Look, I’ve seen this happen a hundred times. A business owner gets a great idea for a promotion, spends hours writing a killer offer, hits 'send' to a few thousand people, and then... crickets.
No phone calls. No new bookings. Nothing.
Usually, they think their offer was rubbish. But more often than not, the offer was fine—it’s just that nobody ever saw it. Their emails didn't even make it to the inbox. They went straight into the junk folder, or worse, they were blocked entirely by Google and Outlook before they even landed.
If you’ve just started a new email account or you’re moving to a new system, you can’t just blast out 5,000 emails on day one. It’s the fastest way to get your domain blacklisted. You have to "warm up" your account first.
Here’s how you do it properly so you actually make money from your list.
What is email warming (and why should you care?)
Think of it like this. If a stranger walked into a pub in Paddington and started shouting at everyone to buy their lawnmowers, they’d get kicked out in two minutes. But if they’ve been coming in for months, having a quiet beer and chatting to the locals, people might actually listen to them.
Email providers like Gmail and Outlook are the bouncers. They’re looking for weird behaviour. If a brand-new email address suddenly starts sending heaps of mail, the bouncers think you’re a spammer and shut you down.
Warming up is just the process of proving you’re a legitimate business. You start small, get people to engage, and slowly build your reputation. It takes time, but if you skip it, you’re basically throwing your marketing budget in the bin.
Step 1: Fix your settings before you send a single thing
Before you send anything, you need to make sure your technical house is in order. I know I promised no jargon, so here’s the gist: there are three little settings in your domain host (like GoDaddy or Google) that tell the world "Yes, this is really us."
If these aren't set up, you’re toast. Most email platform costs include some help with this, but it’s worth double-checking. You want to make sure your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are active. Don’t worry about what they stand for—just know they’re like a digital wax seal on an envelope. Without them, you look like a scammer.
Step 2: Start with your best mates
When you start sending, don’t send to your whole list. Start with the people you know will open your emails.
I’m talking about your regular customers, your staff, or people who’ve bought from you in the last month. These people are "high-quality" targets. Because they know you, they’ll actually open the email and click on things.
Google sees this and thinks, "Oh, people actually like what this guy is saying. He must be legit." This is the foundation of how you get customers to open emails consistently over the long term.
Step 3: The Slow Climb
This is where most people mess up because they’re impatient. You have to increase your volume slowly.
If you’re a small local business with a list of 1,000 people, your schedule should look something like this: Day 1-3: Send to 20 people a day. Day 4-7: Send to 50 people a day. Week 2: Increase to 100 a day. Week 3: Move to 250 a day.
If you’re using a proper tool (like Mailchimp or Klaviyo), they often have "automated warm-up" features that do this for you. Use them. It’s worth the extra few bucks to know your emails aren't being vaporised.
"Most business owners think they’re saving time by blasting their whole list at once, but they’re actually destroying their ability to reach customers for months to come."
— Lisa Nguyen, Digital Strategy Consultant
Step 4: Beg for a reply
One of the biggest signals to Google that you’re a 'good' sender is when people reply to you. Spammers don't get replies. Real businesses do.
In your first few warm-up emails, don't just try to sell a product. Ask a question. "Hey, we’re updating our service list. What’s one thing you wish we offered?" "We’re looking for local feedback—how was your last visit?"
When someone replies, it’s like a gold star for your email reputation. It tells the bouncers that you’re having a two-way conversation, not just shouting through a megaphone.
Step 5: Clean your list (The 'No-BS' Talk)
I’ll be blunt: if you bought an email list from some dodgy guy on the internet, delete it. Right now.
Buying lists is a death sentence for your email marketing. Those lists are full of dead accounts and 'spam traps.' If you hit one of those, your domain is basically blacklisted before you've even started.
Only send to people who actually gave you their email address. If you haven't emailed them in over a year, they’ve probably forgotten who you are. Before you include them in a big campaign, you need to fix your junk mail issues by verifying those addresses are still active.
How long does this take?
Expect this to take at least 4 to 6 weeks if you’re starting from scratch.
I know, I know. You want results now. But if you rush it and get blocked, it can take months of painful back-and-forth with tech support to get unblocked. It’s much faster to do it right the first time.
What to watch out for
While you’re warming up, keep a very close eye on your stats.
1. High 'Bounces': This means the email addresses don't exist. If more than 2% of your emails bounce, stop sending and clean your list. 2. Spam Complaints: If even a couple of people hit 'Report Spam,' it hurts you badly. This usually happens if you’re sending rubbish content or emailing people who didn't ask for it. 3. Low Opens: If your open rate is below 15-20% during a warm-up, something is wrong. Your subject lines might be boring, or you’re already landing in the junk folder.
The Bottom Line
Email marketing is still one of the cheapest ways to get more bookings and sales. But it only works if you play by the rules.
Warm up your account properly. Start small. Talk to your best customers first. Get some replies. If you do that for a month, you’ll have a powerful asset that actually puts money in the bank every time you hit 'send.'
If you’re worried your emails are currently disappearing into a black hole, or you don't have the time to sit there counting out 20 emails a day, we can help.
At Local Marketing Group, we sort this stuff out for Brisbane businesses so they can get back to actually running their companies. Drop us a line at https://lmgroup.au/contact and let’s see if we can get your emails back in front of your customers.