A Step-by-Step Guide

If you’ve ever wondered why your emails aren’t landing in inboxes, this might be the missing piece.

Email warm-up is one of the most important steps when you’re starting to send emails again, using a new domain, or moving to a new system like Oh My Hi.

This process might feel slow, but it’s one of the most important things you can do to make sure your emails actually get seen.

Let’s walk through it together in a simple, non-overwhelming way.

What Is Email Warm-Up (In Plain English)

Email warm-up is the process of slowly introducing your email sending to inbox providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo.

Instead of sending to your whole list at once, you:

Start small
Send to your most engaged people first
Gradually increase your volume

This builds trust and helps your emails land in the inbox, not spam.

Why This Matters

Your sending reputation matters more than most people realize.

Email sending providers like Oh My Hi typically require:

Bounce rate: under 10%
Spam complaints: under 0.1%

If those limits are exceeded, sending can be paused or disabled because inbox providers like Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo will start sending your emails to spam.

Warm-up helps you stay well below those limits.

Before You Start (Do Not Skip This Step)

Before sending a single email, you need to clean your list.

Only include people who:

Opened or clicked in the last 30–60 days (if you are moving from another email provider)
Gave you permission to email them, for example, opted in via a form
Have not unsubscribed or marked your emails as spam before (it’s simple, do not import anyone who has unsubscribed or marked you as spam in another email platform)

Remove:

Inactive subscribers (get rid of people who are not opening your emails, as this brings down your stats, a big list is not always a good list)
Purchased lists (do not import any contacts into Oh My Hi unless you have explicit consent to email them, for example, they have purchased from you within the last 12 months or have opted into your email list)
Role-based emails like info@, admin@, support@ (these are not true contacts and can give you false stats)

💡 Important:

The biggest mistake people make is including old or cold subscribers too soon. Remember, a big list is not always better.

Step 1: Your Sending Domain

When you subscribe to Oh My Hi with either the Plus or Premium plan, we will help you set up your sending domain and email. Your email will be:

[email protected], unless you indicate otherwise (learn more about How Email Works on your Oh My Hi Website).

This allows your email sending to be properly linked to your domain.

Step 2: Start With a Simple Warm-Up Email

For your first emails, keep things very simple:

No images
No links
Text only

Here’s a recommended template you can use:

Hi {{contact.first_name}},

I’m [insert name] with [insert company] — we’ve connected in the past, whether through a [insert how you met], or maybe a previous order.

I’m reaching out because I’m starting something new that I think you’ll enjoy.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sending a few emails with [insert topic], [insert topic], and [insert topic] — all designed to make [insert goal] a little simpler (and more fun).

If that sounds good, there’s nothing you need to do, you’ll start receiving those emails soon.

But if you’d prefer not to, no worries. You can unsubscribe anytime using the link at the bottom of this email.

Looking forward to reconnecting and sharing more with you.

Warmly,

[Your Name]

Optional: Test Your Email Before Sending

Before sending to your list, you can test your email deliverability by following these steps:

Load the email into the CRM
Go to Mail-testerNewsletters spam test by mail-tester.com
Copy the email address it gives you
In the CRM, go to your campaign and click Send a Test Email
Paste in the email address from mail-tester.com and click send
Go back to mail-tester.com and click “Then check your score”
Wait for it to receive the email and review your score

If it points out any issues, adjust before sending to your full list.

Step 3: Send to Your Most Engaged Contacts First

(If you are coming from another email platform and have this information, otherwise skip to Step 4)

Start with the people most likely to:

Open
Click
Engage

This gives you the best possible start.

Step 4: Follow a Gradual Sending Schedule

Do not send to your full list right away.

Use a gradual ramp-up like this:

Day	Volume
Day 1	50–75
Day 2	75-100
Day 3	100-200
Day 4	200-300
Day 5	300-500
Day 6+	Continue increasing gradually until you reach full volume/list size – depending on the size of your list

Example:

If you have 725 contacts:

Day 1: send to 50
Day 2: send to 75
Day 3: send to 150
Day 4: send to 200
Day 5: send to remaining 250

We recommend creating tags, for example: Day 1 Email Warm Up, Day 2 Email Warm Up, etc. Use these tags to segment your larger list for easy sending

Step 1: Create your warm-up tag(s)

Create tags to organize your contacts for each day of your warm-up.

Step 2: Adjust how many contacts you can see per page

If needed, increase the number of contacts shown per page so it’s easier to select the right amount for each day.

Step 3: Select contacts and apply your warm-up tag

Select the number of contacts you want for that day, then use the Add to Tags option to apply your warm-up tag.

Step 5: Monitor Your Results Daily

Before sending the next day, check your results.

During your warm-up, keep an eye on:

Spam complaints: should stay under 0.1%
Bounce rate: ideally under 5%
Open rates: aim for 30% or higher

⚠️ If you notice issues:

Pause sending
Re-check your list
Reduce your volume
Send us a message if you’d like us to take a look

Step 6: Transition to Regular Sending

Once your entire list has been warmed up, you can begin sending regularly.

We recommend:

Avoiding highly sales-focused emails at first
Keeping your image-to-text ratio low
Minimizing the number of links in your emails – only include 1 or 2

Note:

If you want to share promotions or company sales, consider creating a sales or promotion page on your Oh My Hi site and linking to it in your email. This allows interested subscribers to click through while keeping your emails clean and deliverability-friendly.

What NOT to Do

These are the fastest ways to hurt your deliverability:

Sending to your entire list immediately
Including subscribers inactive for 12 months or more
Jumping from low to high volume too quickly
Sending multiple large campaigns in one day
Reusing old emails that previously had complaints or who have unsubscribed

Final Thoughts

Warming up your email list might feel slow, but it’s what sets you up for long-term success.

Taking the time to do this properly means:

Better inbox placement
Higher open rates
More engagement from your list
Better results from your emails

Topics

Quick Links

How to Warm Up Your Email List