IP Warmup Schedule — Ramping a New Sending Server in AcelleMail

Why a new IP needs ramping#

When you provision a new sending IP — a fresh Amazon SES verified domain, a new dedicated IP from your ESP, a brand-new SMTP relay — receiving servers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) have no reputation data on it yet. Their default treatment of an unknown IP is conservative: a brand-new IP suddenly pushing high volume looks like a compromised host, so the mail lands in spam or gets rejected.

Warmup means sending in small batches at first and growing the daily volume gradually over several weeks. Each clean batch teaches the receiving servers "this IP sends legitimate mail at this volume." Once you have earned a baseline reputation, full volume becomes sustainable.

Skip warmup and you can be filtered or blocked for weeks while reputation slowly recovers from a bad first impression.

What AcelleMail gives you#

Two controls do the work, and you do not need to write any code or babysit a spreadsheet:

1. Sending limit (per sending server) — a cap on how many emails AcelleMail hands to that server per unit of time (per minute / hour / day). This is the manual lever.
2. Warmup Strategies (admin) — a reusable plan that automatically grows the daily volume day over day, with safety rules that pause the ramp if bounce or complaint rates climb. You build it once and attach it to any new server.

The rest of this guide walks both, starting with the per-server limit and ending with the automated strategy.

Before you start#

• The Warmup Strategy feature lives in the admin area, not the customer dashboard — you need operator access to build a strategy and attach it to a server.
• Have the new sending server already added and tested (use Test connection / send a test email from the server detail before warming it).
• Warm using your most engaged subscribers first. A segment of people who opened recently produces high open rates, which lifts reputation fastest. Starting with cold or re-engagement segments makes warmup take far longer.

A realistic ramp to aim for#

A warmup plan grows from a small starting volume toward your target. The exact numbers depend on your list size and how aggressive you can afford to be, but a typical ramp looks like this:

The point of the AcelleMail strategy presets below is that you do not have to manage this table by hand — the strategy generates a per-day plan for you and enforces it. The exact day-by-day curve it produces is shown in the Strategy preview chart when you build the strategy.

Step 1 — Set the per-server sending limit#

Open the sending-server detail#

In AcelleMail's sidebar, open Sending → Sending servers. The list shows every server connected to this account with its name, quota chip, status, and the date it was created:

Click into the row you want to configure. The detail page is organised into a Connection card (host / credentials) and a Configuration card (server name, defaults, sending limit), with Test connection and a test-send action in the toolbar:

In the Configuration card, the Sending limit dropdown caps how many emails AcelleMail will hand to this server per unit of time (per minute / per hour / per day). For the very first day of warmup, set this low — around 1,000 per day. AcelleMail enforces the cap: when the rolling-window counter hits the limit, the queue holds back until the window slides.

If you only have a few servers and a small list, you can warm up by raising this dropdown by hand each day following the ramp table above. For anything larger, use a Warmup Strategy (next step) so the increase happens automatically.

Step 2 — Build a Warmup Strategy (admin)#

In the admin sidebar, open Warmup Strategies. This screen lists every reusable warmup plan with its name, preset, warmup length, target volume, risk level, and an Active / Inactive status chip:

Click Add strategy to open the create form. It is organised in sections.

1. Basic information. Give the strategy a clear internal name (for example Balanced — New Domains) and a short description of when to use it. Then pick a Preset. AcelleMail ships three:

The preset just fills in sensible starting values — you can still customise every field below it.

2. Volume plan. This is where the ramp shape comes from:

• Starting volume — emails allowed on day 1.
• Growth strategy — Linear (add a fixed amount each period) or Exponential (multiply each period).
• Daily increment (for linear) or Exponential factor (for exponential — e.g. 1.20 means +20% per step).
• Quota type — the time unit the growth is counted in (Daily / Hourly / Monthly).
• Limit type — what ends the warmup: a Per day cap, a cumulative Target volume, or Stop after days.
• Send on weekends — leave off if your audience does not engage on Saturday/Sunday.

Safety rules. Keep Enable safety checks on and Pause on negative signals on while reputation is still forming. Set Max bounce rate and Max complaint rate to the thresholds at which the strategy should automatically slow down or pause the ramp instead of pushing through bad signals.

As you fill the form, the Strategy preview panel updates live — it shows the Start volume, the Estimated full warmup day count, a Risk level (Low / Medium / High), and a chart of planned daily volume against cumulative volume. Use the preview to sanity-check that the ramp lands where you want before you save.

Click Create strategy. It appears in the list as Active.

Step 3 — Attach the strategy to the new server#

Strategies are attached from the admin sending-server detail page (the customer-facing server detail does not expose warmup). Open the server in the admin Sending servers area and find its Warmup section. Use the Select strategy dropdown to pick the strategy you just built, then click Save selection.

The server now follows that plan automatically — the daily allowance grows day over day according to the strategy, and the safety rules hold the ramp if bounce or complaint rates breach your thresholds. You no longer have to raise the Sending limit dropdown by hand.

Step 4 — Watch the warmup statistics#

From the server's Warmup section, click View Statistics to open the warmup stats page for that server. It charts the planned ramp against what actually sent, day by day, with Total Sent / Total Failed counts and which warmup day the server is currently on.

Check it daily during the ramp (it takes about five minutes):

1. Planned vs actual — the actual line should track the planned line. A big gap usually means the queue can't keep up or the source list is smaller than the plan expects.
2. Failed count — a rising failed count is your early warning. Cross-check the campaign Bounce log to see why (hard vs soft, and the receiving server's reason text).
3. External reputation — pair this with Gmail Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS. IP reputation there should climb over the warmup; if it stays poor after the first couple of weeks, the problem is content or list quality, not volume.

If you ever need to restart a server's warmup from day one, the Reset Warmup button on the same screen does exactly that (it asks for confirmation first).

What to do if warmup hits a wall#

If you run several new IPs at once, stagger them: warm one fully before introducing the next, a few days apart. That way a problem on one IP does not coincide with low reputation on all of them.

Common UI questions#

What to do after#

• Once warmup completes and signals stay clean, move from the cautious limit to your normal sending volume.
• Keep an eye on reputation monthly — see Sender reputation monitoring.
• If you run multiple senders, set per-server limits and routing — see Configuring multiple sending servers.

Related articles#

• Configuring multiple sending servers
• Sender reputation monitoring
• Sending throttling strategies
• IP warmup by ISP
• Gmail postmaster tools walkthrough
• Microsoft SNDS walkthrough