The $10k mistake I made with cold email

Let me tell you about the dumbest thing I ever did.

I spent $10,000 on a lead list.

Premium data. "Triple-verified" contacts. The sales rep promised 95% accuracy. I believed him.

Then I wrote what I thought was the perfect cold email. Short, punchy, value-focused. I was genuinely proud of it.

Launched the campaign. Sent 5,000 emails the first day.

And... nothing.

2% open rate. Zero replies. Complete silence.

For weeks, I blamed the list. Blamed my offer. Blamed the market. Wondered if cold email was even worth it.

But that wasn't the problem.

The problem was I'd sent 5,000 emails from one domain in one day. Google saw that and immediately threw everything in spam.

My "premium list" never even saw my "perfect email."

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Here's what I wish someone had told me back then:

Infrastructure comes before everything else.

You can have the best copy in the world. The cleanest list. The most compelling offer.

None of it matters if your emails don't reach the inbox.

The fix was surprisingly simple (and way cheaper than that $10k list):

- I bought 20 secondary domains ($200 total)

- Set up 2 inboxes on each ($480/month)

- Warmed them for 3 weeks before sending anything

- Capped each inbox at 20 emails per day

Same list. Same copy. Same offer.

But now? 45% open rate. 8% reply rate. Meetings booked within 48 hours.

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The lesson that took me months to learn:

Don't be clever before you're competent. Master the fundamentals first.

I put together a complete checklist of everything I set up—domains, DNS records, warmup settings, sending limits. It's the guide I wish I had when I started.

[Grab the infrastructure checklist here]

If you're just starting out, this will save you months of trial and error.

And if you've been at this for a while and things aren't working... this might be why.

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I'm curious—what's the biggest challenge you're facing with cold email right now?

Hit reply and let me know. I read every single one.

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P.S. If this was useful, forward it to someone who's struggling with deliverability. Let's help each other out.