Warm up a new domain
Authenticate a new domain, start with engaged cohorts, and ramp daily volume deliberately.
Objective
Warm up a new sending domain
Build mailbox-provider trust for a new sending domain through controlled volume growth.
Starting state
New sending domain ready with authentication published
Prerequisites
- SPF/DKIM/DMARC published
- Engaged seed list
Estimated time
1–2 hours
Difficulty
intermediate
Required access
- ESP admin
- DNS
- analytics
Inputs
- Domain
- Target peak daily volume
- Engaged cohort
Step-by-step instructions
- Verify foundationsConfirm authentication, DNS, and monitoring before first sends.
- Start smallSend low daily volume to highly engaged recipients only.
- RampIncrease daily volume on a schedule while watching complaints and bounces.
Verification
- Stable metrics at each volume step
Common mistakes
- Provider throttling after an aggressive jump
- Pause or roll back if complaint or bounce thresholds are breached?
Rollback / recovery
- Return to last successful daily volume for several days
Expected outcome
Domain reaches target volume with stable provider trust.
When to escalate
- Hard blocks or sustained junking mid-ramp