There's so much noise in the cold email space. Honestly, if you're generating < $10K/mo, my advice is to keep things lean and only use a handful of tools.
Here's what I'd use starting out:
- Cheap Inboxes
I’d get Google inboxes here (biased). Cold email breaks fast when inbox setup is messy. I don’t want to spend my day patching mailboxes, DNS, logins, and setup while the agency is still small.
At this stage, I want clean inboxes I can set up fast and manage without a big bill. And we charge as low as $2.8 per inbox.
- Apollo
Use Apollo for data. Is it perfect? No. But it's well rounded. Under $10K/mo, I need a simple way to find leads, build lists, and test offers without buying separate tools. Apollo gets me moving.
- MillionVerifier
Run emails through MillionVerifier before sending. Bad emails burn inboxes and waste sends. It can also hurt your deliverability. It's one of the few tools I wouldn't skip because it protects the stack.
- Instantly
Instantly is a well-rounded sender. It keeps sending simple. I can load inboxes, add lists, write campaigns, and see what's happening without making setup a full-time job.
That’s the stack.
- CheapInboxes for Google inboxes.
- Apollo for data.
- MillionVerifier for email checks.
- Instantly for sending.
If I was starting again, I’d rather have a small setup I use every day than a huge setup I keep paying for.
Keep it lean until the work forces you to add more.
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