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Deliverability checklist before you launch

Work through this before your first campaign, and again when you add a new domain. It is ordered by how much each step matters. Nothing here needs technical skill, and each item links to the page that walks you through it.

1. Set up the domain

  • MX records exist. A domain that cannot receive replies looks disposable, and warmup needs replies. See DNS records.
  • SPF: one record, ending safely, under 10 DNS lookups. See SPF & DMARC.
  • DKIM is published and Warmerly can see it. If it says "none" but your provider signs your mail, set the DKIM selector in the mailbox's Settings tab. See DKIM.
  • DMARC exists. p=none is a fine start. It will show a warning on the domain health card, and that is normal.
  • The domain health card shows no fail. Open Accounts, click the mailbox, Health tab. Warn and information items can wait. See Domain health card.
  • No blocklist listing for the domain or mail server. See Blocklists, or check for free at warmerly.com/blacklist-checker.

Not sure of your domain's state? The free deliverability checker reads all four records in seconds. See Free deliverability tools.

2. Use the right kind of domain and mailbox

  • Send cold email from a separate domain, not your main website domain, so a problem never touches your everyday mail.
  • Keep it to a few mailboxes per domain. Warmerly warns when a campaign uses more than 5 sending mailboxes on one domain, because they share one reputation. Spread volume across domains.
  • Mailboxes are connected and show no Reconnect button. See Connecting a mailbox and Mailbox won't connect.

3. Warm up before you send hard

  • Warmup is on for every sending mailbox, and stays on. See How warmup works.
  • You are not raising the daily limit early. New mailboxes default to 30 campaign emails a day and the ramp holds the first days lower. A mailbox is fully ramped after 30 days, and about two weeks is enough to start gently.
  • You can launch on day one if you keep it small. When your mailboxes are under 14 days into warmup, a new campaign starts with a gradual volume ramp by default: 3 emails per mailbox on the first day. See Launch your first campaign.
  • Health is not Needs attention. See Mailbox health.
  • Optional but useful: run a placement test on Health. It uses one of your monthly tests.

4. Clean the list

Most reputation damage comes from bad addresses, not bad copy.

  • Verify addresses before importing. See Verify emails. Importing does run a basic check that catches badly formed addresses, disposable domains and domains with no mail server, but it does not confirm that each mailbox exists.
  • Remove addresses you have already emailed or that asked not to be contacted. Your suppression list is never emailed.
  • Do not use a bought list. It is the most common cause of a bounce-rate pause. See Why did sending slow down or pause?.

5. Check the message

  • Run subject and body through the spam word checker. Warmerly's start-campaign check warns at a score of 25 out of 100 or more.
  • Few links and images. The start-campaign check warns above 5 links or 3 images in one email. Two or three lines of plain text with one link, or none, delivers best.
  • Try plain text. Plain-text mode sends no HTML part, no tracking pixel and no wrapped links. It also sends no signature. It is the safest format for a first email.
  • Preview a real lead on the sequence step, so merge tags are filled in and nothing shows a blank or a raw tag.
  • Paste HTML into the email HTML checker if you use a designed template.

6. Decide on tracking

  • Open tracking is off by default. Leave it off unless you need it, because a tracking pixel that fails to load is itself a warning sign for some inbox clients.
  • If you track clicks or opens, use your own tracking domain. Without one, links use a shared Warmerly link domain, and other senders' behaviour can affect it. Warmerly warns you at start when tracking is on and a mailbox has no verified tracking domain. See Custom tracking domain.

7. Set volume and timing

  • Keep the volume ramp on for new mailboxes (campaign Settings, Advanced, Ramp volume up gradually).
  • Leave the sending window and days at sensible business hours for your prospects.
  • Keep each mailbox's daily limit modest. The limit is shared by every campaign that mailbox sends for.

8. Start, then watch

  • Start the campaign and read any readiness warnings. A warning does not block you, but you have to acknowledge it once.
  • Check bounces in the first two days. If a mailbox's bounce rate reaches 2%, Warmerly starts throttling it, and at 7% it pauses. See Why did sending slow down or pause?.
  • Watch the Health tab and your alerts. Warmerly emails you about failing DNS records, a new blocklist listing, a disconnect and a falling health score.
  • Reply to and read replies in Inbox. Real conversation helps your reputation.

What no checklist can promise

  • Inbox placement is never guaranteed. Providers change their filters and do not publish them.
  • Warmerly cannot see your spam complaint rate at Gmail or Microsoft.
  • A mailbox on a brand-new domain takes longer to earn trust than one on an established domain.

Related

Something unclear or out of date? Ask Warmi in the chat, or email support@warmerly.com.