Top 10 Ways to Successful Email Warm Up for Sales Teams

Launching a new outbound sales campaign? Hold off on that first cold email until your inbox is warmed up. Email warm-up is the practice of gradually increasing your sending volume to build a strong sender reputation, one that email providers recognize and trust. This helps your messages land in inboxes, not spam. For SDRs, it’s one of the most important (yet overlooked) steps in driving deliverability.

There’s plenty of chatter online; some swear by warm-up tools, others think they’re unnecessary. And then there’s the classic Reddit thread: “Do I really need three weeks to warm up my inbox?” In this guide, we’ll clear up the confusion and share 10 proven ways to successfully warm up your inbox.

How to Warm Up Your Email Like a Pro: 10 Must-Follow Tips for Sales Teams

Is email warm-up necessary?

In a word, yes. If you're sending from a new email address or domain, email providers won’t place their confidence in you right away. Warming up or starting with a few emails and slowly scaling, helps build your credibility. You’re training inboxes to see your messages as safe and relevant, not spam. Think of it like stretching before a workout: skip it, and you risk injury—or in this case, the spam folder. Done right, warm-up boosts your chances of landing in inboxes, not junk tabs. 

Ahead, we’ll walk you through 10 simple, actionable steps to warm up your inbox the right way.

1. Configure Your Email Domain for Deliverability (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

Before you send a single email, get your domain authentication in place: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These records show inbox providers you’re a verified sender, setting the stage for better deliverability from the start. Most platforms or your IT team can help set it up. Once done, test everything. A well-authenticated domain is your inbox’s best defense.

2. Start Slow with Small, Personal Sends

Got a brand-new email account? Ease gently. Start by sending just 5–10 emails a day, and keep them personal. Reach out to colleagues, friends, or family with a simple note like, “Hey, just testing this inbox, mind replying?” These early replies are gold. They show inbox providers you’re a real person, not a spam bot. No pitches yet though, just genuine back-and-forth to set a solid, human tone from the very beginning.

3. Gradually Ramp Up Your Sending Volume

Once you've started with a few emails a day, scale steadily without setting off alarms. Think 10–20 extra emails each week. Avoid big jumps. 

For example:

• Week 1: Send ~10 emails per day
  
   
• Week 2: Increase to 20–30 emails per day
  
   
• Week 3: Increase to 50–60 emails per day
  
   
• Week 4: Increase to 80–100 emails per day
   

By building momentum at a natural pace, you’re teaching email providers that your sending behavior is growing naturally (not a suspicious campaign). Watch for dips in engagement, and adjust if needed. A 2–4 week warm-up gives your sender reputation the strength to scale outreach smoothly.

4. Encourage Replies and Positive Engagement

Warm-up is a rhythm of connection, where engagement carries more weight than sheer volume. ISPs notice when people reply, open, or click. So aim for real conversations. Ask a question, spark a reply, or send a check-in to a teammate who’ll respond. Each interaction adds credence to your relationship. And yes, avoid bounces or spam triggers. Positive engagement is your inbox’s best warm-up fuel and the secret to better deliverability down the road.

5. Keep a Consistent, Human-Like Sending Pattern

Consistency matters more than you think. Warm-up emails should follow a steady, human-like rhythm, which means no mass blasts at 9 AM, then silence for days. Instead, space your sends out across the day and keep at it daily. Irregular patterns can raise red flags. Keep your emails simple, text-based, and free of spammy phrases. You’re teaching inbox filters to treat your emails like everyday, trustworthy conversations—not automated noise.

Read more: Email Deliverability in Sales: AI vs. Customized Emails

6. Monitor Your Deliverability and Sender Reputation

Don’t just hit send and hope for the best; keep an eye on your inbox health. Track your open rates, bounce rates, and spam folder placements throughout the warm-up. Tools like Bouncebuster  can flag issues early, like domain blacklists or emails landing in spam. Spot a red flag? Adjust your pace or check your setup. Monitoring lets you course-correct in real time and protect your sender reputation as it grows.

7. Verify Addresses and Avoid Bounces or Spam Traps

Bounces and spam traps are warm-up killers. Before you send anything, double-check that your contacts are valid and engaged, especially if you're emailing people you know or test accounts. Use an email verification tool to clean your list. Never, ever rely on purchased leads. They’re spam trap landmines. A clean, responsive list keeps your sender reputation safe. High bounce rates or spam complaints will damage your sender reputation, so it’s worth the extra effort to verify and maintain a healthy email list from the start.

8. Use Automated Warm-Up Tools (After Initial Manual Steps)

Manual email warm-up can be exhausting, particularly when you're managing multiple inboxes. What you need are automated warm-up tools. Once connected to your email account, they send and reply to messages on your behalf, often within a vetted network of users. They also simulate real engagement: opening emails, starring them, even marking them as important. It’s like having a warm-up buddy who does the heavy lifting while you focus on strategy.

For sales teams, these tools are a huge time-saver. But they only work well if they feel natural. Steer clear of tools that send obvious, repetitive templates—email providers can spot the pattern. Instead, choose reputable services that mimic human behavior and have built-in safety checks.

9. Be Patient — Warm-Up Takes a Few Weeks

Warm-ups are how you build trust. So it takes time, and that’s a good thing. Most new inboxes need about 2–4 weeks to fully warm up, depending on how many emails you plan to send. If you're aiming for 50 a day, two weeks might do it. But for higher volumes, you’ll need more time, and maybe more inboxes. Resist the urge to rush. 

Jumping the gun too early can get your emails flagged as spam right when it matters most. Your warm-ups are like short-term investment that will offer long-term gains. A few weeks of slow, steady sending can lead to strong deliverability, better open rates, and a reputation you can rely on. Stick with it, you’re almost there.

10. Continue Warming Up Even After Your Campaigns Launch

Here’s something even seasoned senders sometimes overlook - your warm-up journey doesn’t end once your cold email campaign begins. While the heavy lifting might be over, it’s smart to keep a trickle of warm-up activity going in the background. Cold emails naturally get lower engagement, and that dip can slowly chip away at your sender reputation. A continued warm-up, just a few emails a day, keeps that reputation strong by generating consistent opens and replies through your network or tool. Some folks call this “warm-up forever,” and it’s not as dramatic as it sounds. Most tools let you reduce volume while still maintaining a steady stream of healthy email activity.

Suggested read: How can Businesses Avoid Spam Filters and Increase Email Open Rates?

Top Email Warm-Up Tools for Sales Teams (Comparison)

Warming up your inbox is essential—but doing it manually? Tedious. You can always get a warm-up tool. While some argue these tools feel artificial, most SDRs and sales teams swear by them. Used right, they boost deliverability and save hours of grunt work. 

Below, we’ve rounded up top four warm-up tools for 2025, with a spotlight on Bouncebuster.ai—Outplay’s powerful, automation-first solution.

Pricing is approximate; many tools offer free trials or tiered plans. Entry-level pricing is listed for comparison.

As shown above, each tool has its own strengths. Bouncebuster.ai, in particular, stands out for its deliverability-focused features and Outplay integration. It offers not only automated warm-ups but also built-in safeguards like spam folder detection and domain reputation monitoring. Because it’s “from the house of Outplay,” Bouncebuster can seamlessly tie into your sales engagement workflow – meaning your warm-up activity and sales campaigns can live in one place. 

Tools like Lemwarm, Warmup Inbox, Mailreach, and Warmbox are also excellent choices, widely used by cold email senders to simplify warm-ups. The key is to choose a tool that fits your team’s needs and then let it do the heavy lifting of warming up, while you focus on crafting great campaigns.

Bouncebuster.ai: Your Email Reputation’s Best Ally

While it may not be the flashiest part of outreach, email warm-up is what sets the stage for outbound success. Skipping it means risking your emails getting buried in spam. Do it right, and you’ll see higher deliverability, better open rates, and more replies. 

Bouncebuster.ai is a purpose-built email warm-up tool designed to boost deliverability and protect your sender reputation. Backed by Outplay, it automates the entire warm-up process while mimicking real human engagement to build credibility with inbox providers. Whether you’re managing one mailbox or many, Bouncebuster makes warm-up effortless and effective.

Here’s how it helps:

• Sends, receives, and replies to emails automatically
  
   
• Simulates human interactions (opens, stars, marks as important)
  
   
• Offers dynamic warm-up modes: Progressive, Steady, and Custom
  
   
• Monitors inbox placement and spam folder detection
  
   
• Tracks blacklist status and sender score health
   

It's your inbox’s training partner, quietly working behind the scenes to get it in peak shape. Try Bouncebuster now!