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Safe Sending Volume Guidelines

Maintaining a high deliverability rate is all about trust. Inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook monitor how much mail you send and how quickly you scale. If you suddenly spike your volume, you look like a spammer.

Follow these guidelines to keep your Send Onyx account healthy and your emails in the primary inbox.

1. The Importance of “Warming Up”

If you are using a new sending server (SMTP) or a new domain, you must start small. You need to “warm up” your IP address so that providers recognize you as a legitimate sender.

  • Day 1-3: Send to your most engaged audience only (those who opened in the last 30 days).
  • Limit: Start with no more than 50-100 emails per day.
  • Scaling: Increase your volume by roughly 20% each day, provided your open rates stay high.
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Pro Tip: During your warm-up phase, prioritize your “Best Leads.” High open rates (30%+) during the first week tell Gmail that people actually want your mail, which makes future scaling much easier.

2. Daily Volume Limits

Once your domain is warm, you can scale to higher volumes, but you should still follow these “Safe Zones” based on your list quality:

  • High Quality (Opt-in): You can scale up to 50,000+ emails per day per sending server.
  • Older Lists (Re-engagement): Keep it under 5,000 per day to avoid a sudden wave of bounces.

3. Monitoring Your Signals

Your “Safe Volume” isn’t just a number; it’s a reaction to your stats. You should slow down your volume if you see:

  1. Bounce Rate > 3%: Stop sending and clean your list.
  2. Spam Rate > 0.1%: Your content or frequency is bothering people.
  3. Open Rate < 10%: You are likely hitting the “Promotions” tab or Spam folder.
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Volume Spike Warning: Jumping from 1k to 100k emails in a single day is the fastest way to get your domain permanently blacklisted. If you need to send a massive blast, schedule it in smaller batches over 48-72 hours.

Summary

Safe sending is a marathon, not a sprint. By following a consistent schedule and monitoring your engagement metrics in the Onyx Dashboard, you ensure that your messages always reach the inbox.