If you are reading this blog, you know that managing your email program requires making many technical decisions.

In previous blogs, we’ve talked about SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and ramping email when moving providers. Another key decision is whether to send from dedicated IPs or shared IPs—a common question among senders that are B2B, B2C, or both.

In most cases, shared IPs are the proper approach to start with.

Why are shared IPs preferred?

Common among email service providers, shared IPs are made up of a group of IP addresses that many different companies send through.

This method follows the philosophy that a rising tide lifts all boats where customers with great sending reputations indirectly make it easier for other reputable senders trying to to get into the inbox and build up their own reputation while doing so.

Shared IP pools are also the primary option for senders who either don’t have the volume or consistent sending patterns to maintain their own dedicated IPs but are trying to build up that volume over time. Both are buoys for building and maintaining a good to, hopefully, great sending reputation.

Even if a sender starts on a shared IP range, that doesn’t mean shared IPs are the only option for them forever. Given the right amount of volume and best practices for email marketing, a graduation plan can be established if it makes sense.

Alleviating concerns

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Email Delivery has several shared IP pools based on both the type of email sent and the volume. All our pools are curated to avoid any issues and for migration of senders into other pools because of volume constraints or a ramp onto dedicated IPs.

You might understandably have some concerns and risks with sending pools. Another sender can hit a blocklist that makes the IP reputation dip or traffic can see an unexpected surge that causes some delays. However, with proper management by the teams like ours that oversee those IPs, those issues are minimalized with the benefits far outweighing any potential negatives

Why not dedicated IPs?

Dedicated IPs are just that: Dedicated exclusively for that sender’s email only. Depending on volume, a sender can have one dedicated IP or several. They allow large volume senders to better maintain control over their own sending reputation and to have more control over allowlisting.

So why aren’t these the best option for most senders? The following criteria would need to be met in order to be a good candidate for dedicated IPs:

  • A certain level of high-quality monthly email volume needs to be maintained to build a sending reputation on dedicated IPs. If the volume isn’t consistent every month, shared IPs will help alleviate that issue.

  • Consistency and cadence with that level of email is necessary to both build and maintain an IP reputation. If the sender doesn’t have a regular schedule for bulk or marketing deploys, shared IPs will also help alleviate that issue.

  • Full control over DNS settings is a must when sending through either shared or dedicated IPs because senders need to be able to make specific updates that better align to their sending domains and improve reputation.

In a recent example, we had a small business who insisted on having a single dedicated IP despite sending only 400 emails per month. They had read a blog post that put some fear into them about being in a shared pool. After discussing options, they still wanted the dedicated IP and had issues with delivery as a result. After more discussion, they moved into a shared pool and had no issues afterward.

Final thoughts

Making a hasty, misinformed decision with IPs can cause major issues with email programs that can otherwise be alleviated, but usually, the right way to begin is through shared IPs.