Ultimate Cold Email Deliverability Guide

Ultimate Guide to Cold Email Deliverability

By Ean Tudor | Founder Revenueix

Understanding Email Deliverability

Cold email deliverability is crucial for the success of any outreach or cold email marketing campaign. It ensures your emails land in your prospects' inboxes rather than the SPAM folder. In this guide, we'll cover the key aspects you need to know, including best practices, common pitfalls, and technical setup.

Technical Setup

Setting Up DNS Records Properly:

This is the foundation of your cold email domains. If not set up correctly, your entire outreach system will fail. You need to configure:

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)

• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

Verify your DNS records at MXToolbox.

Warm-Up Period + Sending Tool

For warm-up, I recommend Smartlead.ai, the leading cold email sending tool.

14-Day Warm-Up Period Settings:

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Do NOT include links (calendar links, website links, etc.).

2. No images or videos EVER.

3. Always send your emails in plain text.

4. Do NOT track open rates.

5. Use 2 inboxes per domain MAX.

6. Send fewer than 50 emails per day per domain (25 per inbox).

7. Verify all email lists to keep the bounce rate under 2%.

Spintax

Spintax is essential for deliverability. Email service providers detect repetitive messaging, and Spintax helps you differentiate emails.

Examples:

• Subject Lines: {Thoughts {{first_name}}?|Question {{first_name}}?|Question about {{company_name}}?}

• Openings: {Hey {{first_name}},|Hi {{first_name}},|Hello {{first_name}},|Good {{sl_time_of_day}} {{first_name}},}

• Body: {We help {SaaS companies|companies} {similar to yours|just like yours} implement customer acquisition systems.}

• Closings: {Regards,|All the best,|Warm regards,|Best regards,|Cheers,}

List Scraping

• Ideally email business emails (e.g., rob@domain.com, NOT rob@gmail.com).

• Use tools like:

  • Apollo.io

  • Zoominfo.com

  • LinkedIn Sales Navigator

  • ListKit.io

Building a Clean Email List

• Verify ALL leads you get from any data provider to avoid bounces that ruin your domain reputation.

• Recommended tools:

  • MillionVerifier: $49 for 25,000 verification credits.

  • Use Bounceban to verify catch-all email addresses $25 for 5,000 verification credits.

Send Actual Relevant Emails

• Avoid spammy, cheesy subject lines.

• Write human-like copy.

• Add an opt-out option (e.g., "Reply 'no thanks' if you'd like to stop receiving emails").

Send Emails From Secondary Domains

Protect your main domain reputation by sending cold emails from secondary domains (e.g., go(companyname).com or email(companyname).com).

Blacklists

Use MXToolbox to check if your domain is blacklisted. If multiple blacklists flag your domain, consider creating a new one.

Recap

• Set up DMARC, DKIM, and SPF records correctly.

• Warm up email accounts for 14 days.

• Send emails in plain text with no links or images.

• Use Spintax or AI to vary your copy.

• Limit to 2 inboxes per domain.

• Verify all email lists to keep bounce rates below 3%.

• Avoid spam words in your copy.

• Send emails from secondary domains, not your main website domain.

One More Thing…

If you're running a B2B business, SaaS, or agency with a proven offer and want to scale with an outbound cold email system, book a call today.