Cold Email Best Practices

This Notion Doc provides details on best practices for setup, warmup, inbox scaling, campaign tracking, and scaling strategy.

📌 Key Deliverability Setup & Warmup Insights

✅ DNS Configuration (Non-Negotiable)

• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC must be properly configured for all sending domains.
• No shortcuts—improper DNS records lead to immediate spam classification.

✅ Warmup & Ramp-Up Strategy

• Use Instantly’s built-in warmup tool (free) before sending cold emails.
• Scaling plan:
  • Day 1: 5 emails per inbox
  • Day 3: 10 emails per inbox
  • Day 5: 15 emails per inbox
  • Day 7: 20 emails per inbox
• Anything beyond 30 fresh cold emails per inbox per day starts losing effectiveness.

✅ Limit Per-Inbox Sending

• Outlook: No more than 10 emails per inbox per day (30-minute sending delay).
• Gmail: No more than 30 emails per inbox per day for best deliverability (including warmup).
  • The previous safe sending limit (50-100 emails per inbox per day) is no longer recommended.

✅ Bounce Rate Control

• Keep bounce rates under 2-3% at all times.
• Verify all leads before sending using MillionVerifier or Instantly’s verification tool (or third-party tools).
• Avoid catch-all emails unless absolutely necessary. (See Jay’s Recommended Tools Here)

✅ Remove Open Tracking, Link Tracking, and HTML

• Tracking pixels and HTML cause deliverability issues (especially for Outlook).
• Use plain text emails only (no images, no formatted signatures, no fancy fonts).

✅ Domain Forwarding

• If you have fewer than 100 sending domains, there’s no need to worry about domain forwarding.
• If you have MORE THAN 100 Sending Domain (300 mailboxes) you should consider turning off domain forwarding and either:
  • Create simple, unique landing pages for each secondary sending domain (harder option)
  • Setting up Domain Masking Proxies through a service like emailguard.io (easy button) (use code: LGJ to save 5% for life)

📌 Gmail vs. Outlook Best Practices

Gmail (Google Workspace)	Outlook (Microsoft Office 365)
Warm domains (14+ days) before sending
(Jay now recommends waiting 30 days if possible)	Use 3-month aged domains before sending
(AND keep more domains on the sidelines aging)
Send max 30 emails per inbox per day	Send 10 emails per inbox per day
Tracking MUST be turned off (no OPEN tracking)	No tracking, no HTML, no links in first email
1 link max/email (no bitly links) (send in follow-ups)	No links in first email (send link in follow-ups)
Google-to-Google delivers well (to Outlook too)	Outlook-to-Outlook has a 40-50% inbox boost
Maintain spam complaint rate <0.1%	IP reputation matters most for inboxing

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📌 Cold Email Scaling Strategy

✅ How to Scale a Campaign the Right Way

• Never immediately increase sending volume—scale gradually.
• Increase volume by 10-15% per week to avoid deliverability penalties.
• Always test multiple copy variations instead of mass-sending one version.

✅ Copywriting Insights

• Keep emails under 100 words whenever possible (brevity improves replies).
• Pattern interrupts work best (avoid starting with “Hey [Name]”).
• Avoid spam words (guarantee, free, unsubscribe, opt-out, money, etc.).
• Best performing CTA → “Would it be okay if I send more info?”
• If sending links, only include them in the follow-up emails (never in the first email).

✅ How to Handle Positive Replies

• Immediately call high-priority leads if a phone number is available.
• If no phone number, send a manual reply within 5-30 minutes.
• Use automation to schedule follow-ups when out-of-office replies are detected.

✅ Using Multiple Decision-Makers at One Company

• Target 3-5 key decision-makers per company (avoid emailing 50+ employees).
• If one person rejects, another may be open to discussion.
• Larger co. with 50+ Employees don’t send to CEO unless necessary—target relevant department heads.

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📌 Campaign Tracking System

🔹 Internal Performance Dashboard

• Track every stage of the funnel:
  1. Total Emails Sent
  2. Total Replies
  3. Bounce rates
  4. Positive Reply Rate
  5. Meetings Booked
  6. Meetings Showed
  7. Demos Completed/Offers Made
  8. Sales Closed
  • If one metric underperforms, isolate the issue and fix that stage.

🔹 How to Handle High Out-of-Office Replies

• If running campaigns during holiday seasons, adjust expectations.
• Instantly has a built-in feature to auto-resume campaigns when recipients return.

🚨 IMPORTANT REMINDERS

<aside> ⛔

Remove One-Click Unsubscribe Links

• Previous best practice: One-click unsubscribe links were considered a requirement due to Google’s guidelines.
• New finding: One-click unsubscribe links increase the likelihood of cold emails being flagged as spam because they indicate to ESPs that the email is part of an automated bulk send.
• Current recommendation: Do not use one-click unsubscribe links. </aside>

<aside> 🚫

Remove “Reply STOP to opt out” or similar

• ESPs (Google, Microsoft, etc.) scan for common opt-out words like:
  • Stop
  • Unsubscribe
  • Opt-out
• If these are frequently found in replies, it can signal a cold email campaign and harm deliverability.
• Alternative approach: Use clever, non-standard opt-out phrasing to avoid triggering filters. </aside>

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<aside> 🚫

Recommended Opt-Out Language

Instead of saying “Reply STOP to opt out”, use a phrase that still meets compliance but doesn’t trigger spam filters. Here are some variations tested and recommended:

✅ Legal and Professional Alternative:

“Not the right time? Let me know, and I won’t follow up.”

✅ Casual Approach:

“Not your thing? Just say ‘pass’ and I’ll leave you be.”

✅ Industry-Specific Personalization:

For lawyers/legal professionals:

“Not interested in PR? Just reply ‘object,’ and I’ll stop reaching out.”

For B2B sales professionals:

“Not relevant for you? Just hit reply with ‘skip’ and I’ll move on.”

✅ Creative and Playful Variations:

“Rather not hear from me? Just say ‘all good’ and I won’t follow up.”

“Not the best fit? Just let me know, and I’ll step aside.”

“No worries if this isn’t a match—just say ‘not now,’ and I’ll back off.”

</aside>

<aside> 🔍

Gmail vs. Outlook

Gmail (Google Workspace) and Outlook (Microsoft 365) handle cold emails very differently. Your strategy must adapt based on the provider you’re sending to.

Factor Affecting Spam	Gmail (Google Workspace)	Outlook (Microsoft 365)
Primary Metric	Domain reputation & engagement rate	IP reputation & domain age
Best Practice for Sending	Use aged domains & avoid spam reports	Use dedicated or premium shared IPs
Inbox Filtering Sensitivity	More forgiving if good domain reputation	Extremely strict, often outright blocking
Links in Cold Emails	1 link is okay, but less is better	No links at all in first email
Signatures & Formatting	Can have light HTML, but plain text is safer	Must be short, no HTML, no links
Domain Warm-Up Time	14 days 30 days recommended	3+ months aging required for inboxing
Reply Tracking	Getting Replies actually improves your reputation	Getting Replies may not improve deliverability
Security Gateways (Barracuda, ProofPoint, etc.)	Less affected	Often blocks entire domains & IPs
</aside>

Key Guidelines for Opt-Outs

• Still required by law (CAN-SPAM in the U.S. and GDPR in Europe) to provide a way to opt-out.
• Make it feel human and natural.
• Avoid standard opt-out trigger words like “unsubscribe,” “stop,” or “opt out.”
• Place it naturally in the email, typically at the end, rather than making it stand out as a system-generated response.
• Do not use tracking links (e.g. unsubscribe URLs) as ESPs will scan and may flag your email as cold outreach.

When to Include an Opt-Out Message

• NOT in the first email (for best deliverability – at your own risk)
• Always have a way for recipients to opt-out (manually handled, not a link).
• Include it in the footer or closing of the email.
• Make sure it sounds natural, conversational, and customized.

What Happens When Someone Replies to Opt-Out?

• Manually remove them from future sequences.
• If using Instantly/Smartlead, set up auto-tagging so that responses with “keyword” or similar opt-out phrases automatically suppress them from future campaigns.

Final Thoughts

If you previously used “unsubscribe” links or standard “reply STOP to opt out” phrasing, switch immediately to a conversational opt-out method. The change is proven to improve deliverability while still ensuring compliance.

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📌 Final Takeaways

🔹 Cold email is cyclical—what worked 6 months ago may not work today.

🔹 Keep it simple—track key performance metrics and iterate on weak points.

🔹 Scale gradually—never increase volume too quickly to avoid spam filters.

🔹 Gmail is easier for inboxing; Outlook is stricter—adjust sending volume accordingly.

🔹 Target multiple decision-makers per company (but not too many).

🔹 Reply fast—quick response time dramatically increases conversion rates.

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