The Email Warm-Up Checklist

Long-Term Success Starts with a Strong Warm-Up

Warming up your email infrastructure before launching a large campaign is one of the most effective ways to improve inbox placement and protect your sender reputation. Whether you’re activating a new domain, re-engaging an older list, or scaling to a higher volume, a structured warm-up process tells mailbox providers that you're a legitimate sender - not a spam risk.

At LINK Mobility, we guide customers through warm-up using the MyLINK MarketingPlatform, which includes built-in tools for authentication, smart scheduling, and real-time analytics.

Use the checklist below to structure your warm-up strategy and get your campaigns off to a healthy start.

Email Warm-Up Checklist

This checklist is broken down into six core categories. Follow each step before and during your warm-up phase to build a trustworthy sender reputation.

1. Setup & Authentication

Before anything is sent, your sending infrastructure needs to be properly configured. This helps mailbox providers verify your identity and reduces the risk of rejection.

Task	Description
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC	Set up these essential DNS records to authenticate your domain.
Dedicated domain or subdomain	Separate promotional traffic from transactional or corporate domains.
Custom tracking domain	Optional, but improves brand recognition and avoids generic tracking URLs.
Dedicated IP address	Recommended for high-volume senders to build a clean IP reputation.

2. Planning & Segmentation

A warm-up is not one-size-fits-all. Define your own timeline and prioritize sending to contacts who are most likely to engage.

Task	Description
Warm-up schedule	Plan for 7–15 days of volume ramp-up depending on your list size.
Engaged recipients first	Send to your most active users to boost early open and click rates.
Volume segmentation	Break your list into daily batches with gradual increases.
Consistent volume and timing	ISPs look for consistency - avoid spikes or erratic schedules.

3. Content Readiness

Avoid unnecessary spam flags by keeping your email design and message structure simple, clean, and readable.

Task	Description
Engagement-focused emails	Welcome emails, updates, or incentives that drive opens and clicks.
Spam-safe formatting	No aggressive language, all-caps, or misleading claims.
Link and image limits	Use 1–2 relevant links max and optimize image sizes.
Plain-text fallback	Always include a text version of your HTML email.

4. Sending & Monitoring

Once you start sending, real-time performance monitoring becomes essential. Bounce rates, opens, and complaints are early warning signs.

Task	Description
Start small	Begin with 500–1,000 recipients per day and ramp up gradually.
Track performance daily	Look at bounce rates, open rates, complaint rates, and unsubscribes.
Check sender reputation	Use Gmail Postmaster Tools, Microsoft SNDS, and other dashboards.
Adapt based on results	Pause or slow the warm-up if you see negative trends.

5. List Hygiene

No warm-up can succeed without a clean list. Poor data quality is the #1 cause of high bounce rates and poor inbox placement.

Task	Description
Email validation	Run your list through a validation tool before starting. LINK can also help clean your list.
Remove hard bounces	Suppress invalid or unreachable addresses immediately.
Avoid low-quality lists	Never use purchased, scraped, or cold data.
Double opt-in	Confirm subscribers to reduce fake or mistyped emails.

6. Post-Warm-Up Practices

Warming up your IP or domain is just the beginning. What you do next determines whether your email program continues to perform or quickly degrades.

Task	Description
Scale gradually	Increase volume in logical steps, not overnight.
Continue monitoring	Watch engagement and bounce rates for every campaign.
Maintain hygiene	Clean inactive contacts regularly and suppress unengaged recipients.
Use analytics tools	Leverage MyLINK reports to optimize timing, content, and targeting.

Long-Term Success Starts with a Strong Warm-Up

Email warm-up isn’t just about avoiding mistakes - it’s about setting your program up for long-term success. Taking the time to build your domain and IP reputation signals to mailbox providers that you’re a trustworthy sender, resulting in better inbox placement and stronger campaign results.

With MyLINK MarketingPlatform, we gives you all the tools needed to warm up correctly, send at scale, and monitor performance in real time. Whether you’re onboarding new customers, launching your next big campaign, or transitioning infrastructure, we help you do it right - step by step!

Ready to warm up your next campaign? Let’s make sure it lands in the inbox.

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