How to Warm Up a New Email Domain for Cold Outreach

Why New Domains Need Warming Up

When you register a new domain or create a new email address, it has zero reputation with email providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. Email providers treat unknown senders with suspicion. If you immediately start blasting cold emails from a fresh domain, your messages will almost certainly land in spam.

The Domain Warmup Timeline

Warming up a new domain typically takes 2-4 weeks. Here is a week-by-week plan:

Week 1: Foundation

• Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your domain
• Create your email account and configure your sending tool
• Send 5-10 emails per day to people you know (friends, colleagues, existing contacts)
• Ask recipients to reply, open, and mark your emails as important

Week 2: Gradual Increase

• Increase to 15-25 emails per day
• Mix personal emails with low-risk outreach to warm contacts
• Subscribe to newsletters and reply to confirmation emails
• Send emails to your own accounts on Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo to test inbox placement

Week 3: Start Outreach

• Begin cold outreach at 25-40 emails per day
• Target your most qualified, most likely-to-engage prospects first
• Monitor bounce rates closely. Keep them below 3%.
• Watch for any spam folder placement

Week 4: Scale Up

• Increase to 50-75 emails per day if deliverability remains strong
• Continue monitoring metrics daily
• Add follow-up sequences to your campaigns
• Never exceed 100-150 emails per day from a single mailbox

Common Warmup Mistakes

1. Going too fast: Sending 200 emails on day one from a new domain is the fastest path to getting blacklisted.
2. Ignoring bounces: High bounce rates during warmup can permanently damage your domain reputation.
3. Skipping authentication: No SPF, DKIM, or DMARC means email providers will not trust your domain.
4. Using bad data: Sending to unverified or outdated email lists during the critical warmup period is devastating.

Start With Verified Emails

During the warmup period, email quality matters more than ever. Every bounce hurts your fragile new reputation. That is why smart outreach teams use Easy Email Finder to source verified business emails before starting any campaign. Clean data protects your domain and sets you up for long-term deliverability success.

Pair your warmup strategy with accurate contact data from Easy Email Finder, and you will be ready to scale your outreach with confidence.