If you want to use the exact strategy for getting amazing results with cold emailing we are using - here's the secret sauce on how we get 1-10 demos everyday by automatically sending 1,000+ cold emails daily with a 50%+ open rate?
This is the best minimal effort maximum gain system for high ticket B2B offers we’ve found.
You can set everything up in 1-2 hours. Then you just have to wait for the new emails to warm up for around 14 days and you’re ready to go. Once you understand the system you can give this tutorial to your VA’s and make your life even easier.
If you combine this strategy with personalized first lines, you can get even better results. But this strategy works even without personalization.
Before starting, create a free Instantly account here. We’re going to be using Instantly for automating email sending.
Before we get into the specifics, here are the rough estimates. You can set up this exact system for 1 email account, but this is to show you the potential and scalability.
Numbers:
1000 emails daily
30K monthly (50% open rate)
15K opens (5% reply rate)
750 replies (15% positive)
112 booked meetings (75% show-up rate)
84 live demos (20% close rate)
16 closes ($1K ticket)
16K/mo.
Cost/Tech Stack:
Total: $544 the first month, then $394/mo.
Investment Gain: $15,456.00
ROI: 2,841.18%
Not too shabby right? Follow the step-by-step guide below to set up Instantly.
Domain and Email Setup
We want to buy secondary domains for cold emailing so we don’t damage the reputation of your main domain. And for each domain, it's recommended to create max 3-5 email accounts. From each email, we’re going to be sending only 30-50 emails a day to avoid getting stuck in spam.
Buying Domains (10 mins)
Buy domains that are similar to your main domain. Top-level domains work best. We’ve had success with domains like .agency .tech too, but if possible, buy .com domains.
If your business is called Shrimp.com, then buy domains like:
Getshrimp.com
Tryshrimp.com
TastyShrimpApp.com
Here’s a list of domains with the worst reputation. Don’t use these.
Pro Tips: You can now buy domains/email accounts from our Done-For-You service and Pre-warmed service. We've streamlined this entire process into just a few simple clicks and will configure DNS records for you.
Setting Up MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC (15-20 mins)
Now we get to the fun part! You should authenticate all the domains you are sending emails from. Here are the DNS records you have to set up for each domain: MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Set up MX
MX (Mail Exchange) records direct incoming emails to your mail server. Without MX records, you won't receive any emails, including replies from your campaigns.
Set up SPF
SPF Record specifies authorized domains to send emails. It's a protocol that helps email servers verify that the sender of an email is who they claim to be. This helps reduce spam and phishing attempts, and it can improve your email deliverability.
Set up DKIM
DKIM Record adds a signature to emails, making them easier to trace and preventing spoofing.
Set up DMARC
Important: Configure DKIM and SPF before configuring DMARC. DMARC Record authenticates emails, letting the world know they were sent from a legitimate source. To set up your DMARC, you may use this in different ways.
Setting Up Domain Forwarding(5 mins)
Setting up the forwarding is optional, which means that it forwards the new domains to your main domain. This can be done in your Domain Settings Provider.
To set up forwarding for GoDaddy domains, please follow this guide.
To set up forwarding for Google domains, please follow this guide.
For Done-For-You or Pre-warmed domains purchased from Instantly, you can add or update the domain forwarding directly on the billing page --> Email accounts & Domains section.
Setting Up Email Forwarding (5 mins)
You can forward emails to your created email accounts to your primary email account for easier monitoring. This way, you will have a master inbox where all the replies are stored. You can do this in Gmail by following this guide.
This is not mandatory as our Unibox feature can consolidate all replies from your leads into one place, which allows you to manage replies from all connected inboxes without needing to log into each email account separately.
Connecting Email Accounts (10 mins)
You can click 'Add new' to purchase new domains and accounts or connect your existing email accounts to Instantly.
Pre-warmed accounts: This option allows you to purchase already warmed-up domains and email accounts from Instantly with essential DNS records configured, allowing you to start sending campaigns from day 1.
Done-For-You email setup: This option allows you to purchase new domains and email accounts from Instantly, and we will automate the DNS configuration. However, DFY accounts require a warm-up period of at least 2 weeks before you can start campaigns to improve deliverability.
Connect existing accounts: This option allows you to connect your existing email accounts from Google, Microsoft, or other providers. It's recommended to warm up your accounts for at least 2 weeks before launching your campaigns to improve deliverability.
Test Your DNS Records
Before starting your campaigns, you want to make sure the domain and email setup are done correctly.
Option 1: Use Instantly's Built-In Test
Go to your Email Accounts dashboard
Click "Test domain setup"
Review the results to verify all records are properly configured
Option 2: Use Third-Party Tools
Verify your DNS configuration with these tools:
Warming Up Emails (5 mins)
Warm up your emails for at least 2 weeks before starting your campaigns. This will allow you to scale it up and get to that 5+ demos/day mark sooner.
Go to your Email Account tab.
Click the flame icon on the right side of the email account you want to warm up
Warmup will be enabled (customize warmup settings if needed)
Warmup emails are scheduled at 12:00 AM UTC each day. If you recently enabled warmup, warmup emails will begin sending after the next 12:00 AM UTC.
Always keep the warm-up enabled - never turn it off.
You can purchase our Pre-warmed accounts to launch your campaign on day one - they are pre-configured with DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and already warmed up.
Leads & Targeting
Finding leads is easy; the harder part is knowing exactly which kinds of leads are the best. We approach it based on case studies. Who are the people who have gotten the most value out of your or your client's service? And who in that company is in charge of dealing with your offering?
If you don’t exactly know who to target, just try different options until you find a targeting & email combo that works. Then just get as many similar leads as possible.
Getting Leads (10 mins)
SuperSearch helps you find more leads (over 450M contacts), get more verified emails with waterfall enrichment, and enrich contacts with AI for more context, which you can use in your email copy. Learn more details here.
There are no complex workflows, just search, enrich, and add to the campaign.
Easy to use
Move leads into the campaign in 60 seconds
Verified leads (no need to pay for third-party verifier)
Advanced filters like technology and domain enrichment are available.
Verifying Leads (5 mins)
Instantly offers you an easy-to-use option for email verification. You can purchase Instantly Credits to verify your leads: 0.25 credits to verify 1 lead.
Verify Leads During Campaign Upload
The easiest method is to verify leads as you upload them to campaigns.
Create a new campaign or open an existing campaign
Navigate to the Leads section
Click "Add leads"
Check the "Verify leads" checkbox
Click "Upload all" or "Import emails" button
Leads upload to campaign
Verification process begins immediately if you have enough credits
Status shows "In verification queue" while processing
Updates to Valid/Invalid/Risky when complete
Verify Existing Leads in Campaign
If you've already uploaded leads without verification, you can verify them individually or in bulk.
Go to the campaign with unverified leads
Navigate to the Leads section
Click the checkbox to select leads
"Verify leads" button appears in top-right corner
Verification process begins immediately if you have enough credits
Leads show "In verification queue" status
Updates to Valid/Invalid/Risky when complete
Verify Leads in CRM
If you're in the CRM section, you can follow the steps below to verify leads:
Go to CRM
Choose either:
Lists → Open target list
Campaigns → Open target campaign
Click the checkbox to select leads
Next, click on the 'Enrich & AI' option. If the 'Enrich & AI' option disappears after selecting leads, it means the leads are from SuperSearch and have already been verified
Select Verification to validate emails.
Click Continue and select one from the 3 options (enrich first xx leads, enrich 100 leads or enrich all leads in the list.)
Setting Up Campaigns
Use Instantly to connect unlimited email accounts (it’s not pay per account like most similar software).
Step 1: Create Your Campaign (1 min)
Go to the Campaigns dashboard
Click "+ Add New" (top right corner)
Name your campaign. We suggest adding target audience parameters such as title, industry/niche, and geo in the campaign name (e.g. Marketing Director_Advertising Agency_US) so you can more efficiently find and optimize your campaigns down the line.
Click "Continue" to proceed
Step 2: Add Leads (1 min)
You can add leads to your campaign by following the steps below:
Go to the Leads section of the campaign
click "Add Leads"
Choose the preferred upload method
Use the drop-down menu to attribute the right variable to each column in the file:
Predefined Variables: The predefined variables include Email(required), First name, Last name, Job title, Company name, Personalization, Phone, Website, Location, and LinkedIn.
Custom Variables: For personalized columns or any additional data not in the predefined list, map them as 'Personalization' or 'Custom variable'. You can then use {{columnName}} variable in the campaign.
Do Not Import: For columns that you don't need to import to the campaign, map them as 'Do Not Import'.
Example: If you have a column named Country in the file, map it to a Custom Variable. You can later use it in the copy as {{Country}} to dynamically insert the country of each contact.
Step 3: Create Your Email Sequence (15 mins)
We use a 3-step sequence:
Step 1: initial Cold Email
Step 2: Quick bump
Step 3 :Break-up Email
You can use AI Sequence Writer to generate emails based on your offer details, target audience, case studies, and the number of steps required.
Compose your subject line and email copy:
Add variant: Test different subject lines and email copies to find the best performers. Learn more details here.
Send next message in x days/hours/minutes: Define how many days to wait before sending the next step. Learn more details here.
Add step: Add a follow-up step. You can add as many follow-up steps as you’d like, although we recommend a maximum of 3-4 steps for most cold outreach campaigns.
Follow-ups: Leave the subject line empty to use the same subject line as the previous step
Variables: After upload, click the variable option in the bottom editor toolbar:
Advanced Email Body
Placeholder Values: When a mail merge variable isn’t available for a lead, we replace it with an empty string. You can set a default value for such cases.
Spintax: Creating variations of sentences or words to generate more diverse email bodies for your leads.
Liquid Syntax: Use conditional logic with your email body.
Step 4: Preview and Test (5 mins)
Before launching the campaign, always preview and test your emails.
Click the "Preview" Button. A pop-up will appear where you can preview the email, send test emails, or check deliverability score.
Preview email: Select a lead in the 'Load data for lead' option. You can search for leads by email or name(same as in the campaign).
Send test emails: In the top left, you can enter recipient email addresses
Use commas to separate the email addresses, and the test email will be sent to all the recipients listed.
Choose sending accounts in the Send from section in the left panel.
Check Deliverability Score: You can check the deliverability score for the sequence
Step 5: Set Your Schedule (1 min)
In the Schedule tab of the campaign, you can adjust the days of the week and the timing to send your campaign emails. Example:
Monday-Friday
9 AM - 5 PM in lead's timezone
Step 6: Configure Campaign Options (5 min)
In the Options tab of the Campaign, you can configure how each campaign behaves, from email sending rules to optimization, CRM ownership, and more. Learn more about Campaign Options
Do a final check of your campaign setup and then hit the “Launch” button.
Leads uploaded and variables mapped
Email sequence written and saved
Variables populate correctly
Preview and test emails
Schedule configured
Sending accounts assigned
Instantly will start sending out emails every day automatically from all your connected accounts, and you just need to keep an eye on the campaigns.
Analyzing Campaigns
Use the Analytics Tab to keep an eye on your campaigns and pause the ones that aren’t delivering results. Learn more details here.
Benchmarks
We want to hit:
50% Open Rate
5+% Reply Rate
If the open rate is lower (check this article), try a different subject line and make sure your emails are not getting stuck in spam. If they are in spam, pause the campaign for a couple of days and let the warm-up run until you’re out of spam.
If the reply rate is lower, change your email copy and/or targeting. It can take a couple of different tests until you find a working combo.
Scaling Up
Scaling up is super easy. Just create more domains/email accounts, add them to your Instantly campaign, and increase the daily sending limit.
Feel free to send this tutorial to VA’s and just have them set up as many domains and emails as you need.
Feedback & Suggestions
That’s it. Thanks for reading, and now it’s time to start executing.
Always happy to hear from you guys about what you think we can improve to make this system & instantly even better/cheaper/quicker.
If you have any questions or want us to set this system up for you, contact us directly via the Live Chat on Instantly.ai
See ya.😎