Despite recent tech advances like AI, cold email is still an effective marketing and lead-gen tool in your pocket. However, you need to stay up-to-date on the latest cold outreach stats and trends to fine-tune your strategy.
You especially need to know how many cold emails you can and should send in a day.
In this article, I will look at the freshest stats and daily sending limits of some of the most popular email service providers (ESP), like Gmail, Outlook and Zoho. I’ll also lay out some of my favorite tips and tricks so you can fire off cold emails without worrying about affecting your deliverability rates or getting your account suspended.
The Stats: Why Cold Email Still Reigns Supreme
Before I get into daily limits and the like, l want to first explore some interesting stats that back up why cold email is loved by 43% of sales pros.
First, the average conversion rate for cold emails hovers around 15% as of 2021. That means for every 100 emails you send, you can expect around 15 to turn into a sale opportunity.
However, keep in mind that 33% of leads decide whether to open your email based solely on the subject line. Makes sense since it’s the first thing they see in their inbox.
But you can boost the open rate by 22% by using a personalized subject line!
Personalization means you need to do your homework on your prospect before writing a single line of copy. You understand who they are, their role, the challenges they face and their goals.
It also helps if you can dig up nuggets you share with them, like an alma mater or favorite TV show. For example, if I see someone is a Game of Thrones fan, then I know how I can get my foot in the door.
(Is it by referencing obscure plot twists? You bet!)
Another important stat you should know is that the average reply rate for cold emails sits between 5% and 25%. Yes, that’s a wide margin, but a good rule of thumb is that your response rate should be around half of your open rate.
Finally, I want to point out that most prospects will say “no” an average of four times before saying “yes.”
However, nearly half of sales reps (48%) give up after the first no! That means you need to follow up with leads, even if they’ve turned you down two or three times.
Of course, cold email is a powerful tool you can use to generate leads and find new customers. But it’s all for naught if you send too many emails at once and find your emails getting flagged as spam or, worse, losing your account.
How Many Cold Emails Can You Send Per Day?
Now, let’s take a look at the daily sending limits of some of the most popular ESPs:
- Gmail: 500
- Google Workspace: 2,000, 500 (trial)
- Office365: 10,000
- Outlook: 300
- Zoho: 50 (free), 300 (paid), 2,500 (custom plan)
- Yahoo!: 500
- Mailchimp: 500
- Yandex: 500
- GoDaddy: 250
- HostGator: 12,000 (500 per hour)
- AOL: 500
- Bluehost: 150 (per hour)
- Rackspace: 10,000
- Amazon SES: 10,000
As you can see, there’s a lot of variance in the limits between providers. So, depending on the scope of your marketing operations, choose an ESP that gives you the breadth to send the number of emails you want.
Also, keep in mind that these limits could change at any moment. Make sure to double-check with the ESP to make sure they have the daily sending limit you’re looking for.
P.S. Interested in the best times and days to send cold emails? Take a look at my guide here.
How Many Cold Emails Should You Send in a Day?
Even though some ESPs give you daily limits in the thousands, that doesn’t mean you should try your hardest to reach them.
In fact, depending on where you are in your cold email journey, I suggest putting limits on yourself.
Let’s look at some real-world cases to determine how many emails you should send. Then, I’ll share tips and tricks to help you get to a higher number without risking your deliverability rate or account.
1. Cold Emails When You’re Just Getting Started
Picture this: you’ve signed up for Google Workspace, you have a lead list of around 1,000 prospects and you’ve crafted the most amazing and persuasive copy ever seen.
Unfortunately, this approach is a one-way ticket to getting flagged as spam.
Think about it like this: the ESP has a duty to protect its users. A fresh account immediately firing off thousands of emails screams shady business (check your spam box to see all the suspicious emails).
If you want to avoid this fate, then you need to warm up your email account. You have to start slow, sending just a few emails and working your way up over 2-3 months.
Start off with around ten emails to people in your network. Then, slowly add 5-10 emails to build up to the sending limit. And make sure to make the increase gradual and consistent – do not suddenly jump from 50 to 150 emails in a single day.
The idea is you want to build a positive reputation with the ESP to show you aren’t up to anything bad. Also, people need to engage with your emails and content to show the ESP you’re sending emails people actually want to see.
Of course, you don’t need to do it all manually. There are several automation tools like Warmup Inbox, Warmbox and Lemwarm. I’ve explored these tools and more, so check out that article if you want to go more in-depth on how they work and why I love them.
2. You’ve Warmed Up Your Inbox – It’s Time to Grow
Now that your inbox and email domain are warmed up, you’re ready to put your cold email campaign in full swing.
First, you need to get your hands on high-quality leads. I recommend using a tool like Sales Navigator combined with Findymail to target prospects in your industry and get their verified email address.
Export your Sales Nav lead lists with Findymail and get verified email addresses!
Once your lead list is ready, you can send off your initial cold emails to spark interest. Remember, personalization is key here.
If you used Sales Navigator, then you have access to their LinkedIn to find something to make your message relevant to them.
And remember that it takes at least four attempts to close a deal. So, make sure your strategy is ready with follow-up emails.
Gauge how your prospect interacts with your email:
- Did they download your sales material?
- Are they clicking links to visit your site?
- Have they replied?
All this info will guide you in determining when and how often to send emails to move them down the sales funnel.
With all that said, over a few weeks, it takes around 5-6 emails to close a deal. It’s crucial to master the art of the follow-up.
Also, connect with them on platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter to warm up the relationship even more.
If your product is a good fit and you play your cards right, you will get the sale.
Staying Out of the Spam Folder
If you don’t want your account blocklisted or your emails marked as spam, follow these best practices:
Don’t Use Spam Trigger Words
Some certain words and phrases get a raised eyebrow from ESPs, so you want to avoid using them in your copy. Some of these include words/phrases like:
- Buy now
- Cash bonus
- Free money!
- Call now
- Limited offer
- Act immediately
- Get instant access
- Join today
- Please read this email
These are just a few, but you get the idea.
You don’t want to over-promise or make outlandish claims. You also don’t want to make misleading statements or outright lie.
The format of your copy matters, too. Using too many exclamation points and all caps can trigger spam filters. Evening saying, “This isn’t spam,” is enough to get your email blocked.
This is another topic I’ve done a deep dive on, so be sure to check out that article to keep yourself on the good side of the email filter gods.
Validate Your SPF, DMARC and DKIM
SPF, DMARC and DKIM are all authentication methods ESPs use to verify and validate your email domain.
SPF is the Sender Policy Framework, a security protocol proving the email came from your email address. It works by checking your server’s IP to ensure it matches what they have on record.
DKIM stands for DomainKeys Identified Mail, which works similarly to SPF to validate the email server. However, it can also detect if the email was messed with during transit.
Then there is DMARC or Domain-Based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance, another security protocol. However, it uses both DKIM and SPF to authenticate the email sender and works well against spoofing and phishing attacks.
It’s imperative you have all of these set up correctly so your deliverability rate doesn’t suffer.
Make Sure Your Emails Are Verified
Another tip is to make sure you’re getting verified email addresses. The last thing you want is for your emails to bounce or end up in a catch-all inbox.
Simply use Findymail to review your lead list to ensure each email address is legitimate. And hey, you’ll even get emails for leads with missing info!
Don’t Have Sending Spikes
If you’ve been sending 100 emails daily and then suddenly jump to 500+, you will get flagged by the ESP.
Their algorithms are always on the lookout for “suspicious” activity; a sudden spike in email volume is one of the triggers they look for. The key is to keep things consistent and predictable.
Don’t Buy Email Lists
Avoid pre-built email lists like the plague. You will get poor-quality leads and it’s very likely your recipients will trash your email and report it as spam.
If you do choose to go this route, make sure you manually go through and verify each email address. Use a tool like Findymail to help you out!
However, building your own lead lists is much more effective and profitable. Read my article on the topic if you want to learn how to do it from a pro!
Pro-Tip: Create Multiple Domains to Send More
One way to “increase” your daily sending limits is to create multiple domains. Of course, you need to go through the same process of warming up your new inbox and building your sender reputation.
But if you’ve already built a successful campaign, it’s more than worth it to start again with a new account. Then, you can effectively double or triple the number of emails you send per day.
It requires a bit of leg work, but it’s worth it in the long run if you need to send more emails than the limit allows.
Unlock Your Limits with Findymail!
In this article, I covered some of the latest stats around the effectiveness of cold emails, broke down the daily sending limits of the many popular ESPs and shared the best practices on reaching the limits without risking your account standing.
However, I recommend restraint and limiting yourself on the amount of emails you send daily. Yes, it might seem like sending 10,000 in one day is the fastest way to success and profits. But you risk burning your email account if there are too many bounces or spam reports.
So take things easy and remember that slow and steady wins the race. Of course, your entire campaign depends on the quality of your email addresses. And Findymail is your go-to tool for verifying your email lead lists and guaranteeing your message gets in front of your prospects.
If you want to see Findymail in action, sign up today and get your first ten emails free!
