Why you should use a dedicated domain
A dedicated domain helps keep your main business domain safe when sending cold emails. Here’s what it protects you from:
Reputation damage — cold emails can get low engagement or spam reports.
Deliverability issues — using a separate domain avoids hurting your primary inbox.
Blocked communication — your main domain stays clean for customer and partner emails.
Brand safety — if something goes wrong, only the outreach domain is affected.
👉 For a full explanation, see the complete guide on how to Set up a dedicated cold email domain here.
Quick setup checklist
Use this step-by-step list to set up a safe outreach domain.
1. Choose a domain
Pick a name clearly connected to your brand (e.g. trybrand.com, getbrand.com).
Stick to trusted extensions: .com, .io, .net.
Avoid risky TLDs commonly flagged as spam.
2. Check the domain reputation
Make sure the domain has no past spam history.
If a domain has been previously used for spam, pick another.
5. Redirect the domain
Set a 301 redirect from the new domain → your main website.
ℹ️ A 301 redirect is a permanent forwarding rule that automatically sends anyone who visits your secondary domain to your real site. This way, if a prospect manually types the domain into their browser, they’ll still land on your official website, even though the domain itself is only used for cold outreach.
💡For more info on how to redirect the domain to your main domain, check with your developer or look up your domain registrar’s instructions for redirects.
4. Set up the domain with an email service
Once you’ve purchased your cold email domain and set up the redirect,
you’ll need to connect it to an email service provider (ESP) so you can actually send emails from it.
Choose an ESP (e.g., Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho Mail, or any provider your team uses).
Create your cold outreach mailbox (e.g., firstname@yournewdomain.com).
Follow the ESP’s setup process to verify ownership of the domain.
5. Set up SPF & DKIM
Add SPF and DKIM records in your DNS.
Helps inboxes authenticate and trust your emails.
💡While we have a general guide here, these settings depend on each email provider, so it’s best to refer to your email service provider’s help center or support for guidance.
6. Warm It Up
Start with a very small number of emails per day.
Gradually increase volume over 2–3 weeks.
👉 We have a dedicated guide on how to manually warm up your email account for sending here.
7. Use the domain only for cold outreach
Keep customer support, internal email, and business communication on your main domain.
Use the dedicated domain strictly for cold email campaigns.
8. Monitor performance
Watch for bounces and spam warnings.
Pause if engagement drops — protect your new domain’s reputation.
When you don’t need a dedicated domain
You can skip this if you’re only sending very low-volume outreach (e.g., <10/day) and your domain is already trusted.
For any real or scalable outreach, we highly recommend sticking to a dedicated domain for cold outreach.