reputation is solely in your control, ensuring that your email practices directly affect your deliverability.

Cirrico’s Approach to IP Address Warm-Up: Strategy Meets Automation

Understanding the impact of sender reputation is only half the battle — executing a smart, scalable warm-up strategy is where the real work begins.

At Cirrico, we deliver IP address warm-up programmes in Salesforce Marketing Cloud by combining strategic planning with smart use of Data Extensions, Automation Studio, and real-time reporting tools — all designed to maximise your sender reputation and long-term email deliverability.

We start by segmenting audience data in Data Extensions to target your most engaged subscribers. From there, we use Automation Studio (although Journey builder can also be used) to manage a progressive ramp-up of email volumes, scheduling sends based on recipient engagement and pre-defined warm-up stages. This ensures efficiency and reduces manual overhead, even in complex campaign setups.

Throughout the process, we closely monitor bounce rates, open rates, and spam complaints using Marketing Cloud’s robust reporting tools. These insights help us iterate quickly and make data-driven decisions to protect your reputation.

Rooted in our values of Customer Success and Trust, we co-create the warm-up journey with every client — aligning to your engagement goals and laying a strong foundation for long-term success in your email marketing strategy.

When Should You Purchase Your Own IP Address?

Consider purchasing SAP when:

• High Volume: You send at least 250,000 emails per month.
• Revenue Dependency: Email is a key driver of your marketing or sales.
• Deliverability Issues: You’ve experienced emails landing in spam or declining open rates.
• Brand Consistency: You want your emails to reflect consistent branding with your own authenticated domain.

Getting a Dedicated IP Address is Just the First Step—Now You Need to Build Trust

Purchasing a Salesforce Marketing Cloud Sender Authentication Package (SAP) gives you full control over your email reputation—but control alone isn’t enough.

When your new dedicated IP address goes live, it has no sending history. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have no record of your email behaviour, which means you need to prove that you’re a legitimate, trustworthy sender.

Without a proper warm-up strategy, your emails could be flagged as suspicious, sent to spam, or even blocked entirely. That’s why the first 30 days of sending are critical. A structured, strategic warm-up process helps establish credibility, ensures smooth inbox placement, and sets your email program up for long-term success.

New IP Address Means IP Address Warm Up

A new dedicated IP address has zero reputation—meaning inbox providers don’t know whether to trust your emails or block them.

If you start sending high volumes too soon, you risk damaging your reputation before you even begin.

The Risks of Skipping Warm-Up:

•  Immediate Spam Folder Placement – Without a history, inbox providers may assume your emails are spam.
•  Temporary or Permanent Blocks – High initial volumes can trigger security measures, causing email providers to block your IP address.
• Low Open & Engagement Rates – If your emails don’t land in the inbox, your engagement drops, further harming reputation.
• Long-Term Deliverability Damage – A bad sender reputation is hard to fix—once flagged, rebuilding trust takes weeks or months.

Warming up your IP address properly prevents these issues and ensures your emails reach inboxes from day one.

What Happens If You Skip the Warm-Up Process?

Imagine this:

Your team has spent months preparing for a high-impact campaign.
It’s your biggest launch of the year—whether that’s a product release, a donor appeal, a membership drive, or a critical customer re-engagement push.

The email is crafted to perfection. The subject line is compelling. The CTA is clear. You hit send—expecting a wave of engagement, purchases, donations, or sign-ups.

But instead…

• Your emails never make it to inboxes.

• Key supporters, customers, and stakeholders never see the message.

• Engagement plummets, and projected targets fall short.

The momentum evaporates before it even starts.

This isn’t bad luck—it’s bad sending practices.

IP address warm-up isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s mission-critical. Instead of gambling on inbox placement, warming up your IP address gradually builds credibility, ensuring your emails land where they should—driving impact, conversions, and revenue.

How an IP Address Warm-Up Strategy for Marketing Cloud Protects Your Sender Reputation

IP address warm-up isn’t just a best practice—it’s the only way to build trust with email providers and avoid deliverability disasters. Here’s how:

• Avoid Spam Filters: Gradually increasing your sending volume helps prevent emails from being flagged as spam.
• Prevent Blocks: Sudden, high-volume sends can trigger security measures and result in your IP address being blocked.
• Establish Trust & Long-term Reputation: A consistent, gradual ramp-up of email volume establishes a strong sender reputation over time.

Skipping this step means playing email roulette. Inbox placement is earned, not guaranteed—and IP address warm-up is the key to unlocking full deliverability potential.

For further insights, check out Salesforce’s official best practices on IP address warming to ensure optimal deliverability and sender reputation management.

How to Warm an IP address Warm-Up Strategy for Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s SAP

Begin by sending small volumes of emails to your most engaged subscribers, then gradually increase the volume over approximately 30 days. Here’s a sample roadmap:

• Week 1: Start with 500 emails per day.
• Week 2: Increase to around 1,000–5,000 emails per day.
• Week 3: Scale up to 10,000–50,000 emails per day.
• Week 4: Continue increasing gradually up to 2 million+ emails per day as appropriate for your audience size and engagement levels.

Key Strategies for Successful Warming:

• Prioritise Engaged Subscribers: Focus on those who have recently interacted with your emails.
• Evenly Distributed Sends: Avoid large spikes by spreading campaigns over multiple days.
• Mix Transactional and Marketing Emails: Start with smaller, transactional sends before moving on to larger marketing campaigns.
• Monitor Performance: Keep an eye on open rates, bounce rates, and spam complaints. If issues arise, scale back the volume and adjust your strategy accordingly.

* Keep in mind that this is just a sample rampup strategy and that ramp-up speed should be adjusted based on engagement rates and list size.

Managing Deliverability During the IP Address Warm-Up Strategy for Salesforce Marketing Cloud

• Expect Some Challenges: It’s normal to encounter some blocking or deferrals initially.
• Adjust as Needed: If problems persist, temporarily reduce the sending volume and focus on your most engaged recipients.
• Maintain Consistency: Avoid sudden spikes or long gaps in your sending schedule. If you stop sending for more than three weeks, you might need to restart the warming process.

Building and Maintaining a Clean List for Your IP Address Warm-Up Strategy in Salesforce Marketing Cloud

A healthy sender reputation starts with a quality email list. To ensure long-term success:

• Use Permission-Based Email Collection: Only send emails to subscribers who have explicitly opted in.
• Regularly Clean Your List: Remove inactive subscribers (typically after six months of inactivity) and monitor for potential spam traps.
• Focus on Engagement: Prioritise and segment your audience to target those most likely to interact with your content.

Salesforce Sender Authentication Package Benefits

Purchasing a SAP package not only gives you a dedicated IP address but also includes:

• Dedicated IP Address: Complete control over your sending reputation.
• Dedicated Domain (Authenticated Sending): Your emails come from your own branded domain, enhancing trust and deliverability.
• Custom Account Branding (Link Wrapping): Your links and images are branded with your domain, boosting click-through rates and reducing phishing risks.
• Reply Mail Management (RMM): Efficiently manage replies, out-of-office responses, and unsubscribes to further protect your sender reputation.

The Bottom Line

For organisations sending over 250,000 emails per month or those experiencing deliverability challenges, investing in a Salesforce Marketing Cloud Sender Authentication Package is a smart move. A properly warmed-up IP address isn’t just a technical step—it’s a strategic advantage that ensures your emails consistently land in inboxes, not in spam folders. By following this IP address Warm-Up Strategy for Salesforce Marketing Cloud, you can optimise deliverability and improve sender reputation.