Hey AI Automation community! 👋 This took me 2 hours to put together. If you're looking for proven ways to get clients AT SCALE and actually make money for your AI automation agency, then this is for you. I run an AI agency that made basically no money because I had a hard time finding new clients. I tried cold email starting in November and it quickly become one of our most profitable acquisition channels. I knew NOTHING about cold outreach when I started. I learned A LOT along the way (including plenty of expensive mistakes), so here’s everything I wish I had known from day one. If you don't know what cold email marketing is, it's when you send out thousands of emails to potential leads you haven't spoken to before. The goal is for them to book a consult with you where you'll then close on a deal. If you do it badly, it will look like spam and nobody will respond. Do it where you target relevant people ready to buy and offer a lot of VALUE, and you will generate sales. Part 1: Technical Setup Domain Strategy - Buy dedicated domains just for email campaigns — never ever use your main company domain. - Set up DNS records immediately: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. - Use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for better deliverability (roughly $4–6 per account per month). Email Account Setup - Create 1–4 email accounts per domain. - Start slow: 10 emails per account per day, then increase volume by ~10% each day. - Max once warmed up: ~25 emails per account per day. - Example: 4 domains × 3 accounts × 25 emails = 300 emails/day to begin with. IMPORTANT: Always warm up accounts for at least 14 days before ramping up. Extra tips that help a lot: - Add real profile photos and complete the accounts. - Older domains tend to perform better when you can get them. - Set up a custom tracking domain for accurate open/click data. Choosing Your Sending Platform You can do it manually with the part 1 technical setup above but it's way easier to buy an email account that's already configured and ready to go. I’ve run high-volume campaigns successfully with Instantly.ai because it has good campaign sequencing, deliverability focus, analytics, and lots of real-world insights shared by other operators who successfully scaled. It’s one of the best for cold email right now. But honestly, your lead list and outreach message matter more.