Prepare for outbound: before you launch your first campaign

Your first campaign sets the tone for your mailbox's reputation. A little preparation now avoids bounces, spam-folder placement and awkward replies later. Work through this checklist in order; each step links to a detailed guide.

The Outreach Overview page tracks the same setup. Until you finish, a Get set up panel lists five steps: Connect your Google account, Add contacts, Write a template (optional), Create a campaign and Launch it. The Setup row at the top shows whether your Google account is connected and whether you've agreed to responsible use. The Outreach card on the Dashboard shows your progress as "Setup X of 5". See How Outreach works.

1. Connect your Google account (Gmail or Google Workspace)
2. Check your domain and mailbox
3. Import a clean contact list
4. Write a short sequence and preview it
5. Send a test email to yourself
6. Launch at a modest daily volume

1. Connect the Google account you will send from

Distro sends from your own Google account (a Gmail address or Google Workspace) through Google's official APIs. There is no shared sending pool, and Distro never asks for your Google password.

• Open Sending accounts in the Outreach section of the sidebar, click Add sender, enter the name and address recipients will see, then click Enable on the Google account row and sign in with Google.
• Check the From name recipients will see. Use a real person's name.
• If you want to send from an alias, add and verify it in Gmail's settings first.

Guides: Connect your Google account to Distro, Gmail vs Google Workspace for cold email, Use a verified alias in Distro.

2. Check your domain and mailbox

• SPF, DKIM and DMARC are set up for your sending domain (Google Workspace). With a free @gmail.com address, Google handles these for you.
• Your domain can receive replies (MX records point to your mailbox).
• The mailbox looks like a real person: full name, profile photo and a short signature.
• If the mailbox or domain is new, plan to start with a small volume and increase gradually.

Guides: Cold email deliverability checklist, How to prepare a new sending account.

3. Prepare a clean contact list

• Only include people you have a genuine, lawful reason to contact.
• Remove addresses you know are invalid, role addresses you don't intend to email and anyone who asked not to be contacted.
• Include the columns you want to personalise with, such as first name and company.
• Import the list from People in the sidebar or the import page.

Guides: Import prospects with a CSV, Keeping your prospect list clean, The Do Not Contact list.

4. Write a short sequence

• Keep the first email short, specific and about the recipient's problem.
• Add a few follow-ups rather than one long email.
• Use personalisation variables, and check every contact has a value for them.
• Keep links to a minimum, and avoid URL shorteners.

Guides: Create your first cold email campaign, Understanding campaign sequences and follow-ups, Using personalization variables, Links in cold email.

5. Preview and test

• In the campaign, click Show preview to see each email as real recipients will receive it, with variables filled in.
• Use Send a test email to send a copy to yourself, and read it on your phone as well as your computer.
• Check the signature, the From name and the links.

6. Choose a schedule and volume

• Pick sending days and hours in your recipients' working time.
• Start with a modest daily volume, especially on a new mailbox, and increase it as replies come in and bounces stay low.
• Decide whether to turn on open and click tracking.
• Decide whether to add an unsubscribe link. It's optional and off by default; we recommend it for cold outreach.

Guides: Schedule a campaign, Choose your daily sending volume, Gmail sending limits explained, Open and click tracking explained.

7. Confirm responsible use and launch

Before your first send, Distro asks you to confirm its responsible-use policy, for example that you have a lawful basis to contact every recipient and will honour unsubscribe requests. Distro stops contacting anyone who unsubscribes, replies asking to be removed or hard-bounces, and it skips them in every future campaign. You remain responsible for following the laws that apply to you.

When everything is ready, open the campaign and click Send emails (or Schedule emails if you set a start time).

After you launch

• Check Outreach → Inbox daily, or the Needs you panel on the Outreach Overview. When a prospect replies, their follow-ups stop automatically. See How stop-on-reply works.
• Watch bounces and unsubscribes in the first few days. A rising bounce rate is a signal to pause and clean your list. See Why emails bounce.
• If nothing is sending, see Campaign is not sending.