From New Domain to Trusted Sender: A 30-Day Warm-Up Journey

Warming up a domain isn’t just a technical step — it’s a journey from “total stranger” to “trusted sender” in the eyes of Gmail and Outlook.

Let’s walk through what a typical 30-day warm-up plan looks like, week by week, and how your deliverability transforms along the way.

📅 Week 1: Breaking the Ice

• Daily volume: 5–10 emails/day.
• Reply rate: 30–40%.
• Inbox placement: ~40–50%.
• Spam hits: High at first, but reducing.

Goal: Teach ESPs you’re human, not a spam bot. Emails are short, conversational, and most get replied to by warm-up accounts.

📅 Week 2: Building Consistency

• Daily volume: 15–30 emails/day.
• Reply rate: 25–30%.
• Inbox placement: 60–70%.
• Spam hits: Dropping under 20%.

Goal: Show stable sending patterns. Gradual growth matters more than big jumps. Engagement is still strong.

👉 Related reading: Step-by-Step Checklist to Warm Up a New Domain

📅 Week 3: Scaling Up

• Daily volume: 30–50 emails/day.
• Reply rate: 20–25%.
• Inbox placement: 75–85%.
• Spam hits: Under 10%.

Goal: Prove your domain can handle more volume without tripping alarms. Some emails may still hit Promotions, but inbox rates climb steadily.

📅 Week 4: Trusted Sender Status

• Daily volume: 50–100 emails/day.
• Reply rate: 15–20%.
• Inbox placement: 85–95%.
• Spam hits: <5%.

Goal: Cement trust. Your domain is now considered safe and consistent. At this point, you can start sending real cold campaigns with confidence.

👉 Related reading: Cold Email is Not Dead: How Warm-Up Boosts Reply Rates

📊 The Warm-Up Metrics Journey

• Reply % falls naturally (from 40% → 15%) as volume grows.
• Inbox placement rises steadily, crossing 90% by Day 30.
• Spam risk drops from ~50% in Week 1 to <5% in Week 4.

AutoWarm tracks all of this automatically: inbox vs spam, replies, daily trends, and domain health.

🚀 Final Takeaway

Warming up a new domain is a process, not an overnight fix.

• Week 1 = introductions.
• Week 2 = consistency.
• Week 3 = scale.
• Week 4 = trust.

By Day 30, your cold emails don’t just get sent — they get seen.

With AutoWarm, you don’t have to babysit the process. Connect your inbox, set your warm-up settings, and watch your domain graduate from “newbie” to “trusted sender.”