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Inbox placement

Get your cold email into the inbox, not the spam folder.

Good writing only matters if a person sees it. FirstSales warms up every mailbox, checks every contact before it sends and grades the health of each inbox, so you catch trouble early.

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Campaign analytics in the FirstSales sample workspace: goals, meetings, journey status, pending sends and engagement for sent, delivered, opened, replied and bounced email
  • 01

    21-day warm-up on every mailbox

  • 02

    Every contact checked before it sends

  • 03

    A health grade for every inbox

  • 04

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC checked for you

The problem

Good emails die in the spam folder.

You can write the best email of your life. If it lands in spam, nobody reads it, and nobody tells you.

New inboxes look like spam

A brand new mailbox that sends a lot on day one looks like a spammer to Gmail and Outlook. They filter it before a person ever sees it.

One bad list can burn a domain

Old or bought lists are full of dead addresses. Every bounce tells inbox providers you do not know who you are writing to. Enough of them and your domain carries the mark for weeks.

Nobody sends you a warning

Spam folders do not send reports. Most people find out when the replies stop, long after the damage is done.

How it works

Three steps from a new inbox to safe sending.

You do step one. FirstSales keeps doing the rest for as long as you send.

  1. 01

    Connect your inbox

    Add Gmail, Outlook or any SMTP inbox. We check SPF, DKIM and DMARC the moment you connect, and show the exact record to add if one is missing.

  2. 02

    We warm it up and clean your list

    Warm-up starts at once and grows over 21 days. Every contact is checked before it sends, and bad addresses are left out.

  3. 03

    Send, and watch the grade

    Each inbox gets a health grade, checked every hour. If one has trouble, sending moves to your healthy inboxes and you see what to fix.

What you get

Send more cold email without burning your domain.

The boring safety work, done for every inbox and every send. Included on every plan.

  • Start sending the same day

    Warm-up runs in the background from day one. Build your campaign, read your drafts and go live while your inbox earns trust.

  • Stop bounces before they happen

    Each contact is checked before it sends. Broken, dead and throwaway addresses never reach a send, so they never touch your reputation.

  • Know which inbox needs help

    One health grade per inbox, built from its bounce rate and warm-up score. You see a problem in hours, not weeks.

  • Fix DNS without a developer

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC are checked for you and explained in plain words. If a record is missing, copy the exact one we show you.

  • Keep campaigns running

    Sending rotates across your mailboxes. If one inbox has trouble, the others carry on while you fix it.

  • Add inboxes without paying more

    Unlimited mailboxes on every plan, each with warm-up and monitoring. Spread your sending as wide as you need.

Four things that keep youout of spam

Warm-up, list cleaning, sender health and authentication run for every inbox you connect.

  1. Warm-up

    21 days from a new inbox to full volume

    A new inbox that sends a lot on day one looks like spam. Warm-up starts small and grows as inbox providers learn to trust you. It runs in the background while you build campaigns.

    • Days 1–7: small and steady. Low daily volume to earn first trust with inbox providers.
    • Days 8–14: growing. Volume rises as your sender score improves.
    • Days 15–21: full speed. Full sending volume on a domain inbox providers trust.
  2. List cleaning

    Bad addresses never reach a send

    Every bounce hurts your sender reputation. FirstSales checks each contact before it sends and holds back the ones that would bounce or trap you.

    • Format and typo checks. Catches broken addresses and common typos.
    • Mail server and mailbox checks. Confirms the domain takes email and the mailbox exists.
    • Disposable and role addresses flagged. Throwaway and shared inboxes are marked as risky.
    • Dirty contacts are left out. Contacts marked Dirty are skipped in every send, automatically.
  3. Sender health

    See trouble before it costs you weeks

    Each inbox gets a health grade built from its bounce rate and warm-up score. Monitoring runs every hour, so a problem shows up early and you know what to fix.

    • One grade per inbox. Bounce rate and warm-up score in one number.
    • Rising bounces flagged. You see bounces climbing before they hurt your domain.
    • Sending moves to healthy inboxes. If one inbox has trouble, sending rotates to your others and campaigns keep running.
  4. Authentication

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC, in plain words

    Inbox providers check who really sent an email. FirstSales checks your records when you connect an inbox and tells you what to fix.

    • Checked when you connect. Gmail, Outlook or any SMTP inbox, checked the moment you add it.
    • The exact record to add. If a DNS record is missing, you see the exact record to copy.
    • No technical skills needed. Plain-English steps, not error codes.
Plain guide

What decides inbox or spam?

There is no magic trick. Inbox providers look at a handful of signals. Here is each one in plain words, and what FirstSales does about it.

  1. 01

    Proof of who sent it

    Gmail and Outlook check that an email really came from the domain it claims. Three DNS records do this. SPF lists the servers allowed to send for you. DKIM adds a signature that proves nobody changed the email on the way. DMARC tells providers what to do when the first two fail. Missing records are one of the most common reasons good email lands in spam. FirstSales checks all three when you connect an inbox and shows you the exact record to add.

  2. 02

    The track record of your domain and inbox

    Every domain and inbox builds a history. Providers remember how people treated your past emails: did they open, reply, delete or mark it as spam? A good history gets you the benefit of the doubt. A bad one follows you for weeks. That is why FirstSales grades each inbox and warns you early, instead of letting a problem grow quietly.

  3. 03

    How fast your sending grows

    Real people do not go from zero to hundreds of emails in a day. When a new inbox does, providers get suspicious. The fix is a slow ramp: a little each day, then more as trust builds. FirstSales warm-up does this for 21 days in three phases, while you build your campaigns.

  4. 04

    How clean your list is

    Bouncing email is a loud signal that you do not know who you are writing to. Old lists, typos, closed company mailboxes and throwaway addresses all bounce. Some dead addresses are even watched by providers to catch senders with bad lists. FirstSales checks each contact before it sends and leaves out the ones marked Dirty.

  5. 05

    What people do with your email

    A reply is the strongest good signal there is. Being marked as spam is the strongest bad one. Short, personal emails to people who might care get replies. One generic email sent to everyone gets reported. FirstSales writes each email for the person it goes to, and you can read the drafts before they send.

  6. 06

    What your email looks like

    Big images, many links, link shorteners and pushy sales words make an email look like a mass mailing. Plain text that reads like one person writing to another looks like normal email. Keep the first email short and plain, and save the links for when someone asks.

  7. 07

    How much each inbox sends

    Even a healthy inbox looks odd if it suddenly sends far more than it used to. Spreading your sending across several inboxes keeps each one at a normal pace. FirstSales rotates sending across your mailboxes, and you can add as many as you need on every plan.

Before you send

A ten-point check for every new cold email inbox

Run through this before a new inbox sends its first campaign. FirstSales does most of it for you. The rest takes a few minutes.

  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC are set up for the sending domain
  • Warm-up has started, and you let it grow over 21 days
  • Your list is checked, and Dirty contacts are left out
  • No bought or scraped list goes out unchecked
  • The first email is short, plain text, with one link at most
  • Every email is about the person who gets it
  • Follow-ups stop the moment someone replies or opts out
  • Sending is spread across several inboxes
  • Each inbox shows a healthy grade before you add volume
  • You look at bounces and replies after every send day
“User Interface, Ease of Use, Able to hit the inbox in the first attempt.”
Sadashiv B.Founder, small business · G2
What people say

From people who use it

Real words from real users. No paid reviews.

“One of the biggest pains in cold email is making sure that you have your DNS setup correctly. Firstsales has created a system to make sure you have done this correctly.”

Mike O

Trustpilot review

Trustpilot

“One of the best email outreach tools I have ever seen in my 9 years of business experience. It has solved the problem of email outreach for my cold emails.”

Santhosh K.

Founder and CEO, small business

G2

“If you are looking to fix your sales pipeline, you should definitely try [it]. My open rate has increased drastically. The UI and UX are easy to understand, even for a beginner like me.”

Pooja Dhole

@ThisIsPoojaD

X
Read all reviews
Before and after

Cold email sending, before and after FirstSales

What changes when the safety work runs on its own.

Doing it by hand

How most people learn deliverability: the hard way.

  • You send hard on day oneA new inbox goes straight to full volume and gets filtered.
  • You upload the list as it isDead addresses bounce and your domain pays for it.
  • DNS is a guessing gameYou copy records from forum posts and hope they are right.
  • You find out when replies stopNo warning, just a quiet inbox weeks later.
  • One inbox does all the workWhen it gets in trouble, the whole campaign stops.
  • Safety tools cost extraWarm-up, checks and monitoring are often paid add-ons.
With FirstSales

The checks run before every send.

  • Warm-up does the waitingSending grows over 21 days while you build.
  • Every contact is checked firstBad addresses are left out before they can bounce.
  • You see the exact recordMissing DNS records, shown in plain words and ready to copy.
  • You see trouble in hoursHourly monitoring and a health grade for each inbox.
  • Sending rotatesYour other inboxes carry on while you fix one.
  • Included on every planFrom $29/mo, with unlimited mailboxes.
Why teams switch

Inbox placement: FirstSales vs a typical tool

Many cold email tools send what you give them. FirstSales also protects the inbox it sends from.

Inbox placement features in FirstSales and a typical cold email tool
What you getTypical toolFirstSales
21-day warm-upVariesIncluded
Contact checks before every sendVariesEvery send, no add-on
Dirty contacts left outVariesAutomatically, every send
Health grade per inboxVariesBounce rate and warm-up score
SPF, DKIM and DMARC checksVariesOn connect, with the exact record to add
MonitoringVariesEvery hour
Sending rotationVariesAcross all your mailboxes
MailboxesVariesUnlimited on every plan
PriceVaries$29/mo, all of the above included
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Go deeper

Questions,answered plainly.

Can’t find yours? Write to us.

01What is inbox placement?

It is where your email ends up: the main inbox, a promotions tab or the spam folder. A cold email that lands in spam is never read, however good it is.

02Can you guarantee my emails will not go to spam?

No. Nobody honestly can. What we do: warm up your inbox, clean every list before it sends, warn you when a sender’s health drops, and rotate inboxes if one has trouble. You see the results on your dashboard.

03How long does warm-up take?

21 days to full volume. It sends small amounts from day one and grows on its own, so you can build campaigns and read drafts while it runs.

04What does list cleaning check?

The format of each address, whether the domain takes email, whether the mailbox exists, and whether it is a throwaway or shared address. Contacts marked Dirty are never sent to.

05What happens if one of my inboxes has a problem?

Its health grade drops and you see a warning. Sending rotates to your other inboxes, so your campaigns keep running while you fix it.

06Does any of this cost extra?

No. Warm-up, list cleaning and monitoring are included on every plan, from $29/mo, with unlimited mailboxes. Try it for $1 for 3 days. No contract: cancel any time from your dashboard.

07Which inboxes can I connect?

Gmail, Outlook or any inbox that sends over SMTP. Each one is checked when you add it and starts warm-up straight away.

08What can I do during the $1 trial if warm-up takes 21 days?

A lot. In the 3 days you connect your inbox, start warm-up, build a campaign, see your lead list and read the drafts written for your prospects. Warm-up sends small amounts from day one and grows by itself, so you never wait to start.

09Who is this not for?

If you want to blast bought lists, or you want someone to promise 100% inbox placement, we are not your fit. FirstSales is for founders, sales teams and agencies who send real, targeted cold email and care that it reaches a person.

10What if I get stuck?

Every plan includes onboarding help, plain-English docs and real people on support. Most questions get an answer the same day.

Outreach that keeps going after you log off.Leads, emails, follow-ups and replies, handled.

Connect unlimited mailboxes and let AI agents find leads, write each email and follow up. Or send your own templates in manual mode. From $29/mo.

Start your $1 trial See pricing

$1 for 3 days · Cancel anytime · No contract

Install with AI

Your coding agent sets up the FirstSales CLI and skills for you.

Prompt for Claude Code

I'm setting up FirstSales (https://firstsales.io), an AI outbound sales platform: campaigns, contacts, a reply inbox, deliverability and lead signals. Help me get my workspace sending real, good emails end to end, from Claude Code.

Read these first so you know how FirstSales works:
- Developer docs and API: https://developer.firstsales.io
- CLI: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@firstsales.io/cli
- Skills for coding agents: https://github.com/firstsalesio/firstsales-skills (read README.md and GUIDE.md)

Setup
1. Install the CLI: npm install -g @firstsales.io/cli
2. Install the FirstSales skills:
   claude plugin marketplace add firstsalesio/firstsales-skills
   claude plugin install firstsales@firstsales
3. Ask me if I already have a FirstSales account. If not, send me to https://app.firstsales.io to sign up.
4. Ask me to create an API key under Settings → API → API Keys, with only the scopes we need.
   Never ask me to paste the key into this chat. Tell me to run this in my own terminal, so the key stays hidden:
   read -rs FS_KEY && firstsales auth login --api-key "$FS_KEY"; unset FS_KEY
5. Run `firstsales whoami` and tell me which workspace and organisation we are connected to.

Then ask me about my business: what I sell, who I sell to (roles, company size, countries), my best customers, and what I use today for outbound (tools, lists, mailboxes). Walk me through:
1. Teaching FirstSales my business: website, offer, proof points and case studies in the knowledge base, so the AI writes like someone who knows the product.
2. Connecting my sending mailboxes and checking my sending domain: SPF, DKIM, DMARC and warm-up. If anything is unhealthy, tell me the exact DNS record to add.
3. Bringing in contacts: import my CSV or CRM export into a clean list, remove duplicates and bad emails, and block domains I must never email (customers, competitors, my own).
4. Building my first campaign: the right list, senders, steps and timing. Write the sequence with me, show me the drafts, and do not launch until I say yes.
5. Setting up Signals if it fits: find people engaging with LinkedIn posts about topics my buyers care about, and turn them into leads.
6. Inviting my team and giving each person the right access.

Once campaigns run, show me how to work the reply inbox from here: which replies need an answer, draft responses in my voice, and move good conversations into deals. If I use Cal.com, connect it so follow-ups can offer my booking link (not the first email).

Throughout, as you learn about my business, proactively suggest and help create:
- Reply templates for the questions and objections my prospects are likely to raise, based on my product, site and codebase if you can see them.
- Campaign ideas and segments worth testing, with the reason for each.

Safety rules:
- Show every change as a dry run (--dry-run) first and wait for my yes. Never send emails, launch campaigns or delete anything without my yes.
- Tell me before anything that spends credits, and how many.

Be opinionated. If the docs give a sensible default, just use it. Don't make me choose between five options.
Developer docs ↗npm: @firstsales.io/cli ↗GitHub: firstsales-skills ↗