Cold Email Deliverability: 10 Tips to Land in the Inbox (2025)
Cold emails work — but only if they reach the inbox.
If your emails land in spam, you're wasting time, damaging your reputation, and losing potential customers.
Here are 10 proven tips to improve your cold email deliverability and get your messages seen in 2025.
1. Verify Your Email List Before Sending
Invalid and fake email addresses kill your sender reputation.
Before you hit send, run your list through PureMail to remove:
- Typos and syntax errors
- Fake or non-existent emails
- Disposable addresses
- Catch-all domains that may bounce
A clean list = fewer bounces = better deliverability.
Pro Tip: Verify lists every time you import new contacts. Even good lists decay over time.
2. Warm Up Your Domain and Email Account
New domains and email accounts have no sending history.
Sending 500 cold emails on day one triggers spam filters.
How to warm up properly:
- Start with 5-10 emails per day
- Gradually increase volume over 2-3 weeks
- Send to engaged contacts first (people who will open/reply)
- Use email warmup tools like Lemwarm or Mailreach
By the time you scale, email providers trust your domain.
3. Set Up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Records
These authentication protocols prove you're a legitimate sender.
Without them, email providers assume you might be a spammer.
What they do:
- SPF – Confirms your IP is authorized to send from your domain
- DKIM – Adds a digital signature to verify your emails
- DMARC – Tells providers what to do with emails that fail checks
Set these up in your DNS settings. Most email providers have step-by-step guides.
4. Use a Professional Email Domain
Never send cold emails from Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook.
Why? These providers limit daily sends and flag bulk emails as spam.
Use a custom domain instead:
- hello@yourcompany.com
- name@yourcompany.com
It looks more professional and gives you control over authentication and reputation.
5. Personalize Every Email
Generic mass emails scream "spam."
Personalization shows you're reaching out to a real person, not blasting thousands blindly.
What to personalize:
- First name
- Company name
- Recent activity or achievement
- Specific pain point
The more relevant your email, the better your open and reply rates.
6. Avoid Spam Trigger Words
Certain words and phrases set off spam filters.
Words to avoid:
- Free, discount, limited time, act now
- Click here, buy now, order today
- All caps or excessive exclamation marks!!!
- Too many links or attachments
Keep your tone natural and conversational. Write like you're emailing a colleague, not pitching a product.
7. Send from a Real Person, Not "No-Reply"
"noreply@company.com" screams automation.
Emails from real people get better deliverability and engagement.
Use:
- john@company.com
- sales@company.com
- support@company.com
People reply to people — not bots.
8. Keep Your Email Volume Consistent
Sending 1,000 emails one day and zero the next looks suspicious.
Email providers prefer steady, predictable sending patterns.
Best practice:
- Send the same volume daily
- Spread sends throughout the day (not all at once)
- Never spike your volume suddenly
Consistency = trust.
9. Monitor Your Bounce Rate and Engagement
High bounce rates and low engagement hurt your sender score.
Track these metrics:
- Bounce rate – Keep it under 2%
- Open rate – Aim for 20-30%+
- Reply rate – Higher replies = better reputation
- Spam complaints – Even one can hurt
If your bounce rate climbs, stop sending and clean your list with PureMail.
10. Use a Dedicated IP for High-Volume Sending
If you send 10,000+ emails per month, consider a dedicated IP address.
Shared IPs mean your reputation depends on other senders' behavior.
A dedicated IP gives you full control — but you'll need to warm it up properly.
When to use a dedicated IP:
- Sending 50,000+ emails per month
- Running multiple campaigns
- Protecting your main domain reputation
For most cold emailers, a shared IP with good practices works fine.
Bonus Tip: Test Before You Send
Before launching a campaign:
- Send test emails to Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo
- Check if they land in inbox or spam
- Use tools like Mail-Tester or GlockApps for deliverability scores
Catch issues before they hurt your reputation.
The Bottom Line
Cold email deliverability isn't magic — it's strategy.
By verifying your list, warming up your domain, authenticating properly, and following best practices, you'll land in the inbox more often.
More inbox = more replies = more deals.
Stop landing in spam. Start landing in the inbox.
👉 Verify your cold email list with PureMail and protect your deliverability