--- title: "Cold email setup without an agency" url: "https://coldmeetings.com/services/cold-email-agency.md" canonical_url: "https://coldmeetings.com/services/cold-email-agency" last_updated: "2026-10-23" type: "product" summary: "Sending domains, the exact DNS records, mailboxes and live DNS checks as software with an API, shown with the records a new domain is given." related: ["https://coldmeetings.com/services/outbound-prospecting-services.md", "https://coldmeetings.com/services/appointment-setting.md", "https://coldmeetings.com/services/b2b-lead-generation-services.md", "https://coldmeetings.com/pricing.md"] --- # Cold email setup without an agency > **For AI agents:** the complete index of ColdMeetings pages is [llms.txt](https://coldmeetings.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. Sending domains, the exact DNS records, mailboxes and live DNS checks as software with an API, shown with the records a new domain is given. People look for a cold email agency because the groundwork is fiddly: separate sending domains, records that really pass, mailboxes that start slowly. ColdMeetings is software with an API, so it lists the records, reads live DNS and shows you the answer instead of asking you to take its word for it. - Every domain comes with the exact records to publish. - A live DNS check decides when a domain counts as ready. - Mailboxes raise their daily volume in steps, with real sends only. ## What the platform sets up for you Six pieces of the sending groundwork, each one an API call you can run and read back. - **Domains you own.** You register a domain you already own, kept apart from your company website domain. Buying domains stays with your registrar. - **Records listed per domain.** Registering a domain answers with the SPF and DMARC records to publish. The DKIM record follows once your mailbox host issues the key. - **A DNS check against live DNS.** The check reads the real records. A domain moves to authenticated only when SPF, DKIM and DMARC all read true. - **Records published for you.** With a DNS host connected, one call writes the SPF and DMARC records into a new zone, and you point the registrar at it. - **A volume ramp by mailbox age.** A new mailbox starts small and its daily cap steps up with its age: 5, 10, 20, 30 and then 40 sends a day. - **Real sends, no mailbox swaps.** Volume rises through real low-volume sends to real prospects. ColdMeetings does not offer mailboxes that email each other. ## From a domain you own to a mailbox that sends 1. **Register the domain.** Send the domain name to the API and read the records it returns. 2. **Publish the records.** Put the SPF and DMARC records at your DNS host, or ask the API to write them when a DNS host is connected. 3. **Add the DKIM key.** Copy the key your mailbox host issues, publish it, then run the DNS check until it reads true. 4. **Add mailboxes.** Mailboxes on an authenticated domain count toward your daily send capacity and start at the smallest cap. ## The records a new sending domain is given Registering a domain you own with POST /v1/domains answers with the DNS records to publish. This is the answer for a fictional domain, northbeam-mail.example. The DKIM record is not in it, because the mailbox host issues that key after the domain is added there. The domain and the ids are fictional. The response keys and the record values are the ones the API returns. required_records for northbeam-mail.example | Type | Name | Content | | --- | --- | --- | | TXT | northbeam-mail.example | v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all | | TXT | _dmarc.northbeam-mail.example | v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@northbeam-mail.example | POST /v1/domains with {"domain": "northbeam-mail.example"} answers 201 with this body ```json { "id": "dom_4kT9xQp2Wm7ZsLr1VbN8cE", "domain": "northbeam-mail.example", "status": "pending_dns", "dkim_selector": "google", "created_at": "2026-10-17T12:00:00.000Z", "required_records": [ { "type": "TXT", "name": "northbeam-mail.example", "content": "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all" }, { "type": "TXT", "name": "_dmarc.northbeam-mail.example", "content": "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@northbeam-mail.example" } ], "dkim_note": "The DKIM record is issued by your mailbox host after the domain is added there. Re-register with dkim_value to see it listed, or publish it yourself." } ``` Your checklist for this domain - [x] Publish the SPF record at northbeam-mail.example - [x] Publish the DMARC record at _dmarc.northbeam-mail.example - [ ] Add the domain at your mailbox host and copy the DKIM key it issues - [ ] Publish the DKIM record under the google selector - [ ] Run the DNS check until all three records read true The platform lists the records and reads live DNS to confirm them. Publishing them at your DNS host, or asking the API to do it when a DNS host is connected, stays a step you take. ## Pricing Domain and mailbox setup is part of the paid plans. The limits below come straight from the plan catalog. Plans for this page, read from the plan catalog | Plan | Price | Prospects a month | Domains | Mailboxes | Active campaigns | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Professional | $495/month | 10,000 | 12 | 30 | 5 | | Enterprise | from $36,000/yr | 50,000 | 40 | 120 | 20 | ## Questions ### Is ColdMeetings a cold email agency? No. It is software with an API. The Enterprise plan lists ongoing copywriting, continuous a/b testing, campaign success manager among its inclusions, and every plan runs on the same platform. ### Do I buy my sending domains through ColdMeetings? No. Buying domains is not an API operation. You register a domain you already own, and it should be separate from your company website domain. ### Who publishes the DNS records? You do, at your DNS host. When a DNS host is connected, you can instead ask the API to write the SPF and DMARC records into a zone for you. ### Why is the DKIM record missing from the first answer? Your mailbox host issues the DKIM key after the domain is added there. Pass it when you register the domain, or publish it yourself afterwards and run the DNS check. ## Related - [Outbound prospecting limits by plan](https://coldmeetings.com/services/outbound-prospecting-services.md) - [Appointment setting with ColdMeetings](https://coldmeetings.com/services/appointment-setting.md) - [B2B lead generation services on ColdMeetings](https://coldmeetings.com/services/b2b-lead-generation-services.md) - [Pricing](https://coldmeetings.com/pricing.md) ## Related - [Outbound prospecting limits by plan](https://coldmeetings.com/services/outbound-prospecting-services.md) - [Appointment setting with ColdMeetings](https://coldmeetings.com/services/appointment-setting.md) - [B2B lead generation services on ColdMeetings](https://coldmeetings.com/services/b2b-lead-generation-services.md) - [Pricing: Professional and Enterprise plans](https://coldmeetings.com/pricing.md)