Email Deliverability Checklist: 25 Steps for Cold Outreach

You’ve spent hours crafting the perfect cold email. Your subject line is punchy. Your value proposition is crystal clear. Your call-to-action is irresistible.

You hit send with confidence.

But here’s the brutal truth: if your email never reaches the inbox, none of that effort matters.

According to recent data, nearly 45% of all emails end up in spam folders. For cold emails, where you’re reaching out to people who don’t know you yet, that number can be even higher.

The problem isn’t always your message. Often, it’s your email deliverability.

Think of email deliverability as the gatekeeper between you and your prospect. It doesn’t matter how persuasive your pitch is if it’s trapped in a spam folder, never to be seen.

The good news? You have more control over deliverability than you think.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through a comprehensive email deliverability checklist specifically designed for cold outreach. We’ll cover everything from technical setup (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, don’t worry, I’ll explain these in plain English) to practical sending habits that keep your emails out of spam.

By the end, you’ll know exactly how to:

• Set up your domain for maximum deliverability
• Build and maintain a strong sender reputation
• Avoid common mistakes that trigger spam filters
• Monitor and improve your inbox placement rate

Let’s make sure your hard work actually reaches your prospects’ inboxes.

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What is Email Deliverability? (And Why It Matters for Cold Outreach)

Let’s start with the basics.

Email deliverability is the rate at which your emails successfully land in your recipients’ inboxes, not their spam folders, not their promotions tabs, but their actual inbox where they’ll see and read them.

Here’s where people get confused: there’s a difference between email delivery and email deliverability.

Email delivery simply means your email made it to the recipient’s mail server without bouncing back. It’s like mailing a letter that gets delivered to someone’s mailbox.

Email deliverability is whether that email actually makes it into their inbox or gets tossed into spam. It’s like the difference between your letter reaching the mailbox versus being thrown in the trash by the recipient’s assistant.

For cold outreach, this distinction is critical.

You could have a 100% delivery rate (no bounces), but if all those emails land in spam, your deliverability is terrible. You’re technically “delivering” emails, but nobody’s reading them.

Why Cold Email Deliverability Is Harder

Cold emails face unique challenges:

1. No prior relationship: Your recipients don’t know you. Email providers see this as risky.
2. Higher scrutiny: ISPs (Internet Service Providers like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) are extra cautious with cold emails because spammers often use similar tactics.
3. Engagement matters more: If people ignore your emails or mark them as spam, your sender reputation tanks fast.
4. Volume sensitivity: Sending too many emails too quickly from a new domain triggers alarms.

The benchmark you should aim for? A 95% or higher deliverability rate for cold outreach. Anything below 90% means you have serious problems to fix.

If only 80% of your emails reach the inbox, and you’re sending 100 emails per day, that’s 20 wasted opportunities every single day. Over a month, that’s 600 potential conversations lost to spam folders.

Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen to you.

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Email Deliverability vs. Email Delivery: Key Differences

Before we dive into the checklist, let me clear up this confusion once and for all with a simple comparison:

Aspect	Email Delivery	Email Deliverability
What It Means	Email reaches the recipient’s mail server	Email lands in the inbox (not spam/promotions)
Success Metric	Delivered vs. Bounced	Inbox vs. Spam folder
What It Measures	Technical acceptance by the server	Actual inbox placement
Typical Rate	98%+ for valid email addresses	70-95% depending on your practices
What Matters for Cold Email	Less critical (easy to achieve with valid emails)	This is what actually drives results

Bottom line: Even if your email is “delivered,” it might still be invisible to your prospect because it’s sitting in spam. Focus on deliverability, inbox placement is what gets you opens, replies, and meetings.

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The 25-Point Email Deliverability Checklist for Cold Outreach

Now let’s get into the actionable stuff. I’ve organized this checklist into five categories to make it easier to tackle:

1. Email Authentication & Technical Setup
2. Domain & IP Reputation Management
3. Email List Hygiene & Targeting
4. Email Content & Engagement Optimization
5. Sending Behavior & Monitoring

Let’s break down each one.

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Category 1: Email Authentication & Technical Setup (5 Steps)

Think of this section as building the foundation of your house. Skip these technical steps, and everything else will crumble.

Don’t worry, I’ll explain each term in plain English.

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1. Set Up SPF (Sender Policy Framework) Records

What it is: SPF is a security feature that tells email providers which mail servers are allowed to send emails on behalf of your domain.

Think of it like a guest list at an exclusive event. If someone tries to use your domain name to send emails but they’re not on the “approved list,” email providers will reject them or send them straight to spam.

Why it matters: Without SPF, anyone could pretend to be you and send emails from your domain. Email providers know this, so they’re suspicious of domains without SPF records.

How to set it up:

Step 1: Log into your domain registrar or DNS hosting provider (where you bought your domain, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.)

Step 2: Find the DNS settings section

Step 3: Add a new TXT record with this format:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

(This example is for Google Workspace. Your email provider will give you the exact syntax.)

Step 4: Verify it’s working using a free tool like MXToolbox’s SPF Record Checker

Pro tip: If you use multiple email services (like Google Workspace + a cold email tool), you’ll need to include all of them in your SPF record. Just make sure you don’t exceed 10 DNS lookups or it will fail.

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2. Configure DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

What it is: DKIM adds an invisible digital signature to every email you send. This signature proves that the email actually came from you and wasn’t tampered with during delivery.

Imagine sealing a letter with wax and your family crest. If the seal is broken, the recipient knows something’s wrong.

Why it matters: DKIM helps email providers verify your identity. It’s a trust signal that says, “Yes, this email really came from this domain, and nobody messed with it.”

How to set it up:

Step 1: Your email provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or your cold email tool) will generate a DKIM key for you

Step 2: They’ll give you a TXT record to add to your DNS settings

Step 3: Copy that record and paste it into your DNS settings (similar to SPF)

Step 4: Wait 24-48 hours for DNS propagation

Step 5: Send a test email and check the headers to confirm DKIM is passing

Pro tip: Most email platforms have step-by-step guides for DKIM setup. Google “DKIM setup for [your email provider]” and follow their instructions.

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3. Implement DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication)

What it is: DMARC builds on SPF and DKIM. It’s a policy you set that tells email providers what to do if an email fails SPF or DKIM checks.

Your options:

• None (just monitor, don’t block anything)
• Quarantine (send suspicious emails to spam)
• Reject (don’t deliver suspicious emails at all)

Why it matters: DMARC protects your domain from being used for phishing or spoofing. It also shows email providers that you take email security seriously, which boosts your reputation.

How to set it up:

Step 1: Start with a monitoring policy. Add this TXT record to your DNS:

v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]

Step 2: Wait 2-4 weeks and monitor the reports you receive (they’ll be sent to the email address you specified)

Step 3: Once you’re confident everything is working correctly, upgrade to a stricter policy:

v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:[email protected]

Step 4: Eventually, you can move to p=reject for maximum protection

Pro tip: Use a DMARC monitoring tool like DMARC Analyzer or Postmark to make sense of the reports. The raw XML files are hard to read.

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4. Use a Custom Domain (Never Free Email Providers)

This one is simple but critical.

Never, ever use a free email address for cold outreach.

That means no:

• @gmail.com
• @yahoo.com
• @outlook.com
• @hotmail.com

Why it matters: Using a free email domain for cold outreach is an instant red flag to spam filters. It screams “amateur” or “spammer” to both email providers and recipients.

Plus, free email providers explicitly prohibit bulk sending in their terms of service. Your account could get banned.

What to do instead:

Use a professional custom domain like:

• yourname@ yourcompany.com
• sales@ yourcompany.com
• hello@ yourcompany.com

How to set it up:

Step 1: Register your domain (if you haven’t already)

Step 2: Set up email hosting through Google Workspace ($6/month per user) or Microsoft 365 ($6/month per user)

Step 3: Configure your email account and authenticate it with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

Pro tip: If you’re doing high-volume cold outreach, consider setting up a separate subdomain (like outreach.yourcompany.com) to isolate your cold email sending from your main business communications. This protects your primary domain’s reputation.

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5. Verify DNS Records Are Error-Free

You can set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC perfectly, but one tiny typo in your DNS records will break everything.

Common mistakes:

• Extra spaces in TXT records
• Missing semicolons
• Multiple SPF records (you can only have one)
• Incorrect syntax

How to check:

Step 1: Use MXToolbox’s DNS Checker (it’s free)

Step 2: Enter your domain and run checks for:

• SPF Record
• DKIM Record
• DMARC Record
• MX Records (mail exchange records)

Step 3: Fix any errors it finds

Step 4: Wait 24 hours and check again to confirm everything passes

Pro tip: Set a calendar reminder to audit your DNS records every 6 months. Sometimes hosting providers migrate servers or settings get accidentally changed, breaking your authentication.

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Category 2: Domain & IP Reputation Management (5 Steps)

Your sender reputation is like your credit score for email. Build it carefully, and doors open. Trash it with bad practices, and you’ll be locked out of inboxes.

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6. Warm Up Your Email Domain (Critical for New Domains)

Imagine walking into a party where you don’t know anyone and immediately shouting at 500 people to buy your product.

That’s what happens when you send hundreds of cold emails from a brand-new domain on day one.

What email warm-up means: Gradually increasing your sending volume over time to build a positive reputation with email providers.

Why it matters: Email providers watch for sudden spikes in volume from new domains. If you go from 0 to 500 emails on day one, they’ll assume you’re a spammer and block you.

How to warm up your domain:

Week 1: Send 10-20 emails per day to real contacts (colleagues, friends, existing customers)

Week 2: Increase to 30-50 emails per day

Week 3: Ramp up to 75-100 emails per day

Week 4: Scale to 150-200 emails per day

Week 5+: You can send 200-300 emails per day safely (depending on your email provider’s limits)

Important rules:

• Send to people likely to engage (open, reply, click)
• Avoid sudden volume spikes
• Maintain consistent daily sending (don’t send 200 one day and 0 the next)

Pro tip: Some cold email tools like SmartReach.io have automated warm-up features that exchange emails with other users’ accounts to simulate natural engagement. Tools like Mailwarm, Lemwarm, or Smartreach’s warm-up can help.

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7. Monitor Your Sender Reputation Score

Your sender reputation is a score (0-100) that email providers assign to your domain and IP address based on your sending behavior.

Think of it like this:

• 90-100: Excellent, your emails almost always reach the inbox
• 70-89: Good, most emails get through, but you should improve
• Below 70: Poor, you’re likely hitting spam folders frequently

Where to check your reputation:

1. Google Postmaster Tools (free):
   • Shows your domain reputation specifically for Gmail
   • Tracks spam rate, IP reputation, and authentication status
   • Essential if your prospects use Gmail (which most do)
2. Microsoft SNDS (free):
   • Similar to Google Postmaster but for Outlook/Hotmail
   • Sign up with your IP address
3. Sender Score (free):
   • A third-party service that gives you an overall reputation score
   • Checks your IP against blocklists
   • Visit senderscore.org

What to do if your score is low:

• Pause sending temporarily
• Audit your list for invalid emails or unengaged contacts
• Check if you’re on any spam blacklists (use MXToolbox Blacklist Check)
• Resume sending slowly with only highly-engaged contacts

Pro tip: Check your reputation weekly when you’re just starting out, then monthly once you’ve established a good score.

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8. Maintain a Low Bounce Rate (<5%)

A bounce happens when an email can’t be delivered. There are two types:

Soft bounces: Temporary issues (full inbox, server down). These usually resolve themselves.

Hard bounces: Permanent failures (invalid email address, domain doesn’t exist). These are the dangerous ones.

Why bounce rate matters: Email providers track your bounce rate. If you’re consistently sending to invalid addresses, they’ll assume you have a low-quality list (or worse, a purchased list) and tank your reputation.

Target bounce rate: Under 2% is ideal. Above 5% is a serious problem.

How to keep bounce rate low:

1. Verify emails before sending: Use email verification tools like:
   • NeverBounce
   • ZeroBounce
   • Hunter Email Verifier
   • Clearout
2. Remove hard bounces immediately: Most email tools do this automatically, but double-check
3. Don’t buy or scrape email lists: These are full of invalid addresses
4. Keep your list fresh: Remove contacts who haven’t engaged in 6+ months

Pro tip: Run your email list through a verification tool before every major campaign. It’s worth the small cost to protect your reputation.

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9. Avoid Spam Traps (Honeypot Emails)

Spam traps are email addresses that exist solely to catch spammers. They don’t belong to real people and never opted in to receive emails.

Two types of spam traps:

1. Pristine spam traps: Email addresses created specifically to catch spammers. They’re never published publicly, so the only way you’d get them is by:
   • Buying email lists
   • Scraping websites
   • Using shady lead generation tactics
2. Recycled spam traps: Old, abandoned email addresses that providers have repurposed. For example, an employee leaves a company, their email becomes inactive for 2 years, and the provider turns it into a spam trap.

Why spam traps are deadly: Hit one, and your sender reputation takes a massive hit. Hit multiple, and you could be blacklisted entirely.

How to avoid spam traps:

1. Never buy email lists: This is the #1 way people hit spam traps
2. Build your own lists organically: Use prospecting tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, or Lusha
3. Verify emails before sending: Email verification tools filter out known spam traps
4. Remove old, unengaged contacts: If someone hasn’t opened an email in 6+ months, remove them
5. Use double opt-in for sign-ups: If you’re collecting emails via a form, confirm the address is real

Pro tip: If your bounce rate suddenly spikes or your deliverability tanks overnight, you may have hit a spam trap. Immediately pause sending, clean your list with a verification tool, and restart with only recently-engaged contacts.

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10. Use a Dedicated IP (For High-Volume Senders)

When you send emails, they come from an IP address. You have two options:

Shared IP: Your emails share an IP address with other senders (common with email providers like Gmail, Outlook, or cold email tools)

Dedicated IP: You have your own IP address that only you use

Shared IP pros and cons:

✅ Easier to warm up (the IP already has a reputation)
✅ No extra cost
❌ Your reputation is affected by other users on the same IP
❌ If someone else on the IP spams, you all suffer

Dedicated IP pros and cons:

✅ Complete control over your reputation
✅ Not affected by other senders’ bad behavior
❌ Requires consistent high volume (10,000+ emails/month) to maintain
❌ Costs extra ($30-100/month)
❌ Takes longer to warm up

When to use a dedicated IP:

• You’re sending 200+ emails per day consistently (at least 6,000/month)
• You have the resources to properly warm it up
• You’re running an agency managing multiple clients
• You want maximum control over deliverability

When to stick with a shared IP:

• You’re sending fewer than 200 emails per day
• You’re just starting with cold email
• You’re using a reputable email tool with good shared IP management

Pro tip: If you decide to get a dedicated IP, budget at least 6-8 weeks for warm-up. Start with 50 emails/day and scale slowly. Rushing this process will ruin your IP reputation before you even get started.

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Category 3: Email List Hygiene & Targeting (5 Steps)

You can have perfect technical setup, but if you’re emailing the wrong people or using a dirty list, you’ll still land in spam.

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11. Validate Email Addresses Before Sending

Never send to an email address you haven’t verified.

Why email validation matters:

• Reduces bounce rate (invalid emails can’t bounce if you don’t send to them)
• Avoids spam traps hidden in bad data
• Saves money (most email tools charge per contact or send)
• Protects your sender reputation

How email verification works:

Verification tools check if an email address:

• Has correct syntax (name@ domain.com)
• Has a valid domain with working mail servers
• Actually exists on the server (without sending an email)
• Is a known spam trap, disposable address, or role-based email

Top email verification tools:

1. NeverBounce – Great accuracy, bulk verification available
2. ZeroBounce – Includes spam trap detection and email scoring
3. Hunter.io – Verifies emails as you find them
4. Clearout – Affordable for high-volume verification
5. Mailfloss – Integrates with your CRM for automatic cleaning

What to remove:

• Invalid/non-existent emails
• Disposable emails (tempmail, guerrillamail, etc.)
• Role-based emails (info@, support@, sales@, admin@)
• Known spam traps

Pro tip: Even if you’re using a prospecting tool that claims “verified emails,” run them through your own verification tool. Data degrades over time, an email that was valid 6 months ago might be dead today.

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12. Segment Your Email List by Engagement

Not all contacts are created equal. Some people love your emails. Others ignore them completely.

Sending to unengaged contacts hurts your reputation.

How to segment by engagement:

Tier 1: Hot (Highly Engaged)

• Opened or clicked in the last 30 days
• Replied to previous emails
• Attended webinars or downloaded resources
• Action: Send to these people regularly

Tier 2: Warm (Moderately Engaged)

• Opened emails in the last 60-90 days
• Occasional clicks but no replies
• Action: Send less frequently, test re-engagement campaigns

Tier 3: Cold (Unengaged)

• No opens in 90+ days
• Never clicked or replied
• Action: Remove from regular sending or send one final re-engagement email

Why this matters: Email providers track engagement. If Gmail sees that 80% of people who receive your emails ignore them, they’ll start sending your future emails to spam, even for people who might actually want them.

How to implement:

1. Export engagement data from your email tool
2. Tag contacts based on last engagement date
3. Create separate sending schedules for each tier
4. Remove Tier 3 contacts after a final re-engagement attempt fails

Pro tip: Before removing cold contacts entirely, try one last “breakup email”:

“Hi [Name], I haven’t heard from you in a while, so I’m assuming this isn’t relevant to you right now. I’ll remove you from my list unless you’d like me to keep in touch. Just reply ‘yes’ if you want to stay on my radar.”

This sometimes re-engages dormant contacts and shows email providers you care about engagement.

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13. Remove Unsubscribes & Hard Bounces Immediately

This should be automatic, but I’m including it because I still see people making this mistake.

Hard bounces: Remove them instantly. There’s no point in sending to an email that doesn’t exist.

Unsubscribes: Honor them within 24 hours (legally you have 10 days, but be faster).

Why this matters:

• Sending to unsubscribed contacts violates CAN-SPAM and GDPR
• Hard bounces kill your sender reputation
• It’s just respectful to honor unsubscribe requests quickly

How to automate this:

Most email tools handle this automatically:

• Hard bounces are suppressed across all campaigns
• Unsubscribes are added to a global suppression list
• You can’t accidentally send to them again

Double-check:

• Review your suppression list monthly
• Make sure bounces and unsubscribes aren’t being re-added from your CRM
• If you use multiple email tools, sync your suppression lists

Pro tip: Make your unsubscribe link easy to find. A hard-to-find unsubscribe link leads to spam complaints, which hurt your deliverability 10x more than losing a subscriber.

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14. Avoid Purchased or Scraped Email Lists

I’m going to be blunt: buying or scraping email lists is the fastest way to destroy your email deliverability.

Why purchased lists are toxic:

1. Spam trap paradise: Purchased lists are full of spam traps. Vendors seed them intentionally to catch buyers.
2. No consent: These people didn’t ask to hear from you. Expect high spam complaint rates.
3. Terrible data quality: Emails are outdated, invalid, or belong to people who’ve left companies.
4. Against email tool terms of service: Most platforms (Gmail, Outlook, Smartreach, etc.) prohibit purchased lists. You could get banned.
5. Illegal in many places: GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and other laws require consent.

Why scraped lists are just as bad:

Web scraping tools grab emails from websites, but:

• Many are honeypot spam traps
• Contact information on websites is often outdated
• No relationship or context
• Violates many websites’ terms of service

What to do instead:

Build your list organically using:

1. Prospecting tools: LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, Lusha, Hunter, Cognism
2. Inbound leads: Website forms, content downloads, webinars
3. Referrals: Ask satisfied customers for intros
4. Manual research: Find emails through LinkedIn + email finder tools
5. Networking events: Trade shows, conferences, meetups

Pro tip: The best cold email lists come from targeted research. Spend 20% of your time finding the right 100 people rather than blasting 1,000 random contacts. Quality beats quantity every time.

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15. Target Relevant, High-Quality Prospects Only

Relevance isn’t just good for conversions, it’s critical for deliverability.

Here’s why: When you email someone your offer is genuinely relevant to, they’re more likely to:

• Open your email
• Read it
• Click links
• Reply

And when people engage with your emails, email providers see this as a positive signal. Your reputation improves, and future emails are more likely to reach the inbox.

On the flip side: Email irrelevant people, and they’ll:

• Ignore your emails (low engagement = spam signal)
• Delete without opening (spam signal)
• Mark you as spam (disaster for reputation)

How to improve targeting:

1. Define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):
   • Company size (10-50 employees? 500-1,000?)
   • Industry (SaaS? E-commerce? Manufacturing?)
   • Role/title (Founders? Marketing Directors? Sales Ops?)
   • Geography (US only? Global?)
   • Pain points (What problem do they need solved?)
2. Use filters in prospecting tools:
   • Company size
   • Industry
   • Revenue
   • Technologies used
   • Recent company news (funding, hiring, expansion)
3. Personalize your outreach:
   • Reference specific challenges in their industry
   • Mention something about their company
   • Explain why you’re reaching out to them specifically
4. Test small batches first:
   • Send to 20-50 contacts
   • Measure open rate, reply rate, spam rate
   • If engagement is low, your targeting is off

Pro tip: A 25% open rate on 100 perfectly-targeted emails beats a 5% open rate on 1,000 random contacts, for both conversions AND deliverability.

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Category 4: Email Content & Engagement Optimization (5 Steps)

Now let’s talk about what’s inside your emails. Even with perfect technical setup and a clean list, bad content will trigger spam filters.

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16. Avoid Spam Trigger Words in Subject Lines & Body

Spam filters have evolved beyond simple keyword matching, but certain words and phrases still raise red flags, especially in combination.

Common spam trigger words to avoid:

Urgency/Pressure:

• “Act now”
• “Limited time”
• “Urgent”
• “Don’t wait”
• “Expires today”

Money/Offers:

• “Free”
• “Cash bonus”
• “$$$”
• “Earn extra income”
• “Guaranteed income”

Promotional:

• “Special promotion”
• “Click here”
• “Buy now”
• “Order now”
• “Call now”

Salesy:

• “No obligation”
• “Risk-free”
• “Money-back guarantee”
• “As seen on”
• “Prize”

Over-the-top claims:

• “Miracle”
• “Amazing”
• “Revolutionary”
• “Once in a lifetime”
• “You won’t believe”

The problem isn’t using these words once, it’s the pattern. An email that says “FREE TRIAL – NO OBLIGATION – ACT NOW – RISK FREE – GUARANTEED RESULTS!!!” is spam city.

Better alternatives:

Instead of: “Free trial – Sign up now!”
Try: “Would a quick demo be helpful?”

Instead of: “Limited time offer – Act fast!”
Try: “Quick question about [specific challenge]”

Instead of: “Guaranteed results or your money back”
Try: “Here’s how we helped [similar company] achieve [specific result]”

Pro tip: Read your email out loud. If it sounds like a used car salesman or an infomercial, rewrite it. Cold emails should sound like a helpful message from a real human, not a marketing blast.

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17. Limit Links & Attachments (Or Avoid Them Entirely)

Spam filters scrutinize links and attachments because spammers abuse them to hide malware, phishing pages, and tracking scripts.

The rules:

Links:

• Maximum 1-2 links per email in cold outreach
• More than 2 links = spam trigger
• Link to relevant, trustworthy domains (your company website, LinkedIn, case studies)
• Avoid URL shorteners (bit.ly, tinyurl) as they hide the destination
• Use clean, readable URLs when possible

Attachments:

• Avoid them in first-touch cold emails
• Attachments significantly increase spam risk
• They also slow down email load time
• Instead: Link to a Google Drive folder, Dropbox link, or web page

What to do if you MUST share a document:

Instead of attaching: “Here’s our product brochure [attachment]”

Try: “Here’s a link to our product overview: [link to your website]”

Or: “I’d be happy to send over some resources, would a PDF or a quick call work better for you?”

Pro tip: For cold email, your goal is to start a conversation, not deliver content. Save the PDFs, decks, and case studies for after they’ve replied and expressed interest.

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18. Personalize Every Email (Beyond {{FirstName}})

Generic, templated emails perform poorly and email providers know it.

When Gmail sees 500 nearly-identical emails going out from your address, it’s a signal that you’re mass-blasting people. Personalization breaks that pattern.

Levels of personalization:

Level 1: Basic (The Minimum)

• {{FirstName}}
• {{Company}}
• {{Title}}

This is table stakes. Everyone does this. It’s not enough to stand out.

Level 2: Contextual (Better)

• Reference something specific about their company
  • Recent funding round
  • A blog post they wrote
  • Company expansion/hiring
  • A problem in their industry
• Mention a mutual connection
• Reference a recent achievement

Example: “Saw your team just raised Series A congrats! Curious how you’re planning to scale your sales team with the new funding.”

Level 3: Research-Based (Best)

• Identify a specific pain point they’re facing
• Reference their tech stack (if relevant to your offer)
• Mention a competitor using your solution
• Connect your solution to their current initiatives

Example: “Noticed you’re hiring 3 SDRs this quarter. Most teams that scale that fast struggle with email deliverability, we helped [similar company] solve that last month. Worth a quick chat?”

What NOT to do:

❌ “Hey {{FirstName}}, I help companies like {{Company}} grow revenue.”
(This is lazy and obvious template usage)

✅ “Hey John, I saw Acme Corp is expanding into the European market. Most US-based companies struggle with GDPR compliance when doing outreach there, we’ve helped 5 SaaS companies navigate this. Worth a quick conversation?”

Pro tip: Spend 2-3 minutes researching each prospect. Check their LinkedIn, company news, recent posts. One genuine, specific sentence is worth more than 10 generic template lines.

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19. Keep Email Length Short & Scannable (150-200 Words)

People are busy. Prospects get hundreds of emails per day. Long, dense emails get ignored, or worse, marked as spam.

The ideal cold email length: 50-150 words (about 3-5 short paragraphs)

Why short emails work better:

1. Attention span: People skim emails in 3-5 seconds. If yours looks like an essay, it won’t get read.
2. Mobile-friendly: 50%+ of emails are opened on mobile. Long emails require endless scrolling.
3. Engagement signal: Short emails get higher reply rates. Higher reply rates = better deliverability.

Structure of a high-performing cold email:

Paragraph 1 (1-2 sentences): Personalized hook
“Saw you’re hiring 3 SDRs this quarter, congrats on the growth!”

Paragraph 2 (2-3 sentences): Relevance/value
“Most teams scaling that fast hit email deliverability issues. We helped [Similar Company] improve their inbox rate from 73% to 96% in 30 days.”

Paragraph 3 (1 sentence): Simple ask

“Worth a quick 15-minute call to see if we could help your team avoid those issues?”

Total: ~70 words, takes 15 seconds to read.

Formatting tips for scannability:

• Keep paragraphs to 1-3 sentences max
• Use line breaks generously (whitespace is your friend)
• Avoid walls of text
• One idea per paragraph
• Stick to a single call-to-action

What to cut:

• Your entire company history
• Every feature of your product
• Multiple case studies in one email
• Long explanations of how your product works

Save the details for the demo. Your cold email is just the handshake.

Pro tip: After writing your email, cut it in half. Then read it again and see if you can cut it by another 25%. Shorter is almost always better.

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20. Encourage Engagement (Replies, Opens, Clicks)

Email providers track engagement signals. High engagement = positive sender signal = better deliverability.

What counts as engagement:

• Opens (positive signal)
• Clicks (strong positive signal)
• Replies (strongest positive signal)
• Forwarding (positive signal)
• Starring/flagging (positive signal)

What hurts engagement:

• Immediate deletes
• Never opening
• Marking as spam

How to boost engagement:

1. Write compelling subject lines:

Test different approaches:

• Question-based: “Quick question about your Q4 hiring?”
• Curiosity: “Thought this might be relevant”
• Direct value: “Helped [Similar Company] cut costs by 30%”
• Personal: “Following up from [event/connection]”

Avoid:

• All caps
• Excessive punctuation (!!!)
• Generic blasts (“Newsletter – December Edition”)

2. Ask a simple question in the email:

People are more likely to reply to a question than a statement.

Example: “Would it make sense to explore how we could help with this?”

Or:

“Does this sound like something your team struggles with?”

3. Send at optimal times:

Best days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Best times: 10am-12pm or 2pm-4pm (recipient’s local time)
Worst: Monday mornings, Friday afternoons, weekends

4. A/B test subject lines:

Most email tools let you test 2-3 subject lines. Send each to a small segment, then send the winner to the rest.

Track what gets the highest open rates and double down on that approach.

5. Keep it conversational:

Write like you’re emailing a colleague, not delivering a sales pitch. People reply to humans, not corporations.

Pro tip: The best engagement hack is to send genuinely helpful, relevant emails. No amount of optimization can fix irrelevant outreach.

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Category 5: Sending Behavior & Monitoring (5 Steps)

You’ve set up authentication. You’ve warmed up your domain. Your list is clean, and your content is solid. Now let’s talk about how you send emails, because behavior matters just as much as setup.

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21. Respect Email Provider Sending Limits

Every email provider has daily sending limits. Exceed them, and you’ll get your account suspended or banned.

Common limits:

Gmail / Google Workspace:

• Free Gmail: 500 emails per day
• Google Workspace (paid): 2,000 emails per day
• External recipients: Counted more strictly

Outlook / Microsoft 365:

• Outlook.com (free): 300 emails per day
• Microsoft 365 (paid): 10,000 recipients per day

Yahoo Mail:

• 500 emails per day (free and paid)

Important notes:

• These limits are per 24-hour rolling period (not calendar day)
• Some providers count recipients, not individual emails
• Limits include all emails (not just cold outreach, your regular work emails count too)

What happens if you exceed limits:

• Temporary account suspension (usually 24 hours)
• Emails get queued and delayed
• Repeated violations = permanent ban
• Your domain reputation takes a hit

How to stay within limits:

1. Know your limit: Check your email provider’s documentation
2. Buffer it: Don’t send right up to the limit, leave some room for regular work emails
3. Use email tools that throttle sends: Most cold email platforms automatically spread sends throughout the day to stay within limits
4. Set up multiple sending accounts: If you need to send more than the limit, use multiple email addresses

Pro tip: For Google Workspace, the 2,000/day limit is generous, but if you’re consistently hitting it, consider rotating between 2-3 email addresses (e.g., john@ company.com, john.smith@ company.com). This spreads the load and protects each account’s reputation.

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22. Space Out Emails (Don’t Blast All at Once)

Imagine you’re at a networking event. Normal behavior: Chat with one person, move to the next, chat for a bit, and so on.

Spammer behavior: Sprint through the room shouting at 500 people in 5 minutes.

Email providers watch for this. Sending hundreds of emails in a short burst looks like bot behavior.

Why spacing matters:

• Human sending patterns are irregular and spaced out
• Sudden bursts trigger spam filters
• Spacing gives email providers time to observe engagement signals
• It avoids overwhelming recipient mail servers

Best practices:

Random intervals: Don’t send emails every exactly 2 minutes. Vary it:

• Email 1: Send now
• Email 2: Send in 4 minutes
• Email 3: Send in 7 minutes
• Email 4: Send in 3 minutes

Spread over working hours: Don’t send 500 emails from 9:00-9:30am. Spread them from 9am-5pm.

Mimic human behavior: Include small pauses between sends, just like you would if manually sending emails.

How most cold email tools handle this:

Good tools have “human-like sending” features:

• Random intervals between sends
• Automatic spreading across business hours
• Option to set min/max delay between emails

What NOT to do:

❌ Send 500 emails in 10 minutes
❌ Send all emails at exactly 9:00am
❌ Send emails at 2am (unless your recipients are in that timezone)

Pro tip: If you’re using a cold email tool, check if it has a “sending schedule” feature. Set it to spread emails across 8-10 hours with random intervals. This alone will significantly improve deliverability.

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23. Monitor Spam Complaint Rate (<0.1%)

A spam complaint happens when a recipient clicks the “Report Spam” or “Mark as Spam” button in their email client.

This is the single most damaging action someone can take against your deliverability.

Why spam complaints are so bad:

• One complaint = strong negative signal to email providers
• Multiple complaints from the same campaign = your emails will go straight to spam for everyone
• Too many complaints = your domain gets blacklisted
• It’s a direct signal that people don’t want your emails

What’s an acceptable spam complaint rate?

• Target: Less than 0.1% (1 complaint per 1,000 emails)
• Warning zone: 0.1-0.3% (Time to audit your practices)
• Danger zone: Above 0.3% (You have serious problems)

How to reduce spam complaints:

1. Make the unsubscribe link easy to find:

Put it in your email footer in clear text: “Don’t want these emails? [Unsubscribe here]”

Why this works: If people can’t find the unsubscribe button, they’ll hit spam instead. Better to lose a subscriber than get a spam complaint.

2. Only email relevant prospects:

The #1 cause of spam complaints is irrelevant emails. If your offer has nothing to do with the recipient’s needs, they’ll mark it as spam.

3. Set clear expectations:

If someone opted into your emails, remind them why they’re hearing from you: “You’re receiving this because you downloaded our [resource] last month.”

4. Honor unsubscribes immediately:

Don’t wait the full 10 days CAN-SPAM allows. Remove them within 24 hours.

5. Don’t be pushy or aggressive:

Avoid language like:

• “You need this”
• “Don’t miss out”
• “This is your last chance”

These phrases trigger defensive reactions, and people hit spam.

How to monitor spam complaints:

• Google Postmaster Tools: Shows spam rate for Gmail recipients
• Microsoft SNDS: Shows complaints for Outlook recipients
• Your email tool’s dashboard: Most platforms track this automatically

What to do if spam rate spikes:

1. Pause your campaign immediately
2. Review recent sends: Identify which emails got complaints
3. Analyze your targeting: Were you emailing the wrong people?
4. Check your content: Was it too salesy or aggressive?
5. Clean your list: Remove unengaged contacts
6. Resume slowly: Start with your most engaged segment

Pro tip: Set up alerts in your email tool to notify you if spam rate exceeds 0.08%. This gives you time to fix issues before you hit the danger zone.

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24. Track Inbox Placement Rate (Not Just Open Rate)

Open rate tells you how many people opened your email. But it doesn’t tell you how many people saw your email in the first place.

If your email lands in spam, it doesn’t matter how compelling your subject line is, nobody’s opening it.

Inbox placement rate = the % of emails that land in the inbox vs. spam/promotions folder

Why this metric matters more than open rate:

• You can have a 5% open rate because your targeting is bad (people don’t care)
• OR you can have a 5% open rate because 90% of your emails are in spam

These are very different problems requiring different solutions.

How to measure inbox placement:

Free tools:

• Mail-Tester: Send a test email to the address they provide, get a spam score (0-10)
• Google Postmaster Tools: Shows spam rate for Gmail (inverse of inbox rate)

Paid tools:

• GlockApps: Sends test emails to seed accounts across Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc., and shows exactly where they land
• Postmark: Email deliverability monitoring with detailed reports
• 250ok: Enterprise-grade inbox placement testing

How to use these tools:

Step 1: Send test emails to seed accounts across major providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo)

Step 2: Check where they landed:

• Inbox
• Promotions tab (Gmail)
• Spam folder
• Not delivered at all

Step 3: Calculate your inbox placement rate: (Emails in Inbox ÷ Total Emails Sent) × 100

Target: 95%+ inbox placement

What to track by ISP:

• Gmail inbox rate
• Outlook inbox rate
• Yahoo inbox rate

Some ISPs might have great placement while others send you to spam. This tells you where to focus your fixes.

How often to test:

• New domains: Weekly for the first month
• Established domains: Monthly
• After major changes: Immediately (new template, new segment, volume increase)

Pro tip: Don’t rely solely on open rate to gauge deliverability. I’ve seen campaigns with 25% open rates but only 70% inbox placement, meaning the open rate could have been 35% if deliverability was better. Always verify inbox placement directly.

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25. Regularly Audit & Clean Your Email List (Quarterly)

Email lists decay over time. People change jobs, companies close, email addresses get abandoned.

Average email list decay rate: 22.5% per year

That means if you have 1,000 contacts today, 225 of them will be invalid within 12 months.

Why regular cleaning matters:

• Invalid emails = hard bounces = damaged reputation
• Unengaged contacts = low engagement = spam signals
• Old data = spam traps (abandoned emails get recycled as traps)
• CAN-SPAM and GDPR compliance require up-to-date data

What to clean:

Remove:

• Hard bounces (immediate)
• No opens in 90+ days
• No clicks in 6+ months
• Unsubscribes
• Invalid emails (run through verification tool)
• Role-based emails (info@, admin@, etc.)
• Spam trap indicators (flagged by verification tools)

Re-engage or remove:

• No opens in 60-90 days: Send one final “break-up” email
• If they still don’t engage: Remove them

How often to clean:

• Weekly: Remove hard bounces and unsubscribes (automated)
• Monthly: Review engagement metrics, pause cold segments
• Quarterly: Full list audit with email verification tool
• Annually: Major purge of all unengaged contacts

List cleaning checklist:

Step 1: Export your full email list

Step 2: Segment by engagement:

• Last opened: <30 days, 30-60 days, 60-90 days, 90+ days
• Never opened

Step 3: Remove:

• All hard bounces
• All unsubscribes
• Never opened + sent 3+ emails
• No opens in 90+ days

Step 4: Re-engagement campaign:

• Send one final email to 60-90 day cold segment
• Subject: “Should I keep you on my list?”
• Give them a clear opt-in/opt-out option

Step 5: Run remaining list through verification tool:

• ZeroBounce, NeverBounce, or similar
• Remove all invalid/risky emails

Step 6: Update your main list

Pro tip: Cleaning your list will temporarily reduce your list size, but it will increase your results. A clean list of 500 engaged contacts will outperform a bloated list of 5,000 unengaged contacts every single time, for both conversions and deliverability.

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How to Check Your Email Deliverability (Tools & Metrics)

Alright, you’ve set up authentication, warmed up your domain, cleaned your list, and optimized your content. Now you need to measure whether it’s all working.

Here’s how to check your email deliverability and what metrics to track.

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Free Tools for Checking Deliverability

1. Google Postmaster Tools (Free)

What it does:

• Shows your domain reputation for Gmail recipients
• Tracks spam rate
• Shows authentication status (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• Displays IP reputation

How to use it:

• Sign up at postmaster.google.com
• Add and verify your domain
• Wait 1-2 weeks for data to populate
• Check dashboard weekly

What to look for:

• Domain reputation: Should be “High” (green)
• Spam rate: Should be below 0.1%
• Authentication: All should show “Pass”

2. Mail-Tester (Free)

What it does:

• Gives you a spam score (0-10)
• Identifies technical issues (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• Checks for spam trigger words
• Tests email formatting

How to use it:

• Visit mail-tester.com
• Copy the test email address
• Send your template to that address
• Check your score

What to look for:

• Target score: 8/10 or higher
• Fix any red flags: Missing authentication, spam words, blacklisted IP

3. MXToolbox (Free)

What it does:

• Checks DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX)
• Tests if you’re on any blacklists
• Verifies email server configuration

How to use it:

• Visit mxtoolbox.com
• Enter your domain
• Run checks for SPF, DKIM, DMARC
• Check blacklist status

What to look for:

• All authentication should pass
• Blacklist check should show no listings

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Paid Tools for Advanced Monitoring

1. GlockApps ($79-299/month)

What it does:

• Tests inbox placement across 20+ email providers
• Shows exactly where your emails land (inbox, spam, promotions)
• Provides detailed spam score breakdown

Best for: Agencies or high-volume senders

2. Postmark (Free monitoring tier available)

What it does:

• DMARC monitoring and reporting
• Tracks email performance
• Identifies authentication issues

Best for: Technical teams wanting deep insights

3. Litmus ($99+/month)

What it does:

• Email testing across 90+ clients and devices
• Spam filter testing
• Email analytics

Best for: Marketing teams optimizing campaigns

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Key Deliverability Metrics to Track

Here’s what to monitor and what the numbers should look like:

Metric	Good	Average	Poor	How to Track
Inbox Placement Rate	95%+	85-94%	<85%	GlockApps, Postmark
Bounce Rate	<2%	2-5%	5%	Your email tool
Spam Complaint Rate	<0.1%	0.1-0.3%	0.3%	Google Postmaster, email tool
Sender Reputation Score	90-100	70-89	<70	Sender Score, Google Postmaster
Open Rate (Cold Email)	25%+	15-24%	<15%	Your email tool
Reply Rate (Cold Email)	3%+	1-3%	<1%	Your email tool

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How to Test Your Deliverability

Step 1: Send to seed accounts

Create test email accounts across major providers:

• Gmail personal account
• Google Workspace account
• Outlook/Hotmail account
• Yahoo account
• (Optional) AOL, iCloud

Step 2: Send your actual campaign email

Don’t send a “test” email, send the real template you’re using for campaigns.

Step 3: Check where it lands

Log into each account and see:

• Did it reach the inbox?
• Promotions tab? (Gmail)
• Spam folder?
• Not delivered at all?

Step 4: Calculate inbox placement rate

(Number in inbox ÷ Total sent) × 100

Example: 8 out of 10 test emails reached inbox = 80% inbox placement (needs work)

Step 5: Identify patterns

• If Gmail is good but Outlook is spam → Focus on Microsoft SNDS
• If everything is spam → Major authentication or reputation issue
• If only promotions tab → Improve engagement and personalization

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Monitoring Schedule

Weekly:

• Check Google Postmaster Tools (spam rate, reputation)
• Review bounce rate and unsubscribe rate in email tool

Monthly:

• Run Mail-Tester test on your latest template
• Check blacklist status with MXToolbox
• Audit engagement metrics (opens, replies)

Quarterly:

• Full inbox placement test with GlockApps or similar
• Review sender reputation score (Sender Score)
• Complete list cleaning and verification

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Common Email Deliverability Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

Even with all the best practices above, it’s easy to slip up. Here are the most common mistakes I see, and how to avoid them.

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Mistake 1: Sending Too Many Emails Too Fast from a New Domain

The mistake: You register a new domain, set up SPF/DKIM/DMARC, and immediately send 500 cold emails on day one.

What happens: Email providers see a brand-new domain sending high volume = instant spam flag. Your emails go straight to spam, and your reputation tanks before you even get started.

The fix:

• Follow the warm-up schedule (start with 10-20/day, scale slowly)
• Send to engaged contacts first (colleagues, existing customers)
• Wait at least 2-3 weeks before launching cold campaigns
• Use warm-up tools if available (Mailwarm, Lemwarm, Smartreach warm-up)

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Mistake 2: Using Free Email Domains (@gmail.com, @yahoo.com)

The mistake: Using a personal Gmail or Yahoo account for cold outreach.

What happens:

• Instant spam flag
• Violates provider terms of service
• Account gets banned
• Looks unprofessional to recipients

The fix:

• Register a custom domain (yourcompany.com)
• Set up email hosting (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365)
• Use professional email addresses (yourname@ yourcompany.com)

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Mistake 3: Ignoring Email Authentication (No SPF/DKIM/DMARC)

The mistake: Skipping the technical setup because it seems complicated.

What happens:

• Email providers can’t verify you’re legitimate
• Emails are treated as suspicious
• High spam folder rate
• Vulnerable to domain spoofing

The fix:

• Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (follow the instructions in Category 1)
• Verify setup with MXToolbox
• Test with Mail-Tester before sending real campaigns

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Mistake 4: Buying or Scraping Email Lists

The mistake: Purchasing “verified” email lists or using web scraping tools to build lists quickly.

What happens:

• Lists are full of spam traps, invalid emails, and uninterested people
• High bounce rate
• High spam complaint rate
• Deliverability destroyed in days
• Potential legal issues (GDPR, CAN-SPAM violations)

The fix:

• Build lists organically through prospecting tools (LinkedIn, Apollo, Hunter)
• Verify emails before sending
• Only email people who match your ICP

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Mistake 5: Not Monitoring Deliverability Metrics

The mistake: Just sending emails without checking if they’re reaching inboxes.

What happens:

• You don’t realize your emails are going to spam
• Sender reputation continues to decline
• By the time you notice, it’s too late to fix easily

The fix:

• Set up Google Postmaster Tools
• Check inbox placement monthly with seed tests
• Monitor bounce rate, spam rate, and engagement weekly
• Set up alerts for drops in key metrics

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Mistake 6: Sending Generic, Untargeted Emails

The mistake: Using the same template for everyone with zero personalization.

What happens:

• Low engagement (nobody opens or replies)
• Email providers see this as spam signal
• Future emails go to spam even for interested recipients
• High unsubscribe and spam complaint rate

The fix:

• Research each prospect (spend 2-3 minutes per person)
• Personalize beyond {{FirstName}}
• Reference something specific about their company or situation
• Only email people your offer is genuinely relevant to

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Mistake 7: Neglecting List Hygiene

The mistake: Never cleaning your email list. Just keep adding new contacts without removing old, unengaged ones.

What happens:

• List decay (22.5% per year)
• Rising bounce rate
• Falling engagement rate
• Spam traps sneak in through abandoned emails

The fix:

• Remove hard bounces immediately
• Clean your list quarterly with verification tool
• Remove contacts with no engagement in 90+ days
• Run re-engagement campaigns before final removal

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Cold Email Deliverability vs. Marketing Email Deliverability: Key Differences

Most deliverability advice online is written for email marketing (newsletters, promotional emails). But cold email is different.

Here’s how:

Aspect	Cold Email	Marketing Email
Recipient Relationship	No prior relationship	Opted-in subscribers who expect emails
Volume	50-200 emails per day	Thousands or tens of thousands in batches
Personalization	High (1:1 style, research-based)	Moderate (segmented, but still bulk)
Authentication Importance	Critical (no established trust)	Important (but domain already has reputation)
Warm-Up Required	Always (especially for new domains)	Sometimes (mainly for new IPs)
Spam Trigger Risk	High (unknown sender = suspicious)	Low (subscribers expect your emails)
Ideal Deliverability Rate	95%+ inbox placement	98%+ inbox placement
Engagement Expectations	Lower (2-5% reply rate is good)	Higher (20-40% open rate is normal)
List Decay	Faster (job changes common in B2B)	Slower (consumer emails more stable)
Legal Requirements	Stricter (CAN-SPAM + GDPR for cold outreach)	Opt-in required but more predictable

Key takeaway:

Cold email requires stricter deliverability hygiene because you don’t have the trust that comes with opt-in subscribers.

One mistake, sending too fast, hitting spam traps, getting spam complaints, can wreck your deliverability instantly.

With marketing emails, you have more margin for error because your subscribers want to hear from you. With cold email, you’re starting from zero trust, so every signal matters.

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How SmartReach Helps You Maintain High Email Deliverability

Look, email deliverability is complex. There’s a lot to manage, authentication, warm-up, list cleaning, sending behavior, content optimization.

That’s where tools like SmartReach come in.

Here’s how SmartReach specifically helps with deliverability:

1. Automated Email Validation

SmartReach validates emails before you send, removing:

• Invalid addresses
• Spam traps
• Disposable emails
• Role-based emails (info@, admin@)

This drastically reduces bounce rate and protects your sender reputation.

2. Domain Warm-Up Feature

SmartReach gradually scales your sending volume based on engagement, starting slow and increasing over time. This prevents the “too many emails too fast” mistake that kills new domains.

3. Built-In Spam Checker

Before you send, SmartReach scans your email for:

• Spam trigger words
• Too many links
• Missing unsubscribe link
• Poor formatting

It gives you a deliverability score and suggests fixes.

4. Real-Time Deliverability Dashboard

Track inbox placement rate across Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other providers. See exactly where your emails are landing and get alerts if metrics drop.

5. Send Throttling & Scheduling

SmartReach automatically:

• Stays within provider limits (Gmail 500/day, Outlook 300/day)
• Spaces emails throughout the day with random intervals
• Mimics human sending behavior

You don’t have to manually manage send times.

6. Engagement-Based Pausing

If SmartReach detects low engagement from a segment (high bounces, no opens, spam complaints), it automatically pauses that campaign to protect your reputation.

7. SPF/DKIM Setup Assistance

SmartReach provides guided setup for SPF and DKIM, with DNS record templates and validation tools to ensure everything is configured correctly.

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Want to check your current deliverability?

Try SmartReach’s free email deliverability audit tool. It’ll show you:

• Your current inbox placement rate
• Authentication status (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• Spam score
• Sender reputation

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Conclusion: Your Email Deliverability Action Plan

We’ve covered a lot. Let me distill this into a simple action plan you can follow right now.

If You’re Just Starting (New Domain or New to Cold Email):

Week 1:

• Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
• Verify authentication with MXToolbox
• Create Google Postmaster Tools account
• Send 10-20 test emails to colleagues/friends

Week 2-4:

• Continue warm-up (gradually increase to 150-200/day)
• Build your prospect list using prospecting tools
• Verify all emails before adding to campaigns
• Write and test your email templates (use Mail-Tester)

Week 5+:

• Launch first small campaign (50-100 recipients)
• Monitor inbox placement, open rate, reply rate
• Adjust based on results
• Scale slowly

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If You’re Already Sending (But Deliverability Is Poor):

Immediate (This Week):

• Pause all campaigns
• Check if you’re on any blacklists (MXToolbox)
• Verify SPF, DKIM, DMARC are set up correctly
• Run full list through email verification tool
• Remove all bounces, unsubscribes, invalid emails

Next 2 Weeks:

• Audit your email content for spam triggers
• Segment list by engagement (keep only engaged contacts)
• Test inbox placement with seed accounts
• Restart sending to ONLY highly-engaged segment (10-20/day)

Ongoing:

• Monitor deliverability metrics weekly
• Clean list quarterly
• A/B test subject lines and content
• Gradually re-introduce other segments as reputation rebuilds

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If You’re Doing Well (Just Want to Optimize):

Monthly:

• Review Google Postmaster Tools data
• Test new email templates with Mail-Tester
• Verify inbox placement across ISPs
• A/B test subject lines

Quarterly:

• Full list cleaning and verification
• Audit DNS records for any changes
• Review sender reputation score
• Update email templates based on engagement data

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Final Thoughts

Email deliverability isn’t sexy. It’s not as exciting as writing compelling copy or closing deals.

But it’s the foundation everything else is built on.

You can have the best offer in the world, the most persuasive email copy, and a perfectly-targeted prospect list. But if your emails never reach the inbox, none of it matters.

The good news? Unlike some aspects of sales (like market conditions or buyer budgets), deliverability is almost entirely within your control.

Follow this checklist. Set up authentication. Warm up your domain. Clean your list. Send thoughtfully.

Do these things, and your emails will reach inboxes. And when they do, your carefully-crafted messages will finally get the attention they deserve.

Now go make sure your next campaign actually reaches your prospects.

Need help auditing your current deliverability? Try SmartReach’s free deliverability checker to see where you stand and get personalized recommendations.

Frequently Asked Questions About Email Deliverability

Q: What is a good email deliverability rate?

A: A good deliverability rate is 95% or higher, meaning at least 95 out of 100 emails land in the inbox. Marketing emails typically achieve 97-99% because recipients opted in. Cold emails face stricter scrutiny since recipients don’t know the sender, so maintaining 95%+ requires proper authentication, clean lists, and strong engagement.

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Q: How do I check my email deliverability?

A: Use Google Postmaster Tools to check domain reputation and spam rate for Gmail. Test inbox placement with seed accounts across Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. Run your emails through Mail-Tester for spam scores. Use tools like GlockApps for detailed placement testing across 20+ providers. Monitor bounce rate and engagement metrics in your email platform.

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Q: What causes poor email deliverability?

A: Poor deliverability stems from weak sender reputation, missing authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), high bounce rates, spam complaints, and sending too many emails from new domains. Other causes include spam trigger words, purchased lists, low engagement, being on blacklists, and generic content that recipients ignore or mark as spam.

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Q: What is the difference between email delivery and deliverability?

A: Delivery means your email reached the recipient’s mail server without bouncing. Deliverability measures whether it landed in the inbox versus spam or promotions. An email can be “delivered” but still end up in spam, resulting in poor deliverability. Focus on inbox placement, not just successful delivery.

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Q: How do SPF, DKIM, and DMARC improve deliverability?

A: SPF verifies authorized mail servers for your domain, preventing spoofing. DKIM adds a digital signature proving emails weren’t altered in transit. DMARC tells receiving servers how to handle failed authentication checks. Together, they build trust with email providers, significantly improving inbox placement and protecting against phishing.

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Q: How long does it take to improve email deliverability?

A: Improving deliverability typically takes 2-6 weeks depending on starting conditions. New domains need 3-4 weeks of warm-up before reaching full capacity. Fixing a damaged reputation can take 4-8 weeks of clean sending practices. Quick wins like adding authentication can improve placement within days, but building strong sender reputation requires consistent good behavior over time.

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Q: Can I fix my email deliverability if it’s already bad?

A: Yes, but it requires discipline. Pause sending immediately. Clean your list thoroughly, removing invalid and unengaged contacts. Verify your authentication is set up correctly. Restart slowly with only highly-engaged contacts. Gradually rebuild volume while monitoring metrics closely. Severe reputation damage may require switching to a new domain in extreme cases.

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Q: Why are my emails going to the Gmail Promotions tab?

A: Gmail’s Promotions tab is for marketing-style emails. Triggers include multiple links, images, promotional language, and bulk-sending patterns. To reach the primary inbox, write emails that look like personal 1:1 messages, minimal formatting, one link maximum, conversational tone, and high personalization. Focus on engagement; if people interact with your emails, Gmail learns to prioritize them.