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If your emails are landing and you're not seeing obvious bounces, the problem probably isn't urgent. But "fine" isn't the same as "optimized"—and it's definitely not the same as "ready for what's next."
Here's what smart teams are fixing even when deliverability looks solid:
1. Future-Proofing for Growth
Even if deliverability looks solid today, it can change quickly as volume scales. If you plan to double or triple your outbound volume (or expand into new markets or segments), you need a forward-looking setup that anticipates growth, not just supports the present moment.
What breaks isn't the sending—it's the reputation. When you suddenly ramp volume without the infrastructure to support it, inbox providers notice. And once your domain reputation drops, it's harder to fix than it would've been to prevent.
What this looks like in practice: Review your current sending volume and projected growth over the next six months. If you're planning to scale significantly, start building out your infrastructure now—additional domains, IP warming schedules, segmented sending profiles. Don't wait until you're already at the new volume to realize you needed this two months ago.
2. Domain Warming and Subdomain Strategy
Scaling isn't just about sending more—it's about how that volume is distributed. Setting up and gradually warming new sending subdomains creates clean, independent reputations for specific use cases (e.g., outbound vs. marketing vs. transactional).
Here's what people miss: when everything sends from one domain, a problem in one channel drags everything else down with it. One aggressive campaign tanks your reputation, and suddenly your transactional emails—password resets, invoices, confirmations—are landing in spam too.
What this looks like in practice: Map out your email use cases: cold outbound, nurture sequences, newsletters, transactional notifications. Set up dedicated subdomains for each (outbound.yourdomain.com, news.yourdomain.com, etc.). Warm them gradually with low volume before you need them at scale. This way, when one channel has issues, the others stay clean.
3. DMARC Monitoring & Ongoing Health Checks
Even when things "look good," actively reviewing DMARC reports, watching Google Postmaster trends, and occasionally testing inbox placement can catch early warning signs before they turn into delivery failures.
Most deliverability problems don't announce themselves. They show up as quiet trends—reply rates dipping slightly, inbox placement shifting from primary to promotions, spam complaint rates ticking up by half a percent. By the time it's obvious, you're already behind.
What this looks like in practice: Set a monthly calendar reminder to review DMARC aggregate reports and check Google Postmaster Tools for your sending domains. Run occasional seed list tests to spot-check inbox vs. spam placement across major providers. If you see any unusual patterns—even small ones—investigate immediately. The earlier you catch a trend, the easier it is to fix.
Bottom line: If your deliverability feels stable, don't assume it'll stay that way. Build the infrastructure that keeps it strong as you grow.
We’d love to learn more about your business, email deliverability and outreach goals, and see if we might be able to help.
Whether you have questions about what we do, how Protocol works, or you’d just like to pick our brains on some of our best practices, we’d be happy to chat.
Schedule a call with our Revenue Director, Chrisley Ceme.
If your emails are landing and you're not seeing obvious bounces, the problem probably isn't urgent. But "fine" isn't the same as "optimized"—and it's definitely not the same as "ready for what's next."
Here's what smart teams are fixing even when deliverability looks solid:
1. Future-Proofing for Growth
Even if deliverability looks solid today, it can change quickly as volume scales. If you plan to double or triple your outbound volume (or expand into new markets or segments), you need a forward-looking setup that anticipates growth, not just supports the present moment.
What breaks isn't the sending—it's the reputation. When you suddenly ramp volume without the infrastructure to support it, inbox providers notice. And once your domain reputation drops, it's harder to fix than it would've been to prevent.
What this looks like in practice: Review your current sending volume and projected growth over the next six months. If you're planning to scale significantly, start building out your infrastructure now—additional domains, IP warming schedules, segmented sending profiles. Don't wait until you're already at the new volume to realize you needed this two months ago.
2. Domain Warming and Subdomain Strategy
Scaling isn't just about sending more—it's about how that volume is distributed. Setting up and gradually warming new sending subdomains creates clean, independent reputations for specific use cases (e.g., outbound vs. marketing vs. transactional).
Here's what people miss: when everything sends from one domain, a problem in one channel drags everything else down with it. One aggressive campaign tanks your reputation, and suddenly your transactional emails—password resets, invoices, confirmations—are landing in spam too.
What this looks like in practice: Map out your email use cases: cold outbound, nurture sequences, newsletters, transactional notifications. Set up dedicated subdomains for each (outbound.yourdomain.com, news.yourdomain.com, etc.). Warm them gradually with low volume before you need them at scale. This way, when one channel has issues, the others stay clean.
3. DMARC Monitoring & Ongoing Health Checks
Even when things "look good," actively reviewing DMARC reports, watching Google Postmaster trends, and occasionally testing inbox placement can catch early warning signs before they turn into delivery failures.
Most deliverability problems don't announce themselves. They show up as quiet trends—reply rates dipping slightly, inbox placement shifting from primary to promotions, spam complaint rates ticking up by half a percent. By the time it's obvious, you're already behind.
What this looks like in practice: Set a monthly calendar reminder to review DMARC aggregate reports and check Google Postmaster Tools for your sending domains. Run occasional seed list tests to spot-check inbox vs. spam placement across major providers. If you see any unusual patterns—even small ones—investigate immediately. The earlier you catch a trend, the easier it is to fix.
Bottom line: If your deliverability feels stable, don't assume it'll stay that way. Build the infrastructure that keeps it strong as you grow.
Our Revenue Director, Chrisley Ceme, is leading the Triggered Outbound program.Chrisley’s gone deep on this strategy and can walk you through:
- How Triggered Outbound fits with your outbound goals
- What triggers are available (and what’s possible within our platform)
- Pricing, onboarding, and getting started
