Email marketing is a key driver of business success, but getting your emails into the inbox (and not the spam folder) can be a challenge.

From our latest SmartDelivery data—gathered from over 1 million+ tests—we’ve seen how email deliverability can vary significantly across different email service providers (ESPs).

For example, we’ve noticed shifts in Gmail and Outlook inbox and spam rates that reflect the impact of IP reputations and other deliverability factors.

To give you some perspective, here are the recent trends in deliverability:

• Gmail Deliverability
  Inbox Rate: December 76.49% → November 71.18% → October 68.48%
  Spam Rate: December 14.60% → November 19.09% → October 21.77%

• Outlook Deliverability
  Inbox Rate: December 20.43% → November 15.20% → October 14.94%
  Spam Rate: December 70.45% → November 74.48% → October 74.95%

These insights highlight the varying deliverability results that businesses can experience, and they often lead to a common question: Do I need a dedicated server and IP for my email marketing?

The answer isn’t as simple as a “yes” or “no”—it depends on several factors specific to your business. In this post, we’ll break down the benefits, costs, and factors to consider when deciding whether a dedicated IP is right for your email marketing strategy.
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Let’s dive in and explore the benefits to help you boost your inbox placement.

Top Benefits of a Dedicated IP Address

A dedicated email server, in combination with a dedicated IP address, provides enhanced control, performance, and security for your email marketing campaigns.

A dedicated IP address is a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned exclusively to a single account, providing full control over your email marketing campaigns.

This setup ensures that the sender reputation of your emails is not affected by the actions of other users sharing the same IP.

Beyond just email marketing, dedicated IPs also offer more control over outgoing mail servers and email authentication, making them a popular choice for businesses looking to secure their communications.

Choosing the right IP address for your email marketing efforts is crucial to maintaining high deliverability rates and protecting your sender reputation.

A dedicated IP can offer a wide range of benefits, particularly for businesses sending high volumes of email. Here’s how a dedicated IP can transform your cold email marketing strategy.

1. Improved Deliverability‍

A dedicated IP significantly boosts your chances of landing in the inbox. ISPs tend to trust dedicated IPs more because they are linked to a specific sender.

Over time, your IP reputation strengthens as you consistently send high-quality emails, resulting in better inbox placement and higher engagement rates.

2. Traffic Control

When you use a dedicated IP, you have full control over email traffic. This is especially beneficial when it comes to IP warm-up—gradually increasing your sending volume to build a solid reputation with ISPs.

You can also control your sending frequency and schedules to ensure your emails don’t trigger spam filters.

3. Stronger Brand Trust

A dedicated IP can help build stronger brand trust with your subscribers. Emails sent from a dedicated IP are more likely to pass email authentication checks, like DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework), which increase your credibility with ISPs.

A strong, consistent reputation makes your emails more recognizable, reassuring your subscribers that your emails are legitimate and not spam.

4. More Control Over Sending Practices

With a dedicated IP, you have the flexibility to manage your email sending practices more efficiently. You can set your own sending schedules, adjust the volume of emails, and monitor your email sending behavior.

This level of control is essential for ensuring your emails are delivered at the right time and at the right frequency, helping to avoid issues like throttling or being flagged by anti-spam systems.

5. Higher Security 

Using a dedicated IP address also provides better security for your email campaigns. When you're the only one using an IP, you're less vulnerable to threats like phishing attacks, malware, and hacking.

If a security breach happens on a shared IP, it can affect all users, potentially leading to blacklisting or reputational damage. With a dedicated IP, your email sending practices are protected, helping to ensure that your campaigns stay secure and compliant.

6. Prevents Reputation Damage

When you use a shared IP, your reputation is at the mercy of other users’ actions. If someone else on the same IP engages in poor email practices, it can negatively affect the reputation of the entire IP address, including yours.

A dedicated IP eliminates this risk, as it’s solely yours to manage. This isolation ensures that your reputation remains untarnished by the actions of others, giving you peace of mind that your emails won’t be caught in the spam folder due to someone else’s mistakes.

7. Better Segmentation and Personalization Capabilities

With a dedicated IP, your email marketing campaigns are more likely to be seen as trustworthy by ISPs, which allows for more advanced segmentation and personalization strategies.

A solid sender reputation means you can target more specific audiences with personalized email content, improving engagement and conversions.

Because your dedicated IP demonstrates consistency and trustworthiness, ISPs are more likely to deliver your emails to your segmented audience’s inboxes, enhancing the overall impact of your marketing efforts.

8. Long-Term Cost Benefits

Though a dedicated IP comes with higher upfront costs, it can lead to long-term cost savings as your business grows.

By improving your deliverability and sender reputation, a dedicated IP reduces the likelihood of having your emails blacklisted or sent to spam folders, meaning you won’t waste resources on email campaigns that don’t reach their intended recipients.

Additionally, the scalability of a dedicated IP ensures that as your email volume increases, you won’t be subject to throttling or performance issues, allowing you to continue sending emails without restrictions.

Investing in a dedicated IP address can offer significant advantages for businesses looking to improve their email marketing performance.

From better deliverability and stronger sender reputation to increased control and security, a dedicated IP is a smart choice for high-volume email marketers who want to take full control of their campaigns.

While the costs and responsibilities associated with a dedicated IP are higher, the benefits—especially for businesses that rely heavily on email marketing—make it a worthwhile investment.

When is a Dedicated IP Right for You?

A dedicated IP is best suited for businesses that send a high volume of emails or require more control over their sender reputation. A dedicated IP is ideal if you are:

• Sending high volumes of email (100,000+ per month)
• Looking to build and maintain a strong sender reputation
• Sending time-sensitive or critical campaigns where inbox placement is crucial
• Wanting to customize your email setup for better results (e.g., allowlisting, schedule adjustments)

A shared IP may be a better option if you are:

• Sending fewer than 100,000 emails per month
• New to email marketing and testing things out
• Working with limited resources and budget constraints
• Sending infrequent or irregular campaigns

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For businesses with high email volumes or those looking to establish a strong sender reputation, a dedicated IP provides significant advantages.

For smaller businesses or those just starting, a shared IP might offer the flexibility and cost-effectiveness needed to get started without the complexities.Understanding your goals and resources will help you decide which IP option is best suited for your email marketing strategy.

Dedicated Servers and Dedicated IPs: A Perfect Match for Email Success

While a dedicated server gives you complete control over your email infrastructure, a dedicated IP address takes your deliverability and reputation to the next level. Here's how they work together:

1. Complete Control Over Your Sender Reputation

A dedicated server ensures that you’re the sole user of the server’s resources. This means you can consistently send emails without interference from other senders. When paired with a dedicated IP address, you have full control over your sender reputation.

The actions of others on a shared IP won't affect your email deliverability. Your email campaigns are tied directly to your actions, allowing you to maintain a solid and trustworthy reputation.

2. Better Inbox Placement

ISPs trust emails from dedicated servers more because they are associated with a single sender. This increases your chances of landing in the inbox rather than the spam folder.

A dedicated server ensures that your IP is used exclusively for your email campaigns, enhancing your ability to consistently send high-quality, reputable content.

3. Customization and Flexibility

Both dedicated servers and IPs allow you to customize your email practices. With a dedicated IP, you can tailor your sending volume, frequency, and authentication protocols (such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC).

On a dedicated server, you can adjust your email settings and resources according to your specific needs. This flexibility helps ensure optimal deliverability and better overall campaign performance.

4. Improved Security and Protection from Threats

Using a dedicated server protects you from security breaches that can affect shared hosting environments.

With a dedicated IP, you can also reduce the risk of malware, phishing attacks, and hacking that can tarnish your sender reputation. Both tools provide enhanced security, ensuring your email campaigns remain protected and compliant.

5. Greater Scalability for Growing Campaigns

As your email campaigns grow, you’ll need a system that can scale with your needs. A dedicated server ensures that as your email volume increases, your infrastructure can handle the load.

Coupled with a dedicated IP, you can scale your sending volume without worrying about throttling or blacklisting issues associated with shared servers or IPs.

6. Faster Troubleshooting

With a dedicated server and IP, you gain access to detailed logs and insights about your email traffic, allowing you to quickly detect issues that could affect deliverability.

This is particularly valuable when troubleshooting performance or diagnosing any negative changes in inbox placement.

What is SmartServers by Smartlead?

SmartServers is a premium feature offered by Smartlead.

SmartServers are dedicated private infrastructures hosted on individual servers.

It ensures better deliverability, removes the risks associated with shared IPs, and introduces advanced capabilities like IP rotation, load balancing, and blacklist detection.

Key Benefits of SmartServers

• Auto IP Rotation: SmartServers automatically rotate IP addresses to enhance deliverability and avoid blacklisting.
• SmartLoad Balancing: Distributes the email load evenly across multiple IPs for optimal performance.
• Blacklist Detection: Constant monitoring of IP health, with immediate notifications if an IP is blacklisted.
• Granular Control: Assign dedicated IPs to specific clients or campaigns for better management.

‍How to Get Started with SmartServers

Step 1: Log in to Smartlead

First, log in to your Smartlead account. Navigate to the SmartServers tab in the left-hand menu.

Step 2: Make Your First Purchase

If you're a new user, you'll see the option to start a new purchase. Click on the ‘Add Servers’ button at the top right of the page.

If you have already purchased SmartServers, you'll see a list of your current servers. To buy new ones, simply click the ‘Add Servers’ option.

‍Step 3: Purchase Dedicated Server

Once you click on Get Started on the welcome screen, follow these steps to purchase your dedicated server:

1. Select the Region
   From the dropdown menus, choose the region where you'd like your servers to be hosted (e.g., North America, Europe).
2. Specify the Number of servers
   Indicate the number of dedicated servers you wish to purchase for your email campaigns.
3. View Total Amount
   Check the total amount payable based on the number of servers and region you've selected.

After confirming your selections, click on Complete Purchase to finalize the transaction. Once the purchase is complete, you will be able to see your newly acquired dedicated servers listed, along with their details:

• IP Address
• Region
• Number of Campaigns Using the IP
• Email Statistics (e.g., emails sent, replies received, and bounce rate)

To keep your email campaigns running smoothly and maintain a strong server reputation, it's important to follow a few best practices when managing your email setup.

Always use separate servers for each client, even if you're running multiple campaigns for the same client.

This helps ensure everything stays organized and avoids any potential issues that could affect email deliverability. A good rule of thumb is to cap your email volume at 80,000 to 100,000 emails per month per server.

Make sure to gradually ramp up your server's mailing volume.

Start with 5,000 emails per day per server and increase the volume by 5,000 emails each day until you reach 80,000 to 100,000 emails, which should take about 16 days. (A warm-up feature will be available soon in SmartServers to help with this process.)

Keep an eye on your bounce rates, aiming for 1% to 1.5% per server to maintain good deliverability. Also, note that there may be a 5-minute delay between spinning up a server and starting to send emails.

Wrapping Up!

Email deliverability is a crucial factor in the success of your email marketing campaigns.

A dedicated server and IP address offer unmatched control, security, and performance, particularly for businesses that send large volumes of emails.

Tools like SmartServers provide a powerful solution for managing your email infrastructure, ensuring that your messages reach your audience while maintaining high deliverability rates.

If you're sending over 100,000 emails per month or seeking better control over your email marketing, investing in a dedicated server can significantly improve your results.

Start with SmartServers today to optimize your email deliverability and take your campaigns to the next level.