Top 10 mistakes I made when starting cold email. Do not repeat these
solosdr · 2026-01-14 · 3,560 views
5 years of cold email mistakes so you can skip them.
1. Using my main domain for cold outreach. Use separate domains always. If your cold email domain gets blacklisted, your main business email is protected.
2. Buying the cheapest inboxes without checking infrastructure. Shared SMTP inboxes are cheap for a reason. Your deliverability depends on every other sender on that shared IP.
3. Skipping warmup entirely. Cost me 30 inboxes that got suspended in the first week. Always warm up for at least 14 days before sending cold emails.
4. Sending 50+ emails per inbox per day. Google and Microsoft will flag you. Keep it to 15-20 max for cold outreach.
5. Not setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC properly. If these are misconfigured, nothing else matters. Use PuzzleInbox or similar providers who handle DNS setup automatically.
6. Writing long emails. Keep cold emails under 100 words. Nobody reads a 300 word cold email from a stranger.
7. Including links in the first email. Links trigger spam filters. Save them for follow-ups.
8. Not A/B testing subject lines. Subject lines determine whether your email gets opened. Test constantly.
9. Targeting too broad of an ICP. The more specific your targeting, the higher your reply rate.
10. Giving up after 2 weeks. Cold email compounds. Month 3 results are dramatically better than month 1.
Comments (5)
noobsender · 2026-01-14
guilty of literally 8 out of 10 of these when I started. the biggest one was sending from my primary business domain. took months to recover that reputation
warmup_wiz · MailReach · 2026-01-15
Number one mistake I see constantly: skipping warmup or only warming for a few days. 14 days minimum, no exceptions. And keep volume at 15-20 per inbox per day once you start sending. The people who burn domains are almost always the ones who tried to skip warmup.
sdrgirl · 2026-01-15
the one about not having SPF DKIM and DMARC set up properly should be #1 on the list honestly. it's the literal foundation and so many people skip it
copycarl · 2026-01-16
I'd add an 11th mistake: writing cold emails that sound like marketing emails. nobody wants to read 'Dear Sir/Madam, I hope this email finds you well, our award-winning platform...' keep it conversational
brianz · 2026-01-17
mistake #3 about using too many links and images — this one cost me a whole campaign. single text emails perform SO much better for cold outreach