# Deliverability checklist before you launch

> A step-by-step pre-launch checklist for cold email in Warmerly: DNS records, warmup, list quality, copy, tracking and volume.

Source: https://warmerly.com/docs/guides/deliverability-checklist

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](https://warmerly.com/docs/guides/dns-records).
- [ ] **SPF: one record**, ending safely, under 10 DNS lookups. See [SPF & DMARC](https://warmerly.com/docs/guides/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](https://warmerly.com/docs/guides/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](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/domain-health-card).
- [ ] **No blocklist listing** for the domain or mail server. See [Blocklists](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/blocklisted), or check for free at [warmerly.com/blacklist-checker](https://warmerly.com/blacklist-checker).

Not sure of your domain's state? The free [deliverability checker](https://warmerly.com/deliverability-checker) reads all four records in seconds. See [Free deliverability tools](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/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](https://warmerly.com/docs/guides/mailbox-connection) and [Mailbox won't connect](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/mailbox-wont-connect).

## 3. Warm up before you send hard

- [ ] **Warmup is on** for every sending mailbox, and stays on. See [How warmup works](https://warmerly.com/docs/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](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/launch-first-campaign).
- [ ] **Health is not Needs attention.** See [Mailbox health](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/mailbox-health).
- [ ] **Optional but useful:** run a [placement test](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/placement-tests) 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](https://warmerly.com/docs/verify). 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](https://warmerly.com/docs/suppression) 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?](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/sending-slowed-or-paused).

## 5. Check the message

- [ ] **Run subject and body through the** [spam word checker](https://warmerly.com/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](https://warmerly.com/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](https://warmerly.com/docs/guides/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?](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/sending-slowed-or-paused).
- [ ] **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](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/domain-health-card)
- [Free deliverability tools](https://warmerly.com/docs/help/free-deliverability-tools)
- [How our email infrastructure works](https://warmerly.com/docs/infrastructure)
- [Troubleshooting](https://warmerly.com/docs/troubleshooting)

## More in Guides

- [DMARC on IONOS](https://warmerly.com/docs/guides/dmarc/ionos): Step-by-step: add a DMARC TXT record at dmarc on a domain managed in IONOS DNS, start with p=none, and get a…
- [Custom tracking domain](https://warmerly.com/docs/guides/custom-tracking-domain): Replace the default shared Warmerly tracking link with your own domain by adding a CNAME record to your DNS.…
- [Connecting a mailbox](https://warmerly.com/docs/guides/mailbox-connection): How to connect a Gmail, Outlook, Zoho, or custom SMTP/IMAP mailbox to Warmerly for warmup and sending, with…