Email remains a crucial tool for businesses to connect with customers and prospects. However, simply sending out emails isn’t enough. To ensure your messages land in the right inboxes and establish a good sender reputation, an email warmup is required.
Many specialized cold email warmup tools can boost positive engagement on your email account. You might be curious: do they actually work, and what sets them apart from each other?
This article will answer most of the questions. By the end, you will be aware of:
- Concept of email warmup
- It’s benefits
- Difference between manual and automated warmup
- Top email warmup tools
Let’s dive in.
What is email warmup?
Email warm-up is important for sales reps who send cold emails. It helps your emails go to the main inbox instead of the spam folder, making people more likely to open and engage with them.
Email warm-up is the process of gradually increasing the volume and frequency of outgoing emails from a specific email address or domain to establish a positive reputation with email service providers (ESPs) and avoid being flagged as spam.
It involves sending a series of low-volume, personalized emails to engage with recipients and demonstrate legitimate email activity.
Without email warmup, if you send a bunch of emails all at once, they might end up in spam. So, it’s better to take about three to four weeks to warm up your email address. This means proving to Email Service Providers (ESPs) that you’re a legit sender.
A genuine warmup involves sending system-generated or manually written emails and getting responses. This shows that your emails are worth trusting.
This process is especially important if you are a new sender or using a new email address. You need to show ESPs that you are reliable before your emails can consistently land in the main inbox.
Why is email warmup important for your domain?
As you might know, email warmup is one of the important steps that is required before starting a cold outreach campaign. Below are some of the reasons to support the statement.
Build trust with email providers
When you initially start sending from a new domain or email address, email providers (like Gmail or Outlook) view your domain with suspicion. By gradually increasing your sending volume and engaging with your recipients, you show legitimacy. This improves your sender’s reputation.
Improved email deliverability
When more emails land in your recipients’ inboxes instead of spam folders, your email deliverability increases. This ensures that your message reaches the intended audience.
Avoid spam filter
When you start sending a large volume of emails from a new domain, it triggers the spam filter. Email warmup will help you avoid this by gradually introducing your domain to email providers and demonstrating responsible sending behavior.
Adapting to ISP policies
Policies vary from one ISP to another. Email warmup allows you to adapt to these policies gradually, reducing the chances of triggering spam filters.
Manual email warmup vs Automated email warmup
There are two primary approaches to email warmup, manual and automated email warmup. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. This comparison provides an overview.
| Aspect | Manual Email Warm-up | Automated Email Warm-up |
| Process | Requires manual effort in crafting and responding to emails. | Automated process where AI or software handles email interactions. |
| Time and Effort | More time-consuming and requires constant attention. | Less time and effort needed as the system automates tasks. |
| Scalability | Less scalable, especially for large email campaigns. | Highly scalable, making it suitable for bulk email outreach. |
| Consistency | May lack consistency in timing and responses. | Consistent and precise execution of warm-up activities. |
| Risk of Errors | Higher risk of errors due to manual handling. | Lower risk of errors with automated processes. |
| Adaptability | Can adapt quickly to changes or specific strategies. | Adaptable but may require adjustments in automated settings. |
| Cost | May be costlier in terms of labor and time | Generally more cost-effective due to reduced human involvement and faster execution. |
| Resource Intensity | Requires more human resources for execution and monitoring. | Requires fewer human resources as the system handles repetitive tasks. |
The effectiveness of manual or automated email warm-up can vary based on specific circumstances and the goals of the sender. It’s crucial to choose the method that aligns with your resources, preferences, and desired outcomes.
Top email warmup tools
Warmup Hero
WarmupHero is an email warmup tool designed to improve email deliverability by gradually increasing the volume of emails you send. This helps establish a positive reputation for your email address and reduces the risk of getting your emails flagged as spam.
Features
Easy setup
WarmupHero offers a straightforward setup process, making it user-friendly and accessible for all users. It boasts a rapid setup, requiring only 1 minute to get started, saving users valuable time and effort.
Compatibility with email service providers
It is designed to work seamlessly with all email service providers, ensuring compatibility regardless of the platform you use.
Autopilot functionality
The system operates on autopilot, reducing manual intervention. This feature allows users to automate the email warming process efficiently.
Delivery to real inboxes
WarmupHero ensures that emails are sent to real people’s inboxes rather than fake accounts, enhancing the credibility of your email domain. The platform does not employ fake email addresses, preventing potential harm to your email domain.
Email placement insights
WarmupHero provides advanced analytics to help users understand the placement of their emails, distinguishing between inbox deliveries and those ending up in spam or category folders.
Sender reputation building
Utilizing advanced email warm-up technology, WarmupHero follows a strategic approach by gradually sending personalized emails. This mimics human-like sending patterns, resulting in a higher sender reputation and reduced likelihood of emails being marked as spam.
Incremental email warm-up
The system incrementally increases the volume of emails sent from your account through automated warm-up processes, ensuring a gradual buildup of the sender’s reputation.
Conversation thread maintenance
WarmupHero automatically maintains conversation threads, demonstrating engagement with email recipients. This feature contributes to a positive sender reputation by showing ongoing interactions and conversations.
Automated replies handling
The platform automates the handling of replies to your emails.
Protection from spam and promotions
WarmupHero safeguards your emails from spam filters by meticulously warming up new email domains. It opens and marks every email as important, preventing emails from being classified as spam or promotions. If a warm-up email is mistakenly marked as spam, the system will retrieve it back into your inbox.
Personalized email signatures
Users can add their own personalized email signatures to the warm-up emails, allowing for a professional and customized touch.
Pricing
- Warmup Hero comes free with any Smartreach.io plan.
SmartReach.io is a sales engagement platform that helps businesses streamline their outreach efforts. It goes beyond just email; it offers multichannel outreach through email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, SMS, and calls.
Mailwarm
Mailwarm stands out as a popular tool for email warm-up, ensuring your emails land in the recipient’s inbox smoothly.
It manages your email deliverability, enhancing your sender reputation and maintaining high deliverability. The Mailwarm team has set up over a thousand email accounts, ready to engage with your inbox according to your preferred schedule.
Features
- It links with Gmail, Outlook, SMTP, and various other inboxes.
- It gives you option to schedule the warmup at a particular time of the day.
- You can get detailed reporting on the warmup progress.
Pricing
- Starter pack – 69$ per Month, allowing up to 50 emails per day for one email account
- Growth plan – $ 159$, allowing up to 200 daily emails for three email accounts.
- Scale plan – $479, allowing up to 200 daily emails for ten email accounts.
Lemwarm
Lemwarm, a subsidiary tool of Lemlist, focuses exclusively on the email warm-up process. This specialized tool is designed to assist email senders in enhancing their deliverability and steering clear of spam folders.
Features
- The tool creats a customized warm-up plan based on factors like industry, audience, location, and email goals.
- Lemwarm groups you with other senders similar to you and sends emails together.
- Lemwarm shifts emails initially marked as spam to the inbox through its warm-up process.
Pricing
- Essential plan – starts at $29/month
- Smart plan – starts at $49/month
Folderly
Folderly is one of the all-in-one email deliverability platforms that combines AI-powered spam detection, technical solutions, and monitoring tools to help businesses optimize email campaigns and land their messages in recipients’ inboxes.
With Folderly, you can manage access and permission for different team members.
- It uses AI to analyze your email content and identify potential triggers that might land it in spam folders.
- It goes beyond spam detection, offering solutions to fix technical issues that can affect deliverability.
Features
- Track where your emails land to understand the performance.
Pricing
- Folderly chargers based on the number of mailboxes you choose
Warmup Inbox
The Warm Up Inbox tool stands out as a fantastic service for Sales Development Reps (SDRs) in email warming. Unlike other tools that gradually increase email activity, Warm Up Inbox takes a unique approach by quickly filling your inbox. With a network of over 30,000 inboxes interacting, this service automatically boosts your reputation as a trustworthy email sender.
Features
- The tool provides option to track your domain age easily.
- You can customize dynamic content to fit your requirements.
- Get a “health score” to check if your inbox is all set.
Pricing
- Basic plan – starts at $19/month with 75 messages per day
- Pro plan – starts at $59 with 250 messages per day
- Max plan – starts at $99 with 1000 messages per day
Warmbox
Warmbox is a simple plug-and-play SaaS that makes the email warm-up process smooth, ensuring your cold emails get delivered. A standout feature of Warmbox is its capability to apply various warm-up recipes with algorithms tailored to efficiently warm up emails based on your specific requirements.
Features
- It leverages a private network of 35,000 inboxes from over 100 countries to send and receive emails
- You can customize the timing and the number of emails to be sent each day.
- It checks your IP/domain blacklist status and DNS configuration for any issues.
Pricing
- Solo plan – starts at $19/month for 1 inbox with 50 emails per day
- Start-up plan – starts at $79/month for 3 inboxes with 250 emails per day
- Growth plan – starts at $159/month for 6 inboxes with 500 emails per day
Warm Up Your Email by Mailkshake
Warm Up Your Email stands out by offering targeted audience selection during the warmup process. This allows you to tailor your warm-up emails to a specific recipient category, potentially mimicking real-world interactions more closely and potentially improving the effectiveness of the warmup for your specific email goals.
Features
- They mimic positive recipient actions like opening, replying, un-marking as spam, and marking as important.
- It provides spam score and spam pattern monitoring
- It combines human and computer-warming
Pricing
- Solo sender – starts at $29/month with 1 inbox with 50 messages maximum.
- Pro sender – starts st $49/month with 3 inboxes with 50 messages per inbox
- Agency sender – starts at $99/month with 8 inboxes with 100 messages per inbox
InboxWarm from OutreachBin
Sales representatives using InboxWarm are automatically included in its peer-to-peer network, enabling them to connect and send emails to real businesses. Being part of this network means sales reps send emails to companies that are actively warming up their inboxes.
Features
- Automatically eliminates spam.
- Assists SDRs in connecting with and receiving responses from genuine businesses.
- Connects seamlessly with popular inboxes such as Outlook, SMTP, Gmail, and more.
Pricing
- The plan starts at $39.99/month for 1 inbox billed quarterly
How to measure email warmup success
After completing the email warm-up process, it is crucial to assess your success by measuring the outcomes.
Here are a few metrics you should pay close attention to:
Deliverability Rates
It indicates the percentage of emails that successfully reach the recipient’s server, excluding bounces. A consistently high deliverability rate throughout warmup shows a positive trend.
Spam Complaints
Monitor the number of recipients who mark your emails as spam. A minimal to zero complaint rate indicates your emails are relevant and engaging, avoiding the spam folder.
Along with the above metrics, you should also keep in mind to follow the best practices for running a cold email campaign.
Factors affecting the email warmup process
There are many factors that can affect the warmup process. Below are some of the common factors.
Sender reputation
This is one of the important factor, where if you are using a new email or domain, then you will have to build trust with the email service providers. A dedicated IP and using a custom domain can help establish a positive reputation.
Email sending volume
The concept of email warmup process is to gradually increase the email sending volume. This helps the ESPs to recognize you as a legitimate sender.
Email list quality
A clean, up-to-date email list is very important for your sender’s reputation. Bounced emails due to invalid email address can hamper your reputation. It is a good practice to regularly clean your email list.
Content & engagement
The content of your email and recipient engagement is also crucial. Try to avoid spammy content and focus on valuable and engaging email content.
Conclusion: Choosing the best email warmup tool
Choosing the right email warmup tool can significantly improve your cold email outreach efforts. By carefully considering the below factors, you can select a tool that aligns with your specific needs and budget.
Ease of use and setup: Look for a tool with a user-friendly interface and a straightforward setup process to minimize time and effort.
Compatibility: Ensure the tool is compatible with your email service provider (ESP) to avoid compatibility issues.
Warmup strategy: Consider the tool’s approach to email warmup, such as whether it uses real inboxes or simulations and if it aligns with your preferences and goals.
Customization: Choose a tool that allows you to customize the warmup process, such as the sending schedule, email content, and recipient targeting.
Reporting and analytics: Opt for a tool that provides detailed reports and analytics to track your warmup progress and measure success.
Pricing: Compare pricing plans and features of different tools to find one that fits your budget and needs.
A successful email warmup strategy paves the way for better email deliverability, increased engagement, and, ultimately, a higher return on investment for your campaigns.
