Use Email Warmup to Improve Deliverability

Overview

Reliable email deliverability is essential to the success of any outreach campaign. No matter how compelling your messaging or how well-tested your calls to action, it's all wasted effort if your emails don't reach an inbox. Outreach takes time, money, and can quickly exhaust your addressable market, so protecting your return on investment starts with making sure your emails get delivered.

Email warmup improves email deliverability by connecting you to third-party providers that send emails from your mailbox to a private network of inboxes across the world to simulate real email traffic. This integration opens and replies to your emails within this network. Collectively, this behavior signals to mailbox providers that your emails are trusted and increases your email reputation.

Running cold email campaigns without preparing your mailbox can be risky for your sender reputation and deliverability. Use email warmup to ensure your messages consistently reach the right contacts.

Check out the following sections to use email warmup.

Back to Top

Use Email Warmup

To get started, first link your mailbox on Apollo. Email warmup only works on mailboxes connected to Apollo.

To use email warmup:

1. Launch Apollo and click Settings > Mailboxes and domains.
2. Toggle Start warm up beside your mailbox.

3. (Recommended) Click Sign in with Google, and review and agree to the terms to continue.

4. Alternatively, enter your email address and a third-party app password, then click Check connection.

5. Next, select how you want to warm up your mailbox:
• Progressive: Apollo recommends progressive warmup as it gradually increases email volume over time.
• Flat: Send a consistent email volume that doesn't change over time, which may be useful if your inbox is already warm, and if you want to maintain high deliverability.
• Randomized: Experiment with email warmup. Apollo randomizes the email volume used to warm up your inbox.

6. Select a warmup end date. Apollo recommends a minimum two-week time frame for the best results.
7. Enter a minimum and maximum number of emails sent per day and a reply rate per day:
• Minimum: Based on industry best practices, Apollo recommends 10.
• Maximum: Apollo recommends 40. This number can be no more than 50.
• Reply rate per day: Apollo recommends 30%. This percentage can be no more than 45%.

8. When finished, click Warm up mailbox.

You have now enabled email warmup.

Third-party providers send and engage with emails through a trusted network of mailboxes until the scheduled end date, helping build your sender reputation. You can check email warmup status, as well as stop and restart warm up at any time.

Check out some next best steps once you've started email warmup.

Back to Top

Check Warmup Status

To check email warmup status:

1. Launch Apollo and click Settings > Mailboxes and domains.
2. Review the warmup status beside your mailbox.

Warm up progress will change over time as warm up increases. You can review other mailbox metrics, as well as check your mailbox health.

If you need to stop email warmup, click ... > Stop warm up.

You can restart email warmup at any time.

Back to Top

FAQs

How does email warmup work?

Email warmup uses a private network of real inboxes to gradually send, receive, open, and reply to emails on your behalf. This helps build a positive sender reputation and signals to mailbox providers that your emails are safe and trustworthy.

 

External Engines Ahead

Email warmup is conducted through Warmbox.ai, a third-party provider. Participation is optional and entirely at your discretion. Apollo doesn't control, manage, or take responsibility for any third-party warmup services or their practices.

Back to FAQs

Can I send emails while my mailbox is warming up?

Allow warmup to finish before sending automated or manual emails in Apollo. Once warmup is finished, you can use your mailbox as normal.

Back to FAQs

How many mailboxes can I enroll in email warmup?

The number of mailboxes you can enroll depends on your Apollo plan and credit usage.

• Paid plans: You can warm up one mailbox for free. To warm up additional mailboxes, use credits. Each additional warmup uses monthly credits while active.
• Free plans: To warm up any mailbox, you need credits. Warmup uses monthly credits while it's active.

 

Slow but Steady

If you enroll multiple mailboxes in warmup at once, your overall outbound email volume may slow while warmup completes.

Back to FAQs

Can I choose which sequences to use with email warmup?

No. Email warmup uses system-generated test messages sent through a private network of inboxes. It doesn't use emails from your Apollo sequences, templates, or manual sends, so you don't need to choose specific sequences for warmup.

Back to FAQs

Why am I seeing emails I didn't send in my mailbox?

Email warmup sends actual messages from your mailbox using a private network of test inboxes. Those messages show up in your inbox and sent folder just like any real email so you can track opens and replies to confirm your warmup is running. You can filter out warmup emails to keep your inbox clean.

Back to FAQs

Can I filter out warmup emails in my mailbox?

Yes, you can filter out warmup emails in your mailbox to keep your mail tidy.

To filter out warmup emails:

1. Sign in to your mailbox provider.
2. Create an inbox filter. Depending on your provider, the steps may differ:

• Gmail
• Outlook
• Other providers

Gmail	Open your inbox on Gmail, and click ☰ beside Search mail. Enter wbx for the subject line, then click Create filter. Select one or more actions like skip the inbox, apply a label, or send the warmup emails to a particular folder. (Optional) Check Also apply filter to matching conversations to filter existing warmup emails. When finished, click Create filter. Learn more about creating filter rules on Gmail.
Outlook	Open your inbox on Outlook, and select any email. Click . . . > Rules > Create rule. Click More options. Name the rule, then select Subject includes wbx as the condition. Add one or more actions like categorize, delete, or move the warmup emails to a particular folder. (Optional) Check Run rule now to filter existing warmup emails. When finished, click Save.
Other	Most mailbox providers support rules or filters that automatically organize incoming emails. To filter warmup emails: Go to your mailbox settings and find Filters, Rules, or Inbox rules. Create a new rule where Subject contains wbx. Choose an action, such as moving the email to a folder, skipping the inbox, or deleting it. Save the rule and apply it to existing emails if the option is available. If you're unsure where to find rule settings, check your provider's support center or reach out to them directly for help.

Back to FAQs

Back to Top

Next Steps

Once you've started email warmup, check out these next steps:

Back to Top