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Deliverability
Domain warmup: a step-by-step plan
MO
Send a high volume from a brand-new domain and providers treat you as suspicious. Warming up gradually builds the reputation that gets you to the inbox. Here's a practical plan.
Why warmup is necessary
A new domain has no sending history, so mailbox providers have no reason to trust it. Ramping volume slowly while generating positive engagement signals tells them you're a legitimate sender.
A week-by-week ramp
- Weeks 1-2: small volumes to your most engaged, hand-picked contacts.
- Weeks 3-4: increase volume gradually, watching bounces and complaints.
- Weeks 5-6: approach full volume only if metrics stay healthy.
- Throughout: keep bounce rate low and engagement high.
Start with a clean list
Warmup only works if you send to real, engaged people. Verify your warmup list first — a single bounce-heavy send early on can undo weeks of careful ramping.
Authenticate before you start
Have SPF, DKIM and DMARC in place before the first send. Warming an unauthenticated domain wastes the effort, because failures will hurt you from the start.
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