How does cold outreach to influencers affect email domain deliverability?

Summary

Cold outreach to influencers, if not carefully executed, poses significant risks to email domain deliverability. Experts, marketers, and documentation sources concur that sending unsolicited emails in bulk, employing misleading subject lines, neglecting personalization, and practicing poor list hygiene can lead to low engagement, high bounce rates, spam complaints, and ultimately, blacklisting. Additionally, technical issues like inadequate email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), exceeding sending limits, and using shared IP addresses exacerbate these problems. The combination of these factors damages sender reputation, leading mailbox providers to distrust the sending domain, resulting in reduced deliverability and potential blocks.

Key findings

  • Deliverability Risk: Mass cold outreach poses a significant risk to email domain deliverability.
  • Spam Trigger: Unsolicited emails are frequently flagged as spam, damaging sender reputation.
  • Engagement Impact: Low engagement rates signal irrelevance and harm deliverability.
  • Authentication Failure: Inadequate email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) increases the likelihood of spam flagging.
  • Blacklisting Consequence: Aggressive or poorly executed outreach can lead to blacklisting, severely limiting deliverability.
  • Shared IP Risks: Using shared IP addresses can be detrimental due to the actions of others.

Key considerations

  • Personalized Outreach: Personalize email content to increase engagement and reduce spam complaints.
  • Clean Email Lists: Maintain a clean and up-to-date email list to minimize bounce rates.
  • Authentication Implementation: Implement and properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
  • Sending Volume Management: Manage sending volume to stay within provider limits.
  • Content Relevance: Ensure that email content is relevant to the recipient to encourage engagement.
  • Avoid Spam Tactics: Avoid using tactics known to trigger spam filters, such as misleading subject lines and overly promotional content.
  • Obtain Permission: Prioritize obtaining explicit permission whenever possible to minimize complaints and enhance deliverability.

What email marketers say
13Marketer opinions

Cold outreach to influencers, when not executed carefully, can significantly harm email domain deliverability. Sending unsolicited mass emails, using misleading subject lines, failing to personalize outreach, poor list hygiene, and neglecting email authentication can all lead to low engagement, high bounce rates, spam complaints, and blacklisting. These actions damage sender reputation and result in mailbox providers distrusting the sending domain, leading to decreased deliverability.

Key opinions

  • Deliverability Impact: Mass cold outreach significantly impacts domain deliverability.
  • Domain Blocking: Domains can be blocked as a result of poor cold outreach practices.
  • Sender Reputation: Cold outreach damages sender reputation if not personalized.
  • List Hygiene: Poor list hygiene leads to spam complaints and decreased engagement.
  • IP Warmup: Failure to warm up IP addresses can trigger spam filters.
  • Shared IPs: Using shared IPs can be detrimental due to the actions of other users.
  • Engagement Metrics: Low engagement signals irrelevance to mailbox providers.

Key considerations

  • Personalization: Personalize outreach to avoid low engagement and spam complaints.
  • Email Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve deliverability.
  • Email List Quality: Maintain a clean and up-to-date email list to reduce bounce rates.
  • IP Reputation: Monitor and maintain a good IP reputation to ensure deliverability.
  • Sending Volume: Warm up your IP address before sending large volumes of emails.
  • Stop sending spam: The best solution is to not send any spam
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks says it's very likely that the practice of sending mass cold outreach emails will impact domain deliverability.

July 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks says you'll get both domains blocked.

May 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Gmass shares that not warming up your email account before conducting large-scale cold outreach to influencers can lead to emails being flagged as spam, significantly damaging your domain's deliverability.

August 2023 - Gmass
Marketer view

Email marketer from Woodpecker shares that sending emails to invalid or outdated email addresses when reaching out to influencers can lead to high bounce rates, damaging your sender reputation and negatively impacting domain deliverability.

March 2025 - Woodpecker
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus explains that low engagement metrics (opens, clicks) in cold outreach campaigns signal to mailbox providers that your emails are not relevant, leading to deliverability issues.

April 2022 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel shares that sending cold emails to influencers without proper personalization and targeting can lead to low engagement rates, high bounce rates, and ultimately damage your sender reputation, negatively affecting domain deliverability.

December 2024 - Neil Patel
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue notes that a poor IP reputation, often caused by sending unsolicited emails to a large number of recipients (like influencers), can severely affect your deliverability rates.

March 2025 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks says that the solution should not be using a different domain, but to stop sending spam.

August 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that poor list hygiene and sending irrelevant content during cold outreach to influencers can lead to spam complaints and decreased engagement, which harms your sender reputation and deliverability.

March 2021 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that using misleading or spammy subject lines in cold outreach emails can trigger spam filters and decrease engagement, harming your sender reputation and deliverability.

December 2023 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that using a shared IP address for cold outreach can be detrimental if other users on the same IP are engaging in spammy behavior, which can negatively impact your domain's reputation and deliverability.

July 2023 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reply.io shares that failing to personalize cold outreach emails to influencers can lead to low engagement rates and spam complaints, ultimately impacting your domain's reputation and deliverability.

July 2021 - Reply.io
Marketer view

Email marketer from Hunter.io shares that a sudden increase in email volume when cold emailing influencers, especially without warming up your IP address, can trigger spam filters and harm your domain's sender reputation, decreasing deliverability.

August 2021 - Hunter.io

What the experts say
7Expert opinions

Experts agree that cold outreach to influencers, especially when executed aggressively or without proper consent, relevancy, and engagement, negatively impacts email domain deliverability. Practices like sending unsolicited mass emails, using cousin domains, and generating spam complaints damage sender reputation and can lead to blacklisting, causing mailbox providers to distrust the domain and significantly reduce deliverability.

Key opinions

  • Deliverability Impact: Mass cold outreach has a definite negative impact on domain deliverability.
  • Reputation Damage: Poorly executed cold outreach damages sender reputation through complaints and low engagement.
  • Blacklisting Risk: Sending unsolicited emails can lead to blacklisting, severely impacting deliverability.
  • Spam Classification: Cold outreach, regardless of justification, is often considered spam.

Key considerations

  • Consent and Relevancy: Ensure emails are sent with permission and are relevant to the recipient to maintain engagement.
  • Domain Protection: Avoid using cousin domains, as blacklists are attentive to such tactics.
  • Engagement Metrics: Monitor and improve engagement metrics to avoid being flagged as spam.
  • Avoid Spam: Avoid sending unsolicited emails to maintain a good sender reputation and avoid blacklisting.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks states that allowing someone to use your domain to send spam will absolutely ruin your deliverability.

December 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource (Steve Linford) explains that sending unsolicited commercial email, including cold outreach to influencers, can lead to blacklisting, directly and severely impacting deliverability.

November 2022 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains that aggressive or poorly executed cold outreach, even to influencers, damages sender reputation by generating complaints, bounces, and low engagement. This results in reduced deliverability as mailbox providers learn to distrust the sending domain.

February 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks states that it's considered spam, regardless of justification.

June 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks confirms that sending mass cold outreach emails will definitely impact domain deliverability.

January 2025 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise (Laura Atkins) explains that sending unsolicited commercial email, including cold outreach to influencers, can lead to blacklisting, directly and severely impacting deliverability. She discusses the importance of permission, relevancy and engagement.

June 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests googling "cousin domain" for problems associated with using a different, but similar, domain, noting that blacklists are attentive to spammers trying to bypass spam filters.

July 2022 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Technical documentation consistently indicates that cold outreach to influencers can negatively affect email domain deliverability. Sending bulk, unsolicited emails can lead to spam flagging, high complaint rates, exceeding sending limits, and potential restrictions from providers like Google and Microsoft. Failure to implement email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) makes domains vulnerable to spoofing and blocklisting, further harming deliverability across various email providers.

Key findings

  • Spam Flagging: Bulk, unsolicited emails are often flagged as spam, especially with high complaint rates.
  • Sending Limits: Exceeding sending limits leads to temporary or permanent restrictions.
  • Authentication Failure: Lack of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC results in emails being flagged as spam.
  • Blocklisting: Being listed on a blocklist negatively impacts deliverability across providers.
  • Spoofing Vulnerability: Absent or unenforced DMARC policies make domains vulnerable to spoofing and phishing.

Key considerations

  • Sending Practices: Avoid sending bulk, unsolicited emails to minimize spam complaints.
  • Sending Volume: Stay within sending limits set by email providers to avoid restrictions.
  • Authentication Implementation: Implement and properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for email authentication.
  • Blocklist Monitoring: Regularly check blocklists to ensure your domain isn't listed.
  • DMARC Policy Enforcement: Implement and enforce a DMARC policy to protect against spoofing and phishing.
Technical article

Documentation from Google explains that sending unsolicited emails in bulk can be flagged as spam, particularly if recipients mark them as such. High spam complaint rates from cold outreach negatively affect domain reputation and deliverability to Gmail users.

July 2022 - Google Workspace Admin Help
Technical article

Documentation from Spamhaus indicates that being listed on a blocklist due to spam complaints from cold outreach to influencers will negatively impact domain deliverability across various email providers.

February 2025 - Spamhaus
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft notes that exceeding sending limits during cold outreach can result in temporary or permanent restrictions on your account, impacting deliverability and preventing future emails from reaching recipients.

November 2023 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from DMARC.org explains that not having a DMARC policy in place (or having a policy that is not enforced) can make your domain vulnerable to spoofing and phishing attacks, which can negatively impact your deliverability if your domain is associated with such activities.

March 2023 - DMARC.org
Technical article

Documentation from RFC explains that failure to implement email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC can cause your emails to be flagged as spam, especially during cold outreach, negatively impacting domain deliverability.

April 2023 - RFC-Editor