If you’re sending cold emails and they keep landing in spam, you’ve probably heard you need to “warm up” your inbox. Most guides on this topic are either vague or pitchy. This one isn’t. Here’s how to set up automated warmup campaigns in Mailivery the right way—so your messages actually get seen, not filtered.
This guide is for anyone using a new or dormant inbox for outreach, sales, or any kind of bulk sending. If you’re tired of guessing which “deliverability hacks” work and want a no-fluff, step-by-step process, you’re in the right place.
Why warmup matters (and what it actually does)
Let’s keep it real: inbox warmup isn’t magic. It’s just a way to make your sending look more human and less like a spammer. When you spin up a new email and blast out 100 cold pitches on Day 1, Google, Microsoft, and everyone else see red flags. Warmup tells those spam filters, “Hey, this is a real person doing real emailing.”
What warmup does: - Sends real-looking emails from your inbox, gradually increasing the volume over weeks. - Gets replies (sometimes automated) to those emails, so there’s an actual conversation thread. - Helps your domain and IP build a positive sender reputation.
What it doesn’t do: - Fix a burned domain. - Guarantee inbox placement forever. - Replace the need for good sending practices (like not buying sketchy lists).
Automated warmup tools like Mailivery just streamline this process. You could do it manually, but unless you want to spend your mornings emailing yourself from a dozen burner accounts, just automate it.
Step 1: Prep your inbox before you even touch Mailivery
Before you sign up for anything, make sure you’re not setting yourself up to fail. Here’s what trips people up:
- Authenticate your domain: Set up SPF, DKIM, and (ideally) DMARC records. If you don’t, you’re giving spam filters an easy reason to block you. Most domain hosts have wizards or guides for this.
- Don’t use a brand-new domain: If you just bought “best-cold-emails-2024.com” yesterday, you’ll look suspicious no matter what. Stick with domains at least a few months old.
- Set up a real mailbox: Use your actual business name, add a profile picture, and fill out the basic info. Spam filters notice empty or default profiles.
Pro tip: Don’t use your main domain’s primary email for risky outreach. Use an alias or a subdomain (like hello@outreach.yourcompany.com) so you don’t nuke your main sender reputation if something goes wrong.
Step 2: Sign up for Mailivery and connect your email account
Head to Mailivery and create an account. The signup is pretty standard, but connecting your inbox can trip you up if you’re not careful.
- Choose the right provider: Mailivery supports Gmail, Outlook, Office365, and most IMAP/SMTP setups. Double-check your provider—using the wrong settings here will break the automation.
- Use App Passwords if needed: For Gmail or Outlook, don’t just use your regular password—set up an “App Password” or “App Specific Password” in your account security settings. This is more secure and avoids connection headaches.
- Grant the minimum permissions: Don’t give away the keys to your entire Google account. Only allow what Mailivery needs (sending, receiving, reading messages).
Mailivery will run a connection test. If it fails, it’s almost always authentication or permissions. Slow down, read the error, and fix it before moving on.
Step 3: Configure your warmup campaign settings
This is where most people get it wrong—either they go too fast, or they set things so low it’s pointless. Here’s how to dial in your settings for maximum deliverability:
Start slow, then ramp up
- Initial daily emails: Start with 5–10 warmup emails per day. If you’re using a brand-new inbox, stick to the lower end.
- Ramp-up schedule: Increase by 2–5 emails per day, per week. Don’t double your volume overnight.
- Maximum daily volume: For most inboxes, 40–50 warmup emails/day is plenty. More isn’t better—past this, you just look weird.
Keep it random (and natural)
- Vary sending times: Enable any option that randomizes send times throughout the day. All your emails going out at 9:01 AM? That’s a spammer move.
- Mix up content: Mailivery uses a pool of real, human-like email templates. Don’t customize these too much—let the randomness do its job.
- Enable “Reply to warmup emails”: This is key. The replies are what really make your sending look legit.
Don’t overcomplicate it
Skip the “advanced” settings unless you know what you’re doing. Focus on: - Daily volume - Ramp-up speed - Reply rate
Everything else is just noise for 99% of users.
Step 4: Let Mailivery run (and don’t interfere)
Once your campaign is live, hands off. Don’t manually reply to or delete warmup emails. Don’t mark them as spam or archive them. Just let Mailivery do its thing.
If you get weird-looking emails in your inbox, that’s normal. They’re designed to look like real, messy conversations. Deleting or flagging them defeats the whole point.
Pro tip: Create a filter in Gmail or Outlook to auto-archive or label warmup emails if you can’t stand seeing them. Just don’t let that filter mark anything as spam.
Step 5: Monitor your progress, but don’t obsess
Mailivery gives you dashboards showing your spam folder rate, open rates, and reputation trends. Here’s what matters:
- Spam placement: If your warmup emails are hitting spam, something’s wrong. Check your DNS records and inbox setup.
- Gradual improvement: You should see your inbox placement rates rise over 2–4 weeks. If not, either your main domain is burned, or you’re ramping up way too fast.
- Don’t chase perfection: If you’re getting 90% inbox placement, that’s great. Chasing 100% will make you crazy.
Ignore the vanity metrics—open rates on fake warmup emails aren’t the same as real prospect engagement.
Step 6: Transition to real sending (the right way)
Once you’ve hit your target daily warmup volume for a week or two, you can start sending real cold emails. But don’t go from zero to hero overnight.
- Start with 10–20 real emails/day: Mix them in with your ongoing warmup. Don’t pause the Mailivery campaign.
- Monitor bounces and replies: If you start getting blocks or bounces, back off. Don’t keep cranking up volume just because you can.
- Stay consistent: Keep your total daily outbound (warmup + real) below 50–75 for the first month. Slow and steady wins deliverability.
What NOT to do (ignore these common myths)
- Don’t use “warmup” to fix a blacklisted domain: If you’ve nuked your sender reputation, no tool can save you. Start fresh.
- Don’t buy sketchy email lists: No amount of warmup can protect you from sending to garbage contacts.
- Don’t pause warmup as soon as you start sending: Keep warmup running in the background for at least a few months.
Honest takes: What works, what doesn’t
Works: - Slow, steady ramp-up with automated replies. - Keeping your sending patterns human-like and random. - Monitoring your DNS/authentication status regularly.
Doesn’t work: - “Hacks” like weird subject lines, emojis, or sending at odd hours. - Over-customizing warmup emails (let the tool do its job). - Relying on warmup to fix poor email content or bad targeting.
Keep it simple and keep iterating
Automated warmup isn’t about tricking the system—it’s about building real, healthy sender habits. Set up Mailivery right, let it run, and don’t fall for shortcuts or myths. Start slow, watch your metrics, and adjust if things go sideways.
The biggest killer of deliverability is impatience. Stick with it, keep things simple, and you’ll see better results without pulling your hair out.