Domain warm-up guide

Ramp up a brand-new domain or IP the right way so Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft trust your email program.

Warming up is simply proving to inbox providers that you are a predictable, welcomed sender. The fastest path to that trust is a gradual, deliberate rollout that mirrors real user activity instead of sudden spikes.

Why warm-up is necessary

Anytime a domain starts sending through a fresh IP, mailbox providers treat it with suspicion. Gradually increasing volume lets them build a positive reputation score for your domain + IP pairing.

Think of an IP as the shared server you send from. Bento assigns you to a pool of one or two IPs—warming up protects everyone in that pool.

What to expect

The first few campaigns might land in spam, especially at Gmail or Outlook. That is normal. If you keep sending emails people asked for, performance rebounds quickly as their filters learn who you are.

Your north star is wanted, expected communication. Stay disciplined and you will enjoy strong engagement for years without fighting reputation fires.

Warm-up steps

Step 1

Start with tiny daily automations

Send a handful of automated emails per day for the first 1–2 weeks. Automations trickle out organically as visitors join forms, complete checkouts, or trigger custom events, which looks trustworthy to inbox providers.

Let engagement be your compass—transactional or lifecycle flows generally outperform one-off blasts during this phase.

Step 2

Graduate to engaged-only broadcasts

When you finally schedule a broadcast, choose the people who opened or clicked recently or who are confirmed customers.

Do not resurrect old, cold segments yet, and confirm everyone who bounced or unsubscribed stays out of the send.

Step 3

Throttle with batched sending

Pick a pace you can tolerate—slow is always safer. A list of 20,000 delivered over 7 days is roughly 120 emails per hour.

Higher-volume programs can aim for an 8–12 hour window, but never flip from zero to full blast.

Example math: list size ÷ (days × 24). A 20k list over 7 days → 20,000 ÷ 168 ≈ 120 emails/hour.

Step 4

Monitor every campaign

Use Bento's Deliverability Monitor (or your analytics stack) to watch opens, clicks, bounces, and complaint rates.

If anything feels off—spam placement, sudden drops, weird spikes—pause and loop in support@bentonow.com before continuing.

Summary

Warm-up is not a one-time checkbox—it is a habit. Ramp slowly, watch engagement like a hawk, and keep lists clean. When in doubt, slow down and ask the Bento team for help before mailbox providers intervene on your behalf.