ColdSend Setup Checklist: From Account to First Campaign in Same Day

New to ColdSend? Follow this step-by-step checklist to go from signup to sending your first campaign the same day.

Unlike competitors requiring 2-3 weeks of setup, ColdSend users can launch campaigns within hours of DNS propagation (same day setup).

Learn why this speed advantage matters in our guide to starting cold email campaigns immediately.

Pre-Setup Preparation (15 minutes)

What You'll Need:

Prospect list (CSV format with email, first name, last name, company)
Email sequence (3-5 emails planned out)
Sending schedule preferences
Tracking goals (replies, meetings, etc.)

Quick Data Prep Checklist:

Clean prospect list (remove duplicates, invalid emails)
Verify email format (standard CSV with required columns)
Prepare email content (subject lines, body text, CTAs)
Set realistic goals (2-5% reply rate is good for cold email)

Pro Tip:

Start small. Your first campaign should be 100-500 prospects max. This lets you test and optimize before scaling.

For email verification, tools like NeverBounce or ZeroBounce can help clean your list first.

Account Setup and Configuration (30 minutes + DNS wait)

Step 1: Account Creation (5 minutes)

Sign up at ColdSend.pro
Verify email address
Complete profile information
Choose billing plan (Starter $50/month recommended)

See our pricing breakdown to understand exactly what's included.

Step 2: Domain Setup (Required - 5 minutes setup + 2 hours DNS propagation)

Purchase domain from provider like Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.
Add domain to ColdSend in settings
ColdSend automatically generates the DNS records you need
Copy the two DNS records provided in your ColdSend dashboard
Add these two simple DNS records to your domain provider
Wait for DNS propagation (typically 2-6 hours)

Important: ColdSend handles all the technical configuration automatically - you just need to add two simple DNS records that we generate for you at runtime.

Step 3: Inbox Configuration (10 minutes)

Once your domain is set up:

Navigate to Inboxes section
Upload inbox templates (up to 100 on basic plan, up to 300 total on pro plan with 3 domains)
Define for each inbox:
- Username (your choice)
- Password (your choice)
- Inbox name (your choice)
ColdSend automatically creates the inboxes based on your templates

Learn more about why warmup isn't necessary with ColdSend's infrastructure.

Campaign Creation and Launch (45 minutes)

Step 1: Import Prospects (10 minutes)

Navigate to Campaigns → New Campaign
Upload CSV file (drag and drop)
Map columns (email → email, first name → first name, etc.)
Review import (check for errors)
Segment if needed (by company size, industry, etc.)

Step 2: Create Email Sequence (20 minutes)

Email 1 (Initial outreach):

Subject: Quick question about [Company]'s [specific challenge]

Hi {{first_name}},

I noticed [Company] is [specific observation about their business].

[One sentence about how you help similar companies]

Worth a quick chat to see if there's a fit?

Best,
[Your name]

Email 2 (Follow-up after 3 days):

Subject: Re: Quick question about [Company]'s [specific challenge]

Hi {{first_name}},

Following up on my email below.

[Add value: case study, insight, or resource]

Still worth a conversation?

Best,
[Your name]

Email 3 (Final follow-up after 5 days):

Subject: Last check-in

{{first_name}},

Last email from me on this.

If the timing isn't right, no worries at all.

If you think there might be value in a conversation, just reply and we can find 15 minutes that work.

Best,
[Your name]

Step 3: Configure Campaign Settings (10 minutes)

Select inboxes: Choose from your uploaded inboxes
Select domain: Choose the domain you've set up
Sending schedule: 9 AM - 5 PM (recipient timezone)
Daily send limit: 50-100 emails per inbox per day
Email delays: 3-5 days between sequence emails
Open tracking: Can be enabled but not recommended (Apple/Outlook preload images causing inaccurate data)
Click tracking: Recommended for measuring engagement
Unsubscribe: Auto-generated link included

Step 4: Review and Launch (5 minutes)

Preview email rendering
Test send to yourself
Review recipient count and daily volume
Check sending schedule
Launch campaign

🚀 Campaign Status: Active (no warmup required)

Monitoring and Optimization (30 minutes)

Hour 1-24: Initial Monitoring

Key metrics to watch:

Delivery rate: Should be 95%+ immediately
Open rate: 15-25% is normal
Bounce rate: Should be under 2%
Unsubscribe rate: Under 0.5%

Day 1-3: Performance Analysis

Track responses:

Positive replies: Interested prospects
Negative replies: Uninterested (remove from future campaigns)
Out of office: Re-engage in 1-2 weeks
Meeting requests: Priority follow-up

Week 1: Optimization

Based on initial results:

Low open rates? Test different subject lines
High bounces? Improve list quality
No replies? Revise email copy
Good performance? Scale up daily volume

Performance Benchmarks:

Delivery rate: 90%+ (ColdSend typically achieves 95%+)
Open rate: 20-30%
Reply rate: 2-5%
Positive reply rate: 1-2%
Meeting conversion: 0.5-1%

Compare these metrics to industry standards in our infrastructure providers comparison.

Common Setup Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Sending Too Much Too Fast

Wrong: 1,000 emails on day 1
Right: 100-200 emails, monitor performance, then scale

Mistake 2: Generic Email Content

Wrong: "Hi, we help companies like yours..."
Right: "Hi {{first_name}}, I noticed {{company}} recently [specific observation]..."

Mistake 3: Ignoring Timezone Settings

Wrong: Sending at 3 AM recipient time
Right: 9 AM - 5 PM in prospect's timezone

Mistake 4: Not Testing Before Scale

Wrong: Launch 10 campaigns simultaneously
Right: Perfect one campaign, then replicate

Mistake 5: Poor List Quality

Wrong: Uploading unverified email lists
Right: Clean, verified, targeted prospect lists

Learn how agencies avoid these mistakes while scaling from 1 to 100+ clients.

Advanced Setup Tips

Personalization Variables:

Use these merge tags for better engagement:

{{first_name}} - Recipient's first name
{{company}} - Company name
{{industry}} - Industry (if available)
{{title}} - Job title
{{city}} - Location

A/B Testing Setup:

Test 1: Subject line variations
Test 2: Email length (short vs. long)
Test 3: CTA placement (beginning vs. end)
Test 4: Sending time (morning vs. afternoon)

Integration Options:

CRM sync: Connect to Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive
Calendar booking: Integrate Calendly, Cal.com
Analytics: Export to Google Analytics, Mixpanel
Slack notifications: Real-time reply alerts

For API integrations, see our cold email API guide.

Post-Launch Checklist

Daily Tasks (5 minutes):

Check reply inbox for new responses
Review delivery metrics
Respond to interested prospects quickly
Update CRM with new leads

Weekly Tasks (15 minutes):

Analyze campaign performance
Optimize underperforming emails
Scale successful campaigns
Plan next campaign iteration

Monthly Tasks (30 minutes):

Review overall ROI and metrics
Plan new campaign angles
Audit and clean prospect database
Optimize sending infrastructure

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Low Delivery Rates:

Symptoms: Emails not reaching inboxes
Solutions:

Check domain authentication
Verify prospect email quality
Contact ColdSend support for infrastructure review

Understanding deliverability: Why infrastructure matters more than content.

High Bounce Rates:

Symptoms: Many invalid email addresses
Solutions:

Use email verification service
Remove hard bounces immediately
Improve list sourcing quality

No Replies:

Symptoms: Good delivery but no responses
Solutions:

Test different subject lines
Improve email personalization
Revise value proposition
Check targeting accuracy

Need help? ColdSend support responds within 4 hours on average. Contact support for technical assistance.

The Bottom Line

Most cold email platforms require 2-3 weeks of setup and warmup.

ColdSend gets you sending campaigns same day:

No warmup delays (immediate deployment)
Simple setup process (non-technical)
Pre-configured infrastructure (optimized for deliverability)
Built-in best practices (automated compliance)

Follow this checklist and you'll have campaigns running the same day you sign up.

See why businesses are switching from traditional platforms in our Apollo vs Outreach vs dedicated infrastructure comparison.

Ready to get started? Try ColdSend and experience the fastest setup in cold email.

Questions about setup? Schedule a call and get personalized onboarding assistance.