--- title: "Domain warm-up: schedule and example" url: "https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/domain-warm-up.md" canonical_url: "https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/domain-warm-up" last_updated: "2026-10-19" type: "conceptual" summary: "Domain warm-up raises sending volume on a new mailbox in steps, using real messages to real prospects. See the schedule and an example." related: ["https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/sender-reputation.md", "https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/bounce-rate.md", "https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/spf.md"] --- # Domain warm-up: schedule and example > **For AI agents:** the complete index of ColdMeetings pages is [llms.txt](https://coldmeetings.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. Domain warm-up raises sending volume on a new mailbox in steps, using real messages to real prospects. See the schedule and an example. **What is domain warm-up?** Domain warm-up is the practice of raising how much a new sending domain and mailbox send per day in small steps, so mailbox providers see steady, wanted mail before they see volume. The messages are real, low-volume sends to real prospects. Group: 4. Deliverability. ## The parts 1. **Start small**: A mailbox with no history is sending its first messages anywhere. A handful of well-matched messages a day gives providers something clean to learn from. 2. **Step up on a schedule**: Each week the daily cap rises a little. If bounces or complaints appear, hold the cap or step back until they stop. 3. **Real sends to real prospects**: Warm-up here means ordinary outreach at a gentle pace. ColdMeetings does not offer mailboxes that email each other, because traffic that nobody reads teaches providers nothing true about you. 4. **Authentication comes first**: SPF, DKIM and DMARC should pass before the first message. Warm-up on an unauthenticated domain only builds a poor record. ## A new mailbox at Pinewick Software Pinewick Software is an invented company with one new mailbox. ColdMeetings caps a mailbox by its age in days, so the schedule below is what that mailbox may send each day. 1. Week 1 (mailbox age 0 days and up): up to 5 messages a day. 2. Week 2 (mailbox age 7 days and up): up to 10 messages a day. 3. Week 3 (mailbox age 14 days and up): up to 20 messages a day. 4. Week 4 (mailbox age 21 days and up): up to 30 messages a day. 5. Week 5 onward (mailbox age 28 days and up): up to 40 messages a day. 6. Added up, the first four weeks allow 455 messages in total, sent to prospects who fit the target profile. Daily send cap for one mailbox by week of age. - Week 1: 5 a day - Week 2: 10 a day - Week 3: 20 a day - Week 4: 30 a day - Week 5 onward: 40 a day ## How to apply it 1. Register the sending domain and publish its SPF, DKIM and DMARC records before the first send. 2. Keep the first weeks to well-matched prospects with verified addresses, and let the daily cap rise on its schedule. 3. Check bounces and replies each day. A rise in either is a signal to hold the cap, not to push through. 4. Add more mailboxes for more capacity instead of forcing one mailbox past its cap. ## Common mistakes - Using mailboxes that email each other to look busy. It builds no true record and it is not offered here. - Jumping to full volume in week one because the first sends went well. - Warming one mailbox, then sending from a different domain with no history. ## Related terms - [Sender reputation](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/sender-reputation.md): Sender reputation is the running record a mailbox provider keeps about a sending domain or address, built from how recipients and receiving systems treated its past mail. - [Bounce rate](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/bounce-rate.md): Bounce rate is the portion of the emails you sent that came back undelivered. - [SPF](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/spf.md): SPF, short for Sender Policy Framework, is a DNS TXT record on your domain that lists the servers allowed to send mail using that domain. ## Keep reading - [Domains and inboxes](https://coldmeetings.com/product/domains-and-inboxes.md) - [Email deliverability guide](https://coldmeetings.com/blog/email-deliverability-guide.md) - [Cold emails going to spam](https://coldmeetings.com/blog/cold-emails-going-to-spam.md) ## Questions ### How long does warm-up take? On the ColdMeetings schedule a mailbox reaches its full daily cap at 28 days of age, with the cap rising in a step each week before that. ### Can I skip warm-up if I use a brand new domain? A new domain has no history, so it is where a gradual start matters most. Google also advises that if messages start bouncing, you reduce volume and increase it slowly again. ### Does ColdMeetings offer mailboxes that warm each other up? No. We do not offer mailboxes that email each other. Volume rises only through real low-volume sends to real prospects. ## Sources - Google: Email sender guidelines: https://support.google.com/a/answer/81126, read 2026-10-19 - Yahoo: Sender best practices: https://senders.yahooinc.com/best-practices/, read 2026-10-19 Questions about outbound for your own company? Email hello@coldmeetings.com. ## Related - [Sender reputation: what shapes it](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/sender-reputation.md) - [Bounce rate: definition, formula and example](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/bounce-rate.md) - [SPF: definition, record format and example](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/spf.md)