Cold email basics · Updated Oct 9, 2026

Choosing a sending domain

In short

Send cold email from a second domain that clearly belongs to your brand, not from the one your company uses every day. If cold email ever hurts its reputation, your invoices, support and everyday mail stay safe.

Why a second domain

Inboxes judge mail partly by the domain it comes from. Bounces, spam reports and ignored emails count against the whole domain, every mailbox on it. Cold email carries more of that risk than everyday mail, so it gets a domain of its own.

Picking one

Close to your brand: acme.com becomes getacme.com, acmehq.com or tryacme.com: Avoid: A name that looks like someone else's brand

.com, or the ending your main domain uses: Avoid: Unusual cheap endings, which spammers use a lot

Short and easy to spell out loud: Avoid: Hyphens, numbers and look-alike letters

Do	Avoid
Close to your brand: acme.com becomes getacme.com, acmehq.com or tryacme.com	A name that looks like someone else's brand
.com, or the ending your main domain uses	Unusual cheap endings, which spammers use a lot
Short and easy to spell out loud	Hyphens, numbers and look-alike letters

Set it up

Step 1: Buy the domain from any registrar.
Step 2: At the registrar, forward the domain to your main website, so anyone who types it in finds your company.
Step 3: Create 2–3 mailboxes on it with your email provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or another), each in a real person's name.
Step 4: Add the domain's SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. Set up your domain
Step 5: Connect the mailboxes and start warm-up: a new domain and new mailboxes need about two weeks before campaigns. Connect a mailbox

How many domains

Each mailbox sends about 30 campaign emails a day, and each domain holds 2–3 mailboxes. To send more, add domains and mailboxes rather than sending more from each. The table in How many mailboxes you need works it out.

If something's wrong

A new domain's emails land in spam.: Give it time: keep warm-up running for about two weeks before campaigns, then start them at low volume.
Someone who visits the domain sees a parking page.: Forward it to your main website at your registrar.

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Set up your domain (DNS)The four DNS records that prove your mail is yours, what to add for each, and where to add them.Connect your mailboxesConnecting the mailboxes you send from, how many you need, and keeping them healthy.Warm-upHow warm-up builds a new mailbox's reputation, how long it takes, and how to read the Warm-up page.

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