Want your email marketing campaigns to succeed? In this quick guide, we’ll show you how to earn trust with mailbox providers and make sure every email lands in your audience’s inbox.
Learn more about Nimble Email Marketing in our support guide: Getting Started With Nimble Email Marketing.
Table of Contents:
Why Warming Up a Domain is Important
Mailbox providers view emails from new or inactive domains as suspicious. Sending a large number of messages at once can trigger spam filters, blocks, or reduce deliverability.
Gradually warming up your domain helps build a positive sending reputation, showing providers that your emails are wanted. While especially important for high-volume campaigns, warming up benefits all domains by establishing trust with mailbox providers from the start.
Risks of skipping domain warm-up include the following:
Emails landing in spam, preventing recipients from seeing your messages
Blocks from mailbox providers, which can stop your emails from being delivered
Higher bounces and lower deliverability, reducing the effectiveness of your campaigns
Slower engagement, as fewer recipients open or interact with your emails
Harder to build trust with mailbox providers for future sends
How to Warm Up Your Domain
Warming up a domain is a gradual process. Follow these steps to safely increase your sending volume and build a positive reputation with mailbox providers.
Step 1. Start small by sending emails in batches to your most engaged contacts -those who have recently opened or clicked your messages. These recipients are least likely to bounce or mark your emails as spam.
Step 2. Gradually increase your sending volume by expanding to older or less-engaged segments. Increase by about 15% of your current volume at a time and avoid sudden spikes that could trigger spam filters or blocks.
Step 3. Follow a week-by-week plan for best results. During the first two weeks, focus on subscribers who have engaged in the past 30 days. In weeks three and four, expand to contacts active in the last 60 days. For the first six weeks, avoid sending to subscribers who haven’t engaged in the past 90 days to protect your warm-up progress and maintain a positive sending reputation.
Step 4. Maintain consistency by sending emails regularly, at least weekly, to establish a reliable sending pattern. Keep a close eye on engagement to ensure complaint and bounce rates stay low.
Step 5. Expect some temporary delivery issues during the warm-up, such as delays, soft bounces, or emails being filtered as bulk. If these occur, reduce your sending volume or focus on smaller, highly engaged segments until delivery stabilizes.
*** Note: Temporary delivery issues, like delays, soft bounces, or bulk filtering, are normal and usually resolve as your domain builds a positive sending reputation.***
Remember, consistency and engagement are key. Start small, grow steadily, and monitor results carefully!
For more guidance on maximizing your email success, check out our support article: Best Practices for a Strong Sender Reputation with Nimble Email Marketing
If you have any questions, please write us at care@nimble.com, initiate a chat from this FAQ, or join one of our Nimble Onboarding and Best Practices sessions, held every weekday at 9 AM PT.