Everything about Email Warm Up

We know how frustrating email warmup can be when you’re not sure if you’re doing it right. Without a solid strategy, your emails can land in spam, killing your outreach before it even starts. But with the right steps, you can build a sender reputation, boost deliverability, and ensure your emails actually reach prospects. The question is—where do you start?

Why is warming up necessary?

Email providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo monitor sender activity closely. If you suddenly send hundreds or thousands of emails from a new or inactive domain, it’s seen as suspicious, which can result in emails being flagged as spam. Your domain/IP being blacklisted. Warm-up gradually builds credibility by showing email providers that your domain sends genuine, high-quality and establishing trust over time.

How to Warm Up Emails

Warming up your email account is critical to ensure high deliverability and avoid being flagged as spam. Why Deliverability Matters: Poor email deliverability can lead to emails landing in spam folders or being rejected. It affects open rates, response rates, and overall campaign success.

Key Factors Affecting Deliverability:

• Domain reputation.

• Sending frequency and volume.

• Quality of email content and recipient list.

• Use of spam trigger words.

Use an Email Warm-Up Tool: Tools like leamwarm automate and expedite the process specializing in cold outreach. With domain authentication your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC should be properly set. These protocols verify that your email server is authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. Begin by sending 10-20 emails per day to active email accounts that are likely to engage with your emails (e.g., friends, colleagues, test accounts). Increase the volume by 10-15 per day several weeks until you reach your target sending volume. Example: 

First week 10 emails per day, Second week 20 emails per day, Third week 30 emails per day.

Encourage recipients to open, click, and reply to your emails to signal positive engagement to email service providers (ESPs). Track bounce rates, open rates, and spam reports. A good bounce rate below 5% and spam complaints from 0.2% - 0.5% save your sender reputation.

How Warm-Up Tools Work

Email warm-up tools, such as Replay.io automate and accelerate the warming process while maintaining high deliverability standards. Here’s how they work:

The tool sends emails from your account to a network of active email accounts managed by other users. These accounts automatically open your emails, reply to them, and mark them as “Not Spam.” Every time an email is opened, replied to, or marked as important, it sends a positive signal to email providers, boosting your sender reputation. The tool increases the number of emails sent daily based on your plan and preferences, mimicking natural behavior. If any email ends up in spam, warm-up tools automatically remove it and mark it as “Not Spam,” helping to repair your domain reputation.

Why Warming Up is an Ongoing Process

• Ongoing Activity: Warming up doesn’t stop after the first few weeks. Even after the initial phase, email providers continuously monitor sender behavior.

• Scaling Safely: As your outreach volume grows, you'll need to re-adjust and ensure you're still within safe limits.

• Reputation Maintenance: Consistently sending high-quality emails and avoiding spammy tactics keeps your domain reputation healthy over time.