Learn How to send cold emails for sales

How to Send Cold Emails for Sales: Optimizing for Deliverability

Sending cold emails is a powerful sales strategy, but only if your emails actually reach the inbox. This article focuses on optimizing your cold email campaigns specifically for deliverability. We’ll cover essential technical steps and best practices to bypass spam filters, maintain a healthy sender reputation, and ensure your message gets seen by potential clients, ultimately increasing your sales conversion rates. Learn how to configure your email infrastructure and craft content that lands in the inbox, not the junk folder.

Table of Contents:

• Domain Authentication: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
• Warming Up Your IP Address and Domain
• Content Optimization: Avoiding Spam Triggers
• List Hygiene: Maintaining a Clean Email List
• Monitoring Your Sender Reputation

Domain Authentication: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

Domain authentication is the foundation of email deliverability. It allows email providers (like Gmail, Outlook, etc.) to verify that the emails you send are genuinely from your domain and haven’t been spoofed by spammers. Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial to prevent your emails from being flagged as spam. These three protocols work together to establish trust and improve your sender reputation.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

SPF is a DNS record that specifies which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. When a recipient’s mail server receives an email claiming to be from your domain, it checks the SPF record. If the sending server isn’t listed in the SPF record, the email may be marked as spam. Properly configured SPF helps prevent email spoofing.

Example: Let’s say your domain is `example.com` and you only send emails through Google Workspace (using Google’s mail servers) and SendGrid. Your SPF record would look something like this:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net -all

Explanation:

• `v=spf1`: Specifies the SPF version.
• `include:_spf.google.com`: Includes Google’s SPF records, allowing Google Workspace to send emails on your behalf.
• `include:sendgrid.net`: Includes SendGrid’s SPF records, allowing SendGrid to send emails on your behalf.
• `-all`: Indicates that any server not listed should be treated as a hard fail (meaning the email is more likely to be rejected). A softer fail would use `~all` instead of `-all`, indicating that the email should be accepted but marked as potentially untrustworthy.

Practical Example: Setting up SPF record in cPanel:

• Log in to your cPanel account.
• Go to the “Zone Editor” section.
• Find your domain (e.g., `example.com`).
• Click “+ Add Record”.
• Select “TXT” as the record type.
• In the “Host” field, enter `@` (or leave it blank).
• In the “TXT Value” field, enter the SPF record string: `v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net -all`.
• Click “Add Record”.

Verification: You can use online SPF record checkers (like “MXToolbox SPF Record Lookup”) to verify that your SPF record is correctly configured and that your mail servers are authorized.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

DKIM adds a digital signature to your outgoing emails. This signature is encrypted with a private key, and a corresponding public key is stored in your domain’s DNS records. When a recipient’s mail server receives your email, it uses the public key to verify the signature. If the signature is valid, it confirms that the email hasn’t been tampered with during transit and that it genuinely originated from your domain. DKIM provides message integrity and further enhances authentication.

Example: Setting up DKIM with SendGrid typically involves generating a DKIM key in your SendGrid account and then adding a corresponding TXT record to your domain’s DNS settings.

Name: s1._domainkey.example.com
Type: TXT
Value: v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=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