Cold Email Deliverability: The Complete Checklist

Cold email is a numbers game, but only if the emails actually arrive. Here's the complete checklist we use — in order, with nothing skipped.

Before you send anything

• ✅ Use a custom domain, not a free provider (yourname.com, not @gmail.com)
• ✅ Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC — verified with a tool like MXToolbox
• ✅ Set up a dedicated sending domain if you're at scale
• ✅ Verify your list — every address, before the first send

Warm-up phase (2–4 weeks)

• ✅ Warm the account before any outreach — gradual 3–15 emails/day
• ✅ Use a system that generates real replies (two-way engagement)
• ✅ Track placement — inbox vs spam — every single day
• ✅ Don't spike volume, ever. Gradual is the point.

Content rules

• ✅ One link max in a cold email — keep it plain and personal
• ✅ No spam-trigger words stacked ("free", "guaranteed", "act now")
• ✅ Personalize the first line — something specific to the recipient
• ✅ One clear call to action. Not three.
• ✅ Plain text over images for the first touch

Volume and sending

• ✅ Keep daily volume realistic for your account's age
• ✅ Send during business hours in the recipient's timezone
• ✅ Never buy lists. Ever.
• ✅ Watch bounces in real time and remove hard bounces immediately

Monitoring (ongoing)

• ✅ Track your spam rate — keep it under 0.3% (Gmail's threshold)
• ✅ Watch reply rate — replies are the strongest reputation signal
• ✅ Check placement weekly — are warm-up emails hitting inbox?
• ✅ Kill any campaign at the first sign of rising spam reports

Putting it together

The checklist is a system, and systems run better automated. SenderWarm covers the warm-up, replies, and placement tracking parts automatically — so you can focus on writing emails people actually reply to. Try it free for 7 days.