Cold Emailing
Feb 3, 2026
CEO and co-founder
Migrating to New Cold Email Infrastructure: The Zero-Downtime Guide for Agencies
Why agencies delay migration (and why it costs your margins)
The math is brutal. Google Workspace Business Starter costs $7-8.40 per user per month. For 50 inboxes, that means $350-420/month in platform fees alone. Scale to 100 inboxes and you hit $700-840/month. At 200 inboxes, infrastructure consumes $1,400-1,680/month before you pay for warmup tools or sending platforms.
Compare that to our flat-rate pricing at $129/month for unlimited inboxes plus approximately $33/month in amortized domain costs (50 domains at roughly $8/year each). Our ROI calculator shows annual savings of approximately $1,830-2,670 for 50 inboxes depending on your current Google Workspace tier. That money either goes to your bottom line or pays for the junior account manager you have been putting off hiring.
The technical bottleneck nobody talks about
Manual DNS configuration for 50 domains consumes significant time. You log into Namecheap or GoDaddy 50 separate times, create SPF records, generate DKIM keys, configure DMARC policies, wait 24-48 hours for propagation, then test with Mail-Tester before campaigns can launch. According to DMARCLY's deployment guide, even a basic setup for a single domain requires multiple steps depending on DNS propagation speed.
That time represents hours you could spend on sales calls or client strategy instead of DNS panel work.
The deliverability fear that keeps you stuck
You might worry that new IPs mean starting from zero reputation. You are correct. Litmus reports that when both your IP and domain are new, you need to warm up carefully because you will be seen as an unknown sender. Both IP reputation and domain reputation matter to modern email providers.
Your fear is valid but manageable. We built the Bridge Strategy to reduce this risk by running parallel systems during the warmup period. Your current infrastructure handles active campaigns while new infrastructure builds reputation in the background.
Cost Item | Google Workspace (50 inboxes) | Inframail (50 inboxes) |
|---|---|---|
Platform fee | $350-420/month | $129/month |
Domain costs | Included | $68.50/month (amortized) |
Total monthly | $350-420 | $197.50 |
Annual cost | $4,200-5,040 | $2,370 |
Pre-migration audit: Mapping your current sending footprint
Before you touch any settings, document your current setup. Red Sift's migration guide recommends you establish an inventory of all email sending assets and baseline deliverability visibility.
Domain and inbox inventory
Create a spreadsheet tracking your current infrastructure:
Domain name: Every domain currently sending cold email
Inbox count: Number of active inboxes per domain
Daily volume: Average emails sent per inbox per day
Current provider: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or other
Warmup status: Active warmup tool and current health score
Campaign status: Which clients have active campaigns running
Risk assessment for active campaigns
Identify which clients are mid-campaign:
Bridge candidates: Clients with active campaigns where you cannot interrupt sending. Keep old infrastructure running for these accounts while new infrastructure warms up.
Fresh start candidates: Clients between campaigns or onboarding. Start these immediately on new infrastructure.
Our guide to calculating email sending capacity helps you match your current volume to the right plan tier.
DNS record documentation
Before you migrate, document your current email authentication:
What to pull:
Existing SPF records
DKIM keys and selectors
DMARC policies
How to validate: Send an email from your domain to check@dmarcly.com to get a report on your current email authentication status. This baseline helps you confirm that new infrastructure matches or exceeds current deliverability.
Step 1: Provisioning dedicated infrastructure without manual DNS work
You used to log into DNS panels, copy long TXT records, wait for propagation, and troubleshoot typos. Automated DNS configuration tools reduce what normally takes hours to just minutes.
Buying domains through our platform
Instead of registering at Namecheap, transferring nameservers, and configuring records manually, you purchase directly through our platform. Domains cost $6-16 per year depending on TLD.
Watch our tutorial on buying domains and setting up inboxes in 4 minutes for the exact workflow.
How automated DNS configuration works
When you add a domain, we handle:
SPF records: Specify which servers can send email for your domain
DKIM keys: Cryptographic signatures that prove email authenticity
DMARC policies: Instructions for receiving servers on handling failed authentication
MX records: Route incoming replies to your mailbox
No DNS panel access required. Our SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup video demonstrates the process for 10+ inboxes.
Dedicated IP versus shared IP pools
The infrastructure type determines whether your sending reputation belongs to you alone or gets shared with strangers. Mailtrap explains that with shared IPs, your email deliverability depends not only on your behavior but on everyone else sending from that IP. If other senders use the IP for spamming, they can damage your email metrics.
With dedicated IPs, you get a private driveway. Your behavior alone determines reputation. You troubleshoot faster and fixes land cleaner because you are not hunting for problems caused by unknown senders.
Our comparison of dedicated versus shared IPs breaks down the deliverability implications.
Step 2: The "Bridge Strategy" for warming up new IPs
You should not shut down Google Workspace yet. The Bridge Strategy runs both systems simultaneously for approximately 14 days, reducing campaign downtime risk while your new infrastructure builds reputation.
The parallel implementation concept
Run both systems side by side:
Old infrastructure (Google Workspace): Continues handling active client campaigns at current volume. Make no changes to existing workflows.
New infrastructure (Inframail): Provisions inboxes, connects to warmup tool, and gradually builds sender reputation. Run no client campaigns until warmup completes.
This overlap costs one extra month of Google Workspace fees but protects you against the deliverability problems that cause client churn.
Connecting new inboxes to warmup tools
After you provision inboxes, export credentials and connect to a warmup tool like Warmbox or Instantly's warmup network. Our warmup guide walks through the exact process.
"I can set-up inboxes in 5mins while saving money on Google Workspace subscriptions and benefit from great deliverability. All of my campaigns on Inframail are on a >10% reply rate." - Verified user review of Inframail
The warmup schedule
Inboxroad's documentation provides a recommended volume ramp. Start conservatively and increase gradually:
Phase | Days | Recommended Volume | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
Start | 1-3 | 50-100 emails | Warmup tool only, no campaigns |
Ramp | 4-7 | 150-300 emails | Low volume test sends to engaged contacts |
Build | 8-10 | 350-500 emails | Gradual campaign introduction |
Scale | 11-14 | 600-1000 emails | Ramp toward full volume |
Infobip recommends starting with your most engaged subscribers, preferably openers or clickers from the last 30 days. Rejoiner notes that ISPs evaluate senders over rolling time periods, so maintaining consistent sending volume after warmup helps preserve your reputation.
Step 3: Exporting credentials and syncing with sending platforms
Once your warmup reaches healthy metrics (85%+ inbox placement), transfer campaigns to new infrastructure. The bulk export/import process takes minutes.
Exporting credentials from Inframail
You download a CSV file containing all inbox credentials. Our guide to downloading CSV files shows the exact steps. The file includes:
Email address
IMAP server and password
SMTP server and password
Display name
Importing into Instantly
Instantly's help documentation walks through the upload process:
Go to Email Accounts in your dashboard
Click Add New, then Connect existing accounts
Select Any Provider, then Bulk Import from CSV
Upload the CSV file exported from Inframail
Map columns to the correct fields
Importing into Smartlead
Smartlead's bulk import guide follows a similar process:
Open email accounts section
Click "Add Account(s)"
Click "choose file" to review sample CSV format
Drag and drop your CSV file into the upload field
Check our compatibility guide for the full list of supported sending platforms.
Step 4: The cutover checklist to prevent campaign downtime
Before you move live campaigns to new infrastructure, validate everything works. Seahawk Media's migration checklist recommends you verify that mail flow works correctly for all users and that security settings are correctly applied.
Validation steps before cutover
Mail-Tester score: Send test emails to mail-tester.com. Target 9+/10 score.
Authentication check: Send to check@dmarcly.com to verify SPF, DKIM, and DMARC pass.
Warmup health: Confirm 85%+ inbox placement in your warmup tool dashboard.
Reply testing: Send test emails to personal Gmail and Outlook accounts, verify inbox placement, and test reply functionality.
Setting up phantom redirects
Phantom redirects hide your infrastructure changes from ESPs. Our guide to phantom redirects explains the difference between normal and phantom redirects and when you should use each.
When to cancel Google Workspace
You should wait one full week after switching live campaigns before you cancel the old provider. Helixstorm's migration guide recommends you archive any old data before decommissioning. This buffer catches any edge cases where old replies or bounces need routing.
"We trialled two options—Inframail and a competitor. We chose the competitor. A month later, we switched back to Inframail. Zero issues since. Rock-solid infrastructure." - Verified user review of Inframail
Post-migration monitoring: Validating deliverability on dedicated IPs
With dedicated IPs, you own the reputation. That control comes with monitoring responsibility.
Blacklist monitoring and automated delisting
When your IP gets flagged, your deliverability tanks. We monitor IP and domain health with a deliverability dashboard that shows which domains are blacklisted. Our system auto-submits delisting requests from blacklists, helping prevent client-facing fires before they start.
Infraforge's comparison notes that reputation isolation means your IP reputation reflects only your sending, not a pool of strangers.
Ongoing health metrics to track
Monitor these metrics weekly using our campaign spam monitoring guide:
Inbox placement rate: Target 85%+
Bounce rate: Keep under 2% (ZeroBounce confirms this is the industry benchmark)
Spam complaint rate: Keep under 0.1%
Blacklist status: Zero active listings
Calculating your new cost per inbox
After migration completes, recalculate your unit economics:
Inbox Count | Google Workspace | Inframail | Monthly Savings | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
50 inboxes | $350-420/month | ~$162/month | $188-258 | $1,830-2,670 |
100 inboxes | $700-840/month | ~$195/month | $505-645 | $6,060-7,740 |
200 inboxes | $1,400-1,680/month | ~$261/month | $1,139-1,419 | $13,668-17,028 |
Inframail costs include $129/month platform fee plus amortized domain costs at ~$8/domain/year
For a complete walkthrough, watch our Ultimate Cold Email Infrastructure Guide or the step-by-step setup tutorial.
Your next steps
If you stay on Google Workspace, you pay thousands annually in excess infrastructure fees for 50+ inboxes. Migration takes under 30 minutes of technical setup plus approximately 14 days of warmup. The Bridge Strategy protects your live campaigns during the transition. With dedicated IPs, your reputation stays isolated from other senders.
"One of the best mailbox infra vendors I have ever used super easy and quick setup and support is practically 24/7 with at max a 2min wait to get a question answered." - Verified user review of Inframail
Ready to reclaim your margins? Sign up for Inframail and provision your first 10 domains in under 5 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How long does migration take?
Technical setup takes under 30 minutes with automated DNS configuration. Reputation warmup takes approximately 14 days before you can run full-volume campaigns.
Do I lose my warmup history?
Yes. IP reputation and domain reputation are tracked separately by email providers. You must re-warm new infrastructure for approximately 14 days starting from zero.
Can I keep my same domains?
Yes, you can technically migrate domains. However, we recommend you buy new domains for new infrastructure to isolate reputation risks and start with a clean slate.
What happens if I stop sending for a month?
ISPs evaluate senders over rolling time periods. If you go a month without sending, you may need to repeat the warmup process.
How much do I save on 100 inboxes?
Google Workspace costs $700-840/month for 100 inboxes. Our flat-rate pricing is $129/month plus domain costs. Annual savings range from approximately $6,060-7,740.
Key terms glossary
Dedicated IP: An IP address used exclusively by one sender. Your sending behavior alone determines your reputation. Other users cannot damage your deliverability.
Shared IP: An IP address used by multiple senders simultaneously. Your deliverability depends on the sending habits of others.
Bridge Strategy: Running old and new infrastructure simultaneously for approximately 14 days. Reduces campaign downtime risk while new IPs build reputation.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework): A DNS record specifying which IP addresses can send email for your domain. Like a guest list telling receiving servers which mail servers are authorized.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): A digital signature using cryptography to verify email came from your domain and was not tampered with during delivery.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): Instructions telling receiving servers what to do (deliver, quarantine, or reject) when emails fail SPF or DKIM checks.
Warmup: The process of gradually increasing sending volume on new IPs to build positive sender reputation with ISPs.
