Cold emailing has proven to be very effective as an outreach technique, but most firms grapple with the challenges of email deliverability and domain reputation. Domain variations for cold email serve as one way out since they help maintain sender’s reputation, improve inbox placement, and eventually boost higher response rates. We will approach how domain variations matter, how to select them strategically, and best practices for leveraging cold email campaigns in this guide.
Why Domain Variations Matter in Cold Email
Using domain variations for cold email is a strategic approach that helps businesses improve deliverability, avoid spam filters, and protect their primary domain’s reputation.
Key Benefits:
- Protects Your Primary Domain: Sending cold emails from your main domain increases the chances of getting blacklisted if it is marked as spam.
- Increases Deliverability: Sending email volume across multiple domains will prevent blocks and ensure better inbox placement.
- Enabling A/B Testing: Using different domains allows you to test different styles of messaging for higher engagement.
- Brand Trust: A professionally appearing variation of the domain reduces skepticism and builds trust.
- No Blacklisting Problem: If one gets blacklisted, you can continue outreach with another.
- Scales Outreach Effort: Many domains make it easy to scale up outreach efforts without hurting the core domain’s email reputation.
- Advantages That Enhance Email Segmentation: You can segment emails based on audience type and campaign goals for targeted communication.
With the use of domain variations, companies are able to keep their sender reputation high while serving their cold email campaigns.
Choosing the Right Domain Variations
When it comes to cold emailing, the selection of appropriate domain variations can be a very strategic affair in ensuring deliverability as well as branding consistency. Here are five effective ways to do that:
Subdomains
- Sales.example.com or Outreach.example.com
- Subdomains assume the credit of the parent domain so it becomes handy for outreach.
- Perfect for sending both internal as well as external email campaigns without letting the original domain get revealed.
Use of Alternate TLDs
- Example.net, Example.io, Example.biz
- Using diversified TLD to ensure brand consistency but distribute the burden of email.
- It is a good option if your primary domain is over-utilized.
Use similar variations
- examplemail.com, examplemarketing.com, exampleoutreach.com
- Less modified hence the brand is preserved with the increase diversity in the usage of email
- Increases credibility and avoids getting flagged by spam filter
Hyphenated Domains
- example-mail.com, example-sales.com
- Use when the domain name that you want isn’t available for use
- Don’t use too many hyphens because that can be really bad for business
Misspellings or acronyms
- exmple.com, exmpl.com, ex-email.com
- Be used sparingly because you don’t want to look unprofessional
- Works best when part of an overall more developed outreach domain.
Businesses can efficiently send out emails while shielding their sender reputation by thoughtfully choosing domain variations
How to Configure Domain Variations for Cold Email
After selecting the domain variations for cold email, follow the below setup instructions
Register the Domains
- Get the domain variation from the well-known registrars GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Google Domains.
- Select domains that have a similar branding to maintain trust.
Configure Email Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Email authentication is what prevents spam filters from blocking your emails. Configure
- SPF(Sender Policy Framework): This simply determines which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain.
- DKIM( DomainKeys Identified Mail): The purpose is to ensure that emails are not altered in transit.
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): Prevents email spoofing and phishing attacks.
Separate Mailboxes
- Use different addresses for outreach, such as john@outreach.example.com, mike@sales.example.net.
- Do not use info@, sales@, or contact@ because these are most often marked as spam.
- Use a different email address for each campaign.
Warm Up the Domain
- New domains need to be warmed up to establish credibility.
- You can use an email warm-up service such as Mailwarm, Lemwarm, or Warmbox.
- Gradually increase the sending volume over weeks.
Use Email Rotation for Safety
- Rotate emails across different domain variations to spread risk.
- Facilitates domain-block avoidance and optimizes email well-being.
Best Practices in Using Domain Variations for Cold Email
Maintain healthy domains while ensuring the success of your cold email campaigns by following these best practices:
Keep Your Domain Reputation High
- Keep the spam complaint rate low to protect your domain.
- Utilize email-sending tools like Woodpecker, Reply.io, or Mailshake to achieve better deliverability.
- Check the domain health at regular intervals by using Google Postmaster Tools or any other alternative services.
Limit Sending Volume per Domain
- Start from 30-50 emails a day per domain and scale upwards
- Track the deliverability metrics to avoid being marked as spam
Personalize Your Emails
- Use recipient names and company details but not generic templates
- Personalized emails have more open and response rates
Monitor and Rotate Domains
- Track open rates, reply rates, bounce rates
- Rotate domain variations every few months in order to not have a problem with a poor sender reputation.
Monitor Blacklisting routinely
- Use MXToolbox in order to look up blacklisting on the domain.
- On blacklist: stop emailing and correct properly.
Best practices are applied to the above items that may even yield a much better deliverability of your cold e-mails, thus leading to highly successful cold emailing campaigns for businesses.
Mistakes to Avoid with Domain Variations in Cold Email
Common mistakes of doing wrong in domain variations led by businesses on cold email utilization are about the following:
Not Email-Authenticated
- Without setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, there is a high risk of getting spammed.
- Proper authentication boosts credibility and enhances inbox placement.
Using one domain extensively
- Sending numerous emails from the same domain tends to flag their attention and cause blacklisting
- Use various domains to spread your email volume, thereby ensuring safe distribution.
Utilizing free Email Providers
- Use Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook for cold emails.
- A dedicated domain is considered more professional and will not cause any spam risks.
Not warming up Domain
- Sending high volume from a newly acquired domain would alert spam filters
- Gradually send more emails and build up positive sender reputation.
Not using Response Management
- Wasting business by not following up on good leads.
- Clean the email list and address the interested recipients immediately.
Use low-quality Domain variations
- Do not use domains that sound spammy or have too many hyphens in them. End.
- Use relevant variations that support your brand and look professional.
Sending Blanket Mass Emails Without Segmentation
- Blanket mass emails lessened engagement and had high spam complaints.
- Target emails according to audience type for better performance.
- By avoiding these mistakes, businesses can bring great improvements into email outreach success while maintaining domain health.
Conclusion
Using domain variations for cold email would be a game-changer for businesses looking to enhance email deliverability and engagement. Selecting the best variations, authentication, warming up new domains, and following best practices would maximize your cold email success while protecting your primary domain reputation.
Apply these strategies today and watch your cold email outreach generate great results!
FAQ’s
Why use domain variations for cold email?
They protect your main domain, improve email deliverability, and prevent blacklisting. Using variations ensures better inbox placement and a higher response rate.
What are good domain variations?
Subdomains (e.g., sales.example.com), alternative TLDs (e.g., example.net), and hyphenated domains (e.g., example-sales.com). These maintain branding while distributing email volume.
How to warm up a cold email domain?
Start with a few emails a day and increase the volume. Use warm-up tools like Mailwarm or Lemwarm to build sender reputation.
How to check if a domain is blacklisted?
Use tools like MXToolbox or Google Postmaster Tools. If blacklisted, pause emails and fix authentication issues.
What mistakes to avoid with domain variations?
Avoid skipping SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, overusing one domain, and sending mass emails too fast. Poor warm-up and not checking blacklists hurts deliverability.