Cold Email Setup Checklist: Domain, DNS, Tracking, and Sending Health
A complete technical setup checklist for cold email infrastructure — everything to verify before the first send.
Most cold email deliverability problems are setup problems. The domain wasn't old enough, DKIM wasn't enabled, the tracking domain was proxied through Cloudflare, or the sending limits were set too high too early. This checklist covers everything to verify before launching campaigns on any domain.
Domain basics
Domain checklist
- Domain is 30+ days old (60+ preferred for cold email)
- Domain has a visible, working website or redirect to one
- Root domain redirects: http → https, root and www both work
- SSL certificate is valid and not expiring soon
- Domain was purchased from a reputable registrar (not resold/aged domain with unknown history)
- Domain expiry is 12+ months away
Check redirect and expiry with redirect checker and domain expiry checker.
Authentication setup
Authentication checklist
- SPF record published: verify with SPF checker
- SPF includes the correct source for your ESP
- Only one SPF record on the domain
- SPF has under 10 DNS lookups
- DKIM enabled in your ESP dashboard
- DKIM DNS record published and valid: verify with DKIM checker
- DKIM key is 2048-bit
- DMARC record published with rua email: verify with DMARC lookup
- MX records configured for reply routing: verify with MX checker
Tracking domain setup
Tracking domain checklist
- Tracking domain is a completely separate domain from sending domain
- Tracking domain CNAME points to correct ESP destination
- Tracking domain is NOT proxied through Cloudflare (grey cloud, not orange)
- Tracking domain has valid SSL
- Tracking domain does not have MX records (tracking only, not receiving)
Verify with the tracking domain checker.
Sending infrastructure setup
Sending setup checklist
- Maximum 3 inboxes per sending domain
- Each inbox has been warmed for 21+ days
- Sending limits configured within safe caps (GWS: 15/day, M365: 10/day, Azure: 2/day)
- Reply routing tested and working
- Bounce notification routing configured
- Unsubscribe/opt-out mechanism in place
Pre-send health checks
Pre-launch checklist
- Domain not listed on any major blacklist: check with blacklist checker
- Inbox placement test passes (inbox or promotions, not spam): test at /test
- Sending IP has PTR record: check with rDNS checker (especially for custom SMTP)
- List has been cleaned and verified before first send
- Sequence daily send caps are within warmup limits
Running the full setup audit
The interactive launch checklist combines all of these checks in one place with links to each tool. Work through it before launching any new domain or after making significant infrastructure changes.
Run the checks first
Before replacing anything, run a free inbox placement test. You might find the issue is DNS, not the domain — and save yourself a week of unnecessary work.