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

• Domain health card
• Free deliverability tools
• How our email infrastructure works
• Troubleshooting