--- title: "How to Set Up Email Warm-up in FirstSales | FirstSales" description: "Turn on AI warm-up for a new mailbox so your cold-email domain builds sender reputation before you send real campaigns." canonical: "https://firstsales.io/tutorial/email-warmup-setup/" --- [Home](/)/[Tutorials](/tutorial/)/How to Set Up Email Warm-up in FirstSales Email Warm-up # How to Set Up Email Warm-up in FirstSales Turn on AI warm-up for a new mailbox so your cold-email domain builds sender reputation before you send real campaigns. 8 min read·Beginner·7 steps 1. 1 ## Connect the mailbox you'll warm up Warm-up runs on a real mailbox, so connect it first. Open **Connectors** from the left nav and click **Add Connector**. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 connect with one OAuth click; any other provider connects over SMTP/IMAP with your host, port, and app password. Use the domain you actually plan to send cold email from. Warming a throwaway address builds reputation you'll never use. ![Connect the mailbox you'll warm up](/tutorials/warmup-01-add-connector.webp) 2. 2 ## Confirm SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are passing Authentication is what tells inbox providers your mail is really from you. Open the connector and check the **Email Authentication** panel on the **Details** tab — FirstSales scores your domain and marks **SPF**, **DKIM**, and **DMARC** with a red ✗ if they're failing. Anything red caps your warm-up before it starts. * **SPF** — one `v=spf1` record that includes your sending provider. * **DKIM** — the signing key your provider gives you, published as a TXT record. * **DMARC** — start at `p=none` so you collect reports without blocking mail. Click **Set Up DNS Records** for the exact records to add at your DNS host, then re-run the check until the score reaches 100%. ![Confirm SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are passing](/tutorials/warmup-02-email-auth.webp) 3. 3 ## Turn on AI warm-up Open the connector's **Warm Up** tab and switch **Email Warmup** on. FirstSales begins sending small volumes of AI-generated conversation between our warm-up network and your inbox. Those messages get opened, replied to, and **Spam Rescued** (pulled back out of the spam folder) — the exact signals providers use to trust a new sender. This runs quietly in the background. You don't write or manage any of it — the **Warmup score**, **Days Active**, and a 7-day breakdown track it for you. ![Turn on AI warm-up](/tutorials/warmup-03-warmup-toggle.webp) 4. 4 ## Let auto-adjust manage the ramp You don't set warm-up volume by hand. On the **Details** tab under **Sending Configuration**, leave **Auto-adjust** on — it sets each day's sending limit nightly based on yesterday's sending health, climbing as your reputation builds. Set a **Send ceiling** only if you want a hard cap; leave it blank for none. The **Daily Target** on the Warm Up tab shows today's warm-up volume so you can see the ramp working. 5. 5 ## Give the domain time to build reputation Reputation is earned over days, not minutes. Let warm-up run for **at least 2 weeks** before you point real campaigns at the mailbox; 3–4 weeks is safer for a domain with no history. Keep warm-up running _after_ you go live too. It keeps a baseline of positive engagement flowing even on days you send fewer real emails. 6. 6 ## Watch the warm-up metrics Track progress on the connector, not a guess. Two places tell you how it's trending: * **Warmup score** (Warm Up tab) — moves from _Placement pending_ to a placement rating as data comes in. * **Sending health** (Details tab) — scored nightly from yesterday's metrics. Keep it climbing toward Healthy. The **Daily Breakdown** table shows Sent, Delivered, Replied, Bounced, and Spam Rescued per day. If health stalls or bounces climb, it's almost always authentication or ramping too fast — revisit steps 2 and 4 before sending real volume. 7. 7 ## Launch your first campaign on the warmed mailbox Once the Warmup score is healthy and you've cleared the 2-week minimum, the connector is ready. When you build a campaign, select this connector as a sender. FirstSales runs your free list cleaning first so no bounce hits your freshly-built reputation, then blends real sends with continued warm-up traffic. Start real campaigns at modest daily volume and let them ramp alongside warm-up rather than replacing it overnight. ## Pro tips Hard-won shortcuts that keep warm-up on track. 1 ### Warm the domain you'll actually send from Reputation is tied to the sending domain. Warming a throwaway address builds trust you'll never spend — connect the real mailbox from day one. 2 ### Get authentication to 100% before you ramp A red SPF, DKIM, or DMARC caps warm-up before it starts. Fixing the DNS records is the single biggest lever on how fast reputation climbs. 3 ### Never switch warm-up off after launch Keep it running alongside live campaigns. It keeps a baseline of opens and replies flowing on days you send little real mail, so reputation never sags. 4 ### Let auto-adjust set the pace Don't hand-tune daily volume. Auto-adjust reads yesterday's sending health each night and ramps only as fast as your inbox placement allows. ## Frequently asked questions How long should I warm up before sending real campaigns? At least **2 weeks** for a mailbox on a domain with some history, and **3–4 weeks** for a brand-new domain with none. Watch the Warmup score and Sending health rather than the calendar — launch when they're trending Healthy, not just when time is up. Do I have to write the warm-up emails myself? No. FirstSales generates the conversation with AI and our warm-up network opens, replies, and **Spam Rescues** them automatically. You turn the toggle on once and it runs quietly in the background — there's nothing to write or manage. Can I warm up more than one mailbox at a time? Yes. Each connector warms independently, so connect as many mailboxes as your plan allows and toggle warm-up on for each. Reputation is built per-domain, so warming several inboxes on the same domain compounds nicely. Will warm-up fix a domain that's already flagged as spam? It helps rebuild trust, but it isn't magic. If a domain is already burned, fix **SPF, DKIM, and DMARC** first, ramp slowly, and give it several weeks. A severely damaged domain is sometimes best retired in favour of a fresh sending domain. What happens if SPF, DKIM, or DMARC show a red ✗? Anything red caps your warm-up before it can build momentum. Open the connector's **Details** tab, click **Set Up DNS Records**, add the records at your DNS host, then re-run the check until the score reaches 100% before you rely on the mailbox. How much daily volume does warm-up send? You don't set it by hand. **Auto-adjust** calculates each day's limit nightly from yesterday's sending health, climbing as reputation builds. Set a **Send ceiling** only if you want a hard cap; leave it blank for none. Should I keep warm-up running after I go live? Yes — leave it on. It keeps a steady stream of positive engagement flowing even on low-send days, which protects the reputation you spent weeks building. Real campaigns and warm-up traffic are designed to run side by side. How do I know warm-up is actually working? Three signals on the connector: the **Warmup score** moves from _Placement pending_ to a placement rating, **Sending health** trends toward Healthy, and the **Daily Breakdown** table shows Sent, Delivered, Replied, Bounced, and Spam Rescued per day. Stalling health or rising bounces almost always trace back to authentication or ramping too fast. ## Ready to put this into practice? Start your FirstSales trial and launch a warmed, authenticated mailbox in minutes. [Start for $1](https://app.firstsales.io) [All tutorials](/tutorial/)