Cold Email Deliverability Pre-Flight (Onboarding)

Cold Email Deliverability Pre-Flight (Onboarding)

1. 01

   Verify sender domain and mailbox history before connecting any platform

   Check the domain's age, existing SPF/DKIM/DMARC records, and whether the mailbox has sent bulk mail before. A domain with no sending history needs a warmup period of 2 to 4 weeks before campaign volume ramps.

2. 02

   Confirm list provenance and consent status for every contact

   Segment contacts by source: purchased lists, scraped data, or opt-in forms. Only proceed with contacts that have a legitimate basis for outreach under GDPR, CAN-SPAM, or CASL, and document the legal basis for each segment.

3. 03

   Set up dedicated sending infrastructure with isolated IPs or subdomains

   Use separate domains or subdomains for cold outreach to protect the primary domain's reputation. Services like Aerosend isolate every 10 domains on dedicated servers with aged IPs, while Smartlead offers unlimited mailbox management to spread volume.

4. 04

   Configure authentication records and test deliverability

   Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for each sending domain, then run a test send to major providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) to check inbox placement. Tools like Instantly and Woodpecker include built-in warmup and deliverability monitoring to track sender reputation.

5. 05

   Define volume limits and ramp-up schedule per mailbox

   Start with 10 to 20 emails per mailbox per day and increase by 20% weekly, staying under 50 per day per mailbox to avoid spam flags. Document the ramp plan in the client's campaign brief.

6. 06

   Establish reply detection and routing rules

   Set up automatic reply detection and route responses to the correct sales rep or CRM. Platforms like lemlist and Saleshandy offer multichannel sequences and reply tracking, but ensure the routing aligns with the client's lead qualification process.

7. 07

   Create a monitoring dashboard for bounce rates, spam complaints, and unsubscribes

   Track these metrics daily during the first two weeks, then weekly. Alert thresholds: bounce rate above 5%, spam complaints above 0.1%, or unsubscribe rate above 2% require immediate pause and list review.