Email warm-up

A new sending domain or IP address has no history, and mailbox providers are cautious with senders they don't know. Warm-up means starting with low volume to recipients who are likely to engage and increasing it slowly, so the reputation builds on good signals. Google's sender guidelines say to start with a low sending volume to engaged users, increase it over time, and avoid sudden spikes if you don't have a history of large volumes.

Teams also use automated warm-up services that exchange emails among a network of inboxes. These can create activity on a new mailbox, but they don't replace real, wanted mail, and they can't fix a list that bounces.

Launching a full outbound campaign from a fresh domain on day one is a common way to land in spam or get listed. Ramp up over weeks, keep volume consistent, and watch bounces and complaints at each step. Pausing for weeks and then sending a large burst can undo the work.

Warm-up is most fragile at the start, when a few bounces count for a lot. Verify every contact with Skrap.ai before it goes into a ramping sequence: the free email verifier for spot checks, bulk CSV uploads or the Google Sheets add-on for lists. Keep Risky (catch-all) and Unknown addresses out of the earliest sends.