Why is it important to have different variations of your main business domain for cold email? We explain!

Cold email domains are the burner domains you use to run your cold outreach campaigns. They serve the purpose of protecting your business domain and maintaining your cold email infrastructure.

E.g.

  • Business Domain: salesforge.ai
  • Cold email domain: heysalesforge.com

Crafting creative cold email domains doesn't just protect your campaign from spam. It helps you stand out, making a mark in your prospects' inboxes among the spammers' jungle.

From using quirky misspellings and different TLDs to clever acronyms on domains, the goal is to keep landing in the primary inbox rather than anywhere else(promotions, social, updates, spam, forums).

But it's not just about being whimsical; it's strategic.

However, the question remains: what other benefits do these variations provide, and how can they be implemented most effectively to connect with a discerning audience?

Key Takeaways

  • Use acronyms or abbreviations for memorable cold email domains.
  • Opt for reputable Top-Level Domains (TLDs) for better email deliverability.
  • Include random words or creative misspellings for unique domains.
  • Leverage Mailforge's AI Domain Variation Creator for efficient generation.
  • Maintain separate cold email domains for primary communication integrity.

What is a Cold Email Domain?

A cold email domain is a burner domain that holds email addresses for sending unsolicited emails to prospects.

Using unique domains streamlines distribution, ensuring high deliverability and scalability.

Benefits of Having Dedicated Domains For Cold Email

Employing dedicated domains is the first step to building your cold email infrastructure.

for cold email safeguards central business communications, preserving the reputation of the primary domain and minimizing spam filter risks.

This strategic separation optimizes cold email strategies, allowing tailored outreach without impacting the leading site's performance. A dedicated cold email domain improves deliverability, enhancing effectiveness in reaching potential clients.

  • Protects business domain reputation.
  • Optimizes cold email strategy.
  • Improves deliverability.
  • Enables easy scalability.

Best Cold Email Domain Variations Examples

Optimal cold email domain variations elevate marketing outreach.

Leveraging abbreviations, acronyms, or distinct top-level domains offers unique advantages. Incorporating memorable misspellings or random words boosts attention and enhances email deliverability.

1. Using Abbreviations & Misspells to Build Domain Variations

Utilizing abbreviations, acronyms, and misspellings in domain variations simplifies the structure and enhances memorability, supporting effective cold email outreach.

This strategic approach creates concise and memorable domains and maintains a professional image, aiding audience engagement and scalability.

By incorporating intentional misspellings and typographical errors, cold email domains can evade spam triggers and catch recipients' attention, further optimizing the outreach structure for success while ensuring contextual relevance and credibility.

  • slsforg.com
  • salesforrge.com
  • mailfrge.com
  • emaifrge.com
  • mailforgee.com

2. Best Top-Level Domains (TLDs) Suited for Cold Emails

Selecting the right top-level domain (TLD) is essential for optimizing the effectiveness of cold email campaigns. The choice of TLD can substantially impact email deliverability and the perceived legitimacy of your email outreach. When setting up a cold email domain, consider these authoritative extensions known for enhancing email reputation:

  • .com: Universally recognized and trusted, offers broad appeal.
  • .io: Popular in the tech industry, it suggests innovation.
  • .net: Established and reliable, suitable for a wide range of businesses.

These top-level domains improve the professional appearance of your cold email domain and help maintain high deliverability rates and favorable responses from targeted recipients.

top level domain illustrations

Here are a few more

  1. .company
  2. .cc
  3. .rocks
  4. .business
  5. .club
  6. .org
  7. .app
  8. .agency
  9. .email
  10. .co

PS: We have tried and tested these domains to run our campaigns. And avoid .xyz TLD and other domains with a cheaper renewal fee.

3. Random Words to Building Domains Names

Employing random words such as 'hi,' 'hello,' 'ji,' 'get,' 'try,' and 'team' can effectively generate unique and engaging cold email domain names. 

  • hisalesforge.com
  • hellosalesforge.com
  • teamsaleforge.com
  • trysalesforge.com

These variations add a personal touch and enhance the structure of your email outreach, making your approach stand out in a crowded inbox.

4. Mailforge's AI-Powered Domain Variation Creator

the mailforge user interface

Mailforge's AI-powered Domain Variation Creator revolutionizes generating domain names for cold email campaigns. It offers automated solutions that combine efficiency with high deliverability. This tool excels in domain name generation and email setup, ensuring businesses can launch their cold email campaigns ASAP.

Its AI-powered capabilities enhance campaign management and scalability, adapting seamlessly as business needs grow. Additionally, Mailforge maintains high deliverability rates on par with Google Workspace, which includes a pool of IP addresses, which is essential for avoiding spam filters.

Integrating your personal existing cold email tools simplifies the overall campaign process, making it highly affordable and efficient. Mailforge is ideal for those prioritizing cost-effective and scalable email marketing solutions.

If you’re not sure about Mailforge here’s how to choose an email service provider from a list of best email service providers.

Why Avoid Sending Cold Emails from Business Domain?

Sending cold emails from your primary business domain can jeopardize your sender's reputation due to the higher likelihood of receiving spam complaints and unsubscribes. This risk impacts several critical aspects:

  • Domain Reputation: Frequent spam complaints can tarnish your domain's credibility, making it harder for your legitimate emails to reach the inbox.
  • Risk of Being Blacklisted: Your domain may end up on email blacklists, making it difficult for your legitimate emails to reach recipients.
  • Email Delivery: A compromised sender reputation can lead to deliverability issues, where even non-cold outreach emails could be blocked or filtered.

Should You Use Sub-domains to Run Cold Email Campaigns?

Using subdomains for cold email campaigns can harm the main domain's email reputation, increasing the likelihood of spam classification.

This negative impact extends to all outgoing emails, not just campaign-related ones, potentially causing them to be marked as spam.

While initially appearing as a way to segregate outreach efforts, sub-domains pose risks that can undermine the effectiveness of email marketing strategies.

How to Set Up a Cold Email Domain

Setting up a cold email domain requires careful consideration and a few critical steps to ensure peak performance and deliverability.

First, selecting a reputable domain registrar and purchasing your desired domain is essential, as this will form the foundation of your email outreach.

Next, choosing the right email service provider and configuring essential email authentication records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are vital to boosting your email's chances of reaching the inbox.

1. Choose Your New Domain Registrar

Selecting the right domain registrar is critical in establishing a successful cold email domain. When setting up your alternate domain for cold email campaigns, consider top registrars known for their robust setup process and reliable technical setups. Here are a few options:

  • Mailforge.ai: Best platform to deploy emails and scale cold email campaigns.
  • Google Domains: Known for seamless integration and firm support.
  • GoDaddy: Offers extensive domain variations with user-friendly management tools.
  • Cloudflare: Noted for enhanced security features and DNS speed.
cold-email-infrastructure meme

Choosing a domain provider like Google Domains, GoDaddy, or Cloudflare guarantees that your email domain is established correctly, setting the foundation for effective email outreach and domain management.

2. Choose Your Email Service Provider

After choosing a reliable domain registrar, the next pivotal step is selecting an email service provider that aligns with your cold email campaign needs.

  1. Mailforge.ai
  2. Google Workspace
  3. Outlook

When evaluating an email hosting service, focus on several essential features: scalability to ensure it can grow with your campaign, affordability to keep costs in check, and robust email deliverability, which is necessary for reaching your audience's inbox.

Additionally, consider the setup process, including automated SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configurations, which are essential for sender authenticity but won't be covered in depth here.

Lastly, consider the importance of responsive customer support in resolving any issues with your domains or email campaigns. Google and Outlook barely have any, so you should consider Mailforge.ai instead.

3. Setting Up Your SPF, DKIM & DMARC

Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protocols is crucial for securing your cold email domain and enhancing email deliverability. These protocols validate your domain and guarantee that your emails are not marked as spam, which is essential for maintaining a robust email strategy.

  • SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Add an SPF TXT record to your DNS settings to specify which email servers can send emails from your domain.
  • DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Implement DKIM by adding a TXT record in your DNS with a public key. This will help verify the authenticity of the email body.
  • DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): Set up a DMARC TXT record to outline how your domain handles unauthorized email, enhancing your reputation and email deliverability.

Check out our in-depth guide on how to set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

4. Warm Up Domains & New Emails

The warm-up process for your new cold email domain is crucial for enhancing deliverability and engagement. Gradually increasing email volume avoids triggering spam filters, safeguarding your domain from blacklisting.

Varying domain variations and tailoring campaigns can boost deliverability, protect your primary email, and enhance overall effectiveness.

Many outbound outreach tools don't offer built-in warm-ups. Luckily, our tool Salesforge has a built-in warm-up for brand-new domains. With it, you can prep your inboxes for cold email campaigns within two weeks.

To Wrap It All Up

Strategic use of cold email domain variations serves as a clever disguise, allowing businesses to engage with potential clients without the baggage of their primary domain.

Employing tools like Mailforge and inventive domain tweaks through abbreviations, whimsical TLDs, or the occasional creative misspelling—enhances deliverability and engagement, much like a chameleon changes its colors to communicate effectively.

It is a simple yet profound strategy to guarantee messages reach and resonate with the intended audience.