How to Set Up Cold Email Infrastructure for Partnerships Teams

For partnerships teams at startups and sales-driven organizations, cold email is one of the most powerful channels for driving new relationships and growth. But with the rise of spam filters and ever-increasing competition for inbox space, simply sending emails isn’t enough. You need a bulletproof infrastructure, one that maximizes deliverability, scales with your ambitions, and keeps your domain reputation protected.
This article will walk you through everything you need to know to set up cold email infrastructure that’s robust, scalable, and compliant. Whether you’re a founder, sales leader, or partnerships manager, you’ll find actionable steps to help your team hit the ground running.

Why Cold Email Infrastructure Matters

Cold email is more than just hitting “send.” The right infrastructure is the difference between landing in the inbox and being lost in spam. Here’s why it matters:

• Deliverability: The best-crafted email is worthless if it never reaches the recipient. Good infrastructure means higher inbox placement rates.
• Scalability: As your partnerships team grows, you’ll need systems that can handle increased volume without breaking.
• Reputation Protection: Using your main domain or ignoring best practices can get you blacklisted, impacting all your communications.
• Compliance: Proper setup helps you meet GDPR, CCPA, and CAN-SPAM requirements, avoiding legal headaches.

Step 1: Choose the Right Domains

Why Use Separate Domains?

Never send cold emails from your primary company domain. Instead, register one or more new domains that closely resemble your main brand (e.g., if your company is mailpool.ai, consider getmailpool.com or mailpoolteam.com). This protects your core domain from potential blacklisting and keeps your main communications unaffected.

Domain Best Practices

• Domain Age: Older domains have better deliverability. If you’re starting with a new domain, plan a 3–4 week warm-up period.
• Consistent Branding: Keep your outreach domains close to your main brand for trust and recognition.
• Multiple Domains: If you plan high-volume outreach or multiple campaigns, use more than one domain to spread risk.

DNS Configuration

Proper DNS setup is non-negotiable for deliverability and security:

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Authorizes your sending servers.
• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Digitally signs your emails for authenticity.
• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): Provides instructions for handling suspicious emails.

Platforms like Mailpool can automate this setup, reducing manual errors.

Step 2: Set Up Mailboxes and Inbox Limits

How Many Mailboxes?

For each domain, set up 3–5 mailboxes (e.g., jane@getmailpool.com, tom@getmailpool.com). This allows you to scale sending volume without overloading any single inbox, which can trigger spam filters.

Sending Limits

• Start Small: Begin with 20 emails per mailbox per day.
• Ramp Up Gradually: Increase by 5–10 emails per day, per inbox, until you reach a maximum of 100 emails/inbox/day.
• Never Spike Volume: Sudden increases are a red flag for ISPs and spam filters.

Personalization

Each mailbox should have a unique sender name, signature, and, ideally, a slightly different email template. This mimics real human outreach and improves engagement.

Step 3: Implement Technical Safeguards

Use Automated Tools

Manual setup is risky and time-consuming. Platforms like Mailpool.ai automate:

• Inbox creation and configuration
• DNS record management (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• Ongoing deliverability monitoring

Monitor Blacklists

Regularly check if your domains or IPs are listed on common blacklists (e.g., MXToolbox). If you’re flagged, pause sending from that domain and investigate immediately.

Shared vs. Dedicated IPs

• Shared IPs: Cost-effective, lower risk for new senders, but reputation depends on all users.
• Dedicated IPs: Full control over reputation, better for high-volume teams, but requires careful management.

Mailpool supports both, letting you choose what fits your growth stage and risk profile.

Step 4: Scale Outreach Safely

Segment Your Outreach

Don’t blast the same message to everyone. Segment by:

• Industry or vertical
• Region or geography
• Stage of partnership (intro, follow-up, etc.)

This allows for more relevant messaging and reduces the risk of being marked as spam.

Track Deliverability Metrics

Monitor:

• Open rates
• Reply rates
• Bounce rates
• Spam complaints

If metrics drop, review your sending practices, templates, and domain health. Mailpool provides analytics to help you stay on top of performance.

Maintain Compliance

• Always include an opt-out link in your emails.
• Honor unsubscribes immediately.
• Comply with GDPR, CCPA, and CAN-SPAM—this is non-negotiable for global outreach.

Step 5: Ongoing Maintenance & Optimization

Regular Warm-Up

Even after ramp-up, maintain a baseline of low-volume, high-quality sending from each inbox. This keeps your reputation healthy and your deliverability high.

Rotate Domains and Inboxes

If a domain or mailbox is flagged, pause it and switch to a backup. Never try to “push through” deliverability issues; this only makes things worse.

Leverage Analytics

Use reporting tools (like those in Mailpool.ai) to:

• Identify which domains and inboxes perform best
• Spot issues before they become problems
• Optimize your templates and targeting for higher engagement

Advanced Tips for Partnerships Teams

Integrate with Outreach Tools

Mailpool integrates with popular outreach platforms (Instantly, Lemlist, Smartlead, Reply, SalesHandy, Snov.io) and AI SDR agents (Luna, 11x). This streamlines your workflow and enables advanced automation.

Bulk Email Purchases & Management

If your team needs to purchase and manage large volumes of mailboxes, choose a platform that supports bulk actions and easy scaling. Mailpool is built for this.

Security and Compliance

• Enterprise-grade security: Look for SOC2, GDPR, and CCPA compliance.
• System uptime: 99.99% SLA is the gold standard for uninterrupted outreach.

Onboarding & Support

Half of Mailpool’s customers onboard themselves in under 10 minutes; the rest get hands-on help. Choose a provider that matches your team’s technical comfort level.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using your main company domain for cold outreach
• Skipping DNS configuration (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• Sending too many emails too soon
• Ignoring deliverability metrics
• Neglecting compliance requirements
• Failing to rotate domains/inboxes when flagged

Conclusion

Setting up cold email infrastructure is the foundation for successful partnership outreach. With the right domains, mailbox limits, technical safeguards, and ongoing optimization, your team can scale safely and effectively, without putting your brand’s reputation at risk.
Ready to boost your partnerships outreach? Book a demo with Mailpool and see how easy it is to set up your cold email infrastructure.