The cold email math nobody taught you.
Every week, a founder asks me: "How many emails should I be sending? How many domains do I need? What does it cost?"
Here's the complete breakdown. Save this. You'll reference it.
The fundamentals:
1 inbox = 20 emails per day (safe sending limit)
1 domain = 2 inboxes max
5 domains = 10 inboxes = 200 emails per day
200 emails/day × 20 working days = 4,000 emails per month
With a 2-email sequence, that's ~2,000 unique leads per month.
The cost:
Item | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
Sending tool (Instantly) | $97 |
5 domains | ~$5/mo (amortized from ~$60/year) |
10 inboxes (Google Workspace) | ~$40 |
Email verification (Reoon) | ~$30 |
Lead sourcing (Sales Nav or databases) | $50-100 |
Total | Under $300/mo |
For $300/month, you reach 2,000 qualified prospects. Every month.
The math that actually matters:
The same 2,000 leads will produce wildly different results based on ONE variable: your list quality.
Reply Rate | Conversations/mo | Cost per Conversation |
|---|---|---|
2% (bad list) | 40 | $7.50 |
5% (decent) | 100 | $3.00 |
10% (good list) | 200 | $1.50 |
15% (great list) | 300 | $1.00 |
Same infrastructure. Same cost. Same emails. The difference is who you're sending to.
This is why I obsess over targeting. The list IS the message.
The timeline:
Most people want to send emails on day 1. Don't.
Week 1-2: Buy domains. Set up SPF, DKIM, DMARC. Create inboxes. Connect to Instantly. Start automated warmup. Do NOT send a single cold email.
Week 3: Start sending 5/day per inbox (50 total). Monitor deliverability. Check bounces (must be under 2%).
Week 4: Ramp to 15-20/day per inbox. Full volume. Monitor reply rates.
Week 5+: Optimize. A/B test messages. Tighten the list. Scale what works.
The warmup period feels slow. But skipping it = burned domains = starting over. I've seen founders lose 3 months because they tried to skip 2 weeks of warmup.
The sequence (keep it short):
Email 1 — The Question (Day 1):
Subject: [their company] + pipeline
"Hey [first name],
Quick question — does [company] run any systematic outbound, or is new business mostly referrals?
I work with B2B founders in [their space] building predictable pipeline. Curious if it's relevant.
[Your name]"
Email 2 — The Bump (Day 4):
"Bumping this — the question stands.
Built the same system for 4 agencies. $4.2M pipeline. $0 ads.
If pipeline is running great, ignore me. If not, happy to share what's working.
[Your name]"
That's it. 2 emails. Under 75 words each. Plain text. No links. No images. No tracking pixels.
If they don't reply after 2 emails, don't send a third. Add them to your LinkedIn outreach instead (see last week's newsletter on the multichannel loop).
The deliverability checklist (monthly):
Bounce rate under 2%
Spam complaints under 0.1%
Check mail-tester.com score (aim for 9+/10)
Review domain reputation in Google Postmaster Tools
Remove non-responders after 2 emails
Rotate underperforming inboxes
Add fresh leads to keep volume consistent
The ROI math:
At $10K average deal size and 10% conversation-to-deal close rate:
2% reply rate = 40 conversations = 4 deals = $40K revenue
10% reply rate = 200 conversations = 20 deals = $200K revenue
All from $300/month in infrastructure.
The tools I recommend:
→ Instantly (sending + warmup)
→ Reoon (email verification)
→ HeyReach (LinkedIn outreach)
Your action step:
If you haven't started cold email: buy 5 domains this week. Set up the inboxes. Start warmup. You'll be sending in 3 weeks.
If you're already sending: check your positive reply rate. If it's under 5%, the list is the problem. Tighten it before scaling volume.
Keep dominating,
Tanyo
How I Can Help:
Follow me on LinkedIn for daily GTM plays → linkedin.com/in/tanyo
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