Pre-launch checklist: everything you need before your first campaign

Before you can launch a campaign you need sending accounts, warmed-up mailboxes, an email sequence and leads. This checklist takes you through those items in order. OutreachFox makes the first part easy through Icemail, its built-in marketplace for domains and mailboxes.

Steps

1. Get sending accounts

1. Click the OutreachFox icon (the arrow) in the top-left corner.
2. From the dropdown, select Icemail.

1. Click Domains. From here you can connect a domain you already own or buy a new one directly through Icemail.

1. Once your domain is set, buy mailboxes for whichever provider you prefer — Google Workspace, Microsoft, Azure or SMTP — from the Icemail menu.

1. After the mailboxes are assigned, export them to OutreachFox. See Export mailboxes from Icemail to OutreachFox for the exact steps.

2. Bring your own domains or mailboxes (optional)

1. If you already have mailboxes elsewhere, connect them directly: go to Mailbox → Connect Mailbox and pick the provider.
2. Make sure the domain has SPF, DKIM and DMARC records set up before you connect. Domains bought through Icemail already have these records and can be connected straight away.

3. Switch back to OutreachFox and check the mailboxes

1. Click the OutreachFox icon again and select OutreachFox from the dropdown.
2. Open Mailbox. Every mailbox you purchased or transferred through Icemail, and every mailbox you connected yourself, is listed here.

4. Warm up

1. Select the mailboxes and enable warm-up.

1. Let warm-up run for at least 14 days before sending campaign email from those mailboxes.

5. Create the campaign

1. Click Create Campaign, give it a name (for example "Test") and click Create.
2. Write your email copy in the sequence editor and click Save.
3. Add your leads.
4. Set up anything else you need in the campaign settings, then start the campaign.

That is everything you need before launching your first campaign.

Checklist summary

• Domain purchased or connected, with SPF, DKIM and DMARC in place
• Mailboxes purchased or connected and visible under Mailbox
• Warm-up enabled and running for 14+ days
• Contact list uploaded and mapped
• Sequence written, spam words checked, preview reviewed
• Sender accounts selected
• Sending schedule, daily limits and bounce-rate pause configured
• Unsubscribe message enabled

Tips

• Use 2–3 mailboxes per domain and keep each mailbox at 30–50 campaign emails per day.
• Keep the bounce rate under 3%; enable Pause campaign when bounce rate reaches so a bad list stops itself.
• Verify emails before uploading a list; unverified lists are the most common cause of early bounces.

Related articles

• Quick Start Guide: from zero to first campaign
• Buy domains and mailboxes through Icemail
• Export mailboxes from Icemail to OutreachFox
• Connect a Google Workspace mailbox to OutreachFox
• Connect a Microsoft 365 / Outlook mailbox to OutreachFox
• Enable mailbox warmup
• Upload contacts to OutreachFox
• How to create and launch your first ema