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.
Apollo helps ensure your emails land in the inbox, and not in spam, with two key features:
| 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. | Most relevant for brand new mailboxes and domains. |
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| Inbox ramp up improves email deliverability by increasing outbound email volume over time across the automated or scheduled emails associated with a mailbox in Apollo. Inbox ramp up aligns your email behavior with mailbox provider standards and reduces the risk of providers identifying your messages as junk or spam. | Most relevant for existing mailboxes and domains with prior sending history. |
Running cold email campaigns without preparing your mailbox can be risky for your sender reputation and deliverability. Use email warmup or inbox ramp up to ensure your messages consistently reach the right contacts.
If your sender reputation is already damaged, email warmup or ramp up may not be sufficient to recover. You may need a mix of changes, like ensuring your email domain is properly set up and committing to email best practices. Apollo offers an email deliverability checklist and a comprehensive live webinar Email Deliverability 101 so you can learn the fundamentals of deliverability. However, if your sender reputation is beyond repair, it may be time to start fresh with brand new domains or mailboxes and rebuild trust from the ground up.
Check out the following sections to use email warmup or inbox ramp up.
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:
- Launch Apollo and click Settings > Mailboxes.
- Toggle on Start warm up beside your mailbox.
- Choose whether to use email warmup or inbox ramp up:
Email warmup boosts your email deliverability by sending and engaging with emails through a trusted network, helping build your sender reputation. Inbox warm up is best for new mailboxes and domains. If you have an existing mailbox with prior send history, use inbox ramp up instead.
- Choose email warmup.
- (Recommended) Click Sign in with Google, and review and agree to the terms to continue.
- Alternatively, enter your email address and a third-party app password, then click Check connection.
If your email is hosted on Office 365, ensure SMTP AUTH is enabled in your email app settings. Without SMTP AUTH, Apollo can't run warmup on your mailbox. If you're not sure how to check or enable this, reach out to your Office 365 admin for assistance.
If you choose to enter your email and password, the password must be a third-party app password — which is different from your email address password. To enable third-party app passwords with Gmail, you need to enable two-factor authentication as well.
Learn more about third-party app passwords on Google Support or Microsoft Support.
- Next, select how you want to warm up your mailbox:
- Progressive: Gradually increase email volume over time. This is the recommended setting for email warmup.
- Flat: Send a consistent email volume that doesn't change over time. This may be useful if your inbox is already warm, and you want to maintain high deliverability.
- Randomized: Experiment with email warmup. Apollo will randomize the email volume used to warm up your inbox.
- Select a warmup end date. Apollo recommends a minimum two-week time frame for the best results.
- Enter a minimum and maximum number of emails sent per day and a reply rate per day:
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Minimum: Based on industry best practices, Apollo recommends
10. -
Maximum: Apollo recommends
40. This number can be no more than50. -
Reply rate per day: Apollo recommends
30%. This percentage can be no more than45%.
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Minimum: Based on industry best practices, Apollo recommends
- 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.
Inbox ramp up gradually increases your email sending volume to match provider standards and avoid being flagged as spam, improving deliverability. Inbox ramp up is best for existing mailboxes with sending history. If you have a new mailbox or domain with no prior send history, use email warmup instead.
- Apollo shares the number of active sequences associated with the mailbox. Click Set thresholds.
- By default, Apollo triggers alerts each time your mailbox performs below standard delivery rates. These default rates are based on the global averages of top performing Apollo users, but you can edit each rate to match your team's needs, or deactivate thresholds entirely.
- Open rate: the percentage of emails opened out of the number of emails sent.
- Reply rate: the percentage of email replies out of the total sent.
- Bounce rate: the percentage of emails that bounce out of the total sent.
- Spam block: the percentage of spam blocked emails out of the total sent.
- When finished, click Start ramp up.
You have now enabled inbox ramp up. Apollo shares the estimated completion date for inbox ramp up.
It can take around 2 weeks for inbox ramp up to complete. During this time, expect a delay in scheduled and automated emails sent in Apollo with this mailbox. To check the status of individual emails, check out View and Respond to Emails.
Next steps
Next, create sequences with automated email steps or schedule emails in Apollo. Inbox ramp up only works on automated or scheduled emails sent in Apollo. Add contacts to the sequence, and select to send from the mailbox using ramp up.
When you move contacts into an automated email step or schedule a manual email, inbox ramp up gradually increases outbound email volume over time.
You can check the status of inbox ramp up at any time.
With inbox ramp up enabled, check out some next best steps to keep up the momentum.
Inbox ramp up only works on primary email addresses, not email aliases. For example, if you enable ramp up for maria@ymail.org, you should use that mailbox in sequences — and not maria+alias@ymail.org.
Check Email Warmup Status
To check your email warmup status:
- Launch Apollo and click Settings > Mailboxes.
- Review the warmup or ramp up status.
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 made a mistake and need to stop email warmup, click ... > Stop warm up.
You can restart email warmup at any time.
If inbox ramp up stops unexpectedly, check your Apollo notifications for details on what went wrong and how to fix it. Click Your name > Activity & notifications > Notifications.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions | ||
| How does email warmup and inbox ramp up work? | Can I send emails while my mailbox is warming or ramping up? | How many mailboxes can I enroll in email warmup or ramp up? |
| Can I choose which sequences to use with inbox ramp up? | What happens if inbox ramp up exceeds the thresholds I set? | I'm using inbox ramp up, but my mailbox is performing below the thresholds I set. How can I improve my mailbox performance? |
| Why am I seeing sent emails in my mailbox? | I'm receiving actual warmup emails in my inbox. How do I stop this? | |
How does email warmup and inbox ramp up work?
| Email warmup | 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. |
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| Inbox ramp up | Inbox ramp up uses real emails that you schedule or automate through sequences in Apollo. Inbox ramp up doesn't use bots or fake emails to simulate inbox behavior. |
Can I send emails while my mailbox is warming or ramping up?
| Email warmup | If you're using email warmup, allow warmup to finish before sending automated or manual emails in Apollo. Once warmup is finished, you can use your mailbox as normal. |
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| Inbox ramp up | Yes, you can send emails while your inbox is ramping up, but outbound volume for automated and scheduled emails will be delayed as Apollo gradually increases your sending limits over time. You can check the status of inbox ramp up at any time. |
How many mailboxes can I enroll in email warmup or ramp up?
The number of mailboxes you can enroll depends on your Apollo plan and credit usage. However, be aware that outbound email volume for the team will slow if you enroll multiple mailboxes at once.
Can I choose which sequences to use with inbox ramp up?
When you enable inbox ramp up, Apollo automatically throttles all outgoing email associated with the mailbox. If you'd like to use inbox ramp up on a specific sequence, Apollo recommends deactivating all other sequences associated with the mailbox.
What happens if inbox ramp up exceeds the thresholds I set?
If you enable thresholds with inbox ramp up and your mailbox falls below the set rates, Apollo deactivates inbox ramp up and notifies you with recommendations to improve deliverability rates.
Navigate to Your Name > Activity & Notifications > Notifications to review recommendations.
To avoid deactivation, ensure you don't exceed inbox ramp up thresholds for deliverability rates.
I'm using inbox ramp up, but my mailbox is performing below the thresholds I set. How can I improve my mailbox performance?
First, Apollo recommends you only activate the sequences you want to run inbox ramp up on. This ensures a more controlled environment, allowing you to adjust mailbox behavior. Next, ensure the automated emails in your sequences are very relevant to a narrow contact target list. To improve your chances of higher open and click rates, only enroll prospects with verified emails. Finally, be sure to follow Apollo's Email Deliverability Checklist.
Why am I seeing sent emails in my mailbox?
| Email warmup | Email warmup sends actual messages from your mailbox using a private network of test inboxes. Those messages show up in your Sent folder just like any real email so you can track opens and replies to confirm your warmup is running. |
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| Inbox ramp up | Inbox ramp up uses your real outbound emails, automated or scheduled in Apollo, and gradually increases their volume. Those messages also appear in your Sent folder because they're genuine sends, just spaced out to build reputation safely. |
I'm receiving actual warmup emails in my inbox. How do I stop this?
During email warmup, Apollo sends and interacts with emails to improve your mailbox’s sending reputation. Because this activity involves real email interactions, you may occasionally see warmup emails appear in your inbox.
If you’d like to stop receiving warmup emails, you can stop email warmup for the mailbox. Keep in mind that doing so may impact your sender reputation and email deliverability, especially if the mailbox is new or recently connected.
Next Steps
Once you've started email warmup or ramp up, check out these next steps:
| Email Deliverability Best Practices | Mailbox providers often have strict rules to protect people from unwanted email. To avoid spam blockers, follow email best practices. If you don't, your emails may bounce and never reach your audience, putting your domain health at risk. |
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| Monitor the Deliverability Score of a Connected Mailbox | Keep an eye on your mailbox deliverability score over time to ensure your emails reach your contacts. Apollo's deliverability score clues you into deliverability issues if they occur and provides actionable steps you can take to fix those issues. |
| Email Deliverability 101 | Join this live webinar session to learn the ABCs of linking your mailbox, setting up domains for maximum deliverability, and monitoring the health of your email performance. |
| Use Sample Outbound Email Templates | Staring at a blank page? Use Apollo's sample outbound email templates to spark inspiration and help you craft the perfect message. |
| View and Respond to Emails | Stay connected with prospects through email directly in Apollo, where you can view contextual information from contacts, set up meetings, and take notes as you reach out. |
| Join the Apollo Community! | Ask questions, swap tips, and connect with other Apollo users to grow your knowledge and solve problems faster together. |