Artisan AI deliverability setup — how many domains/inboxes do we need and what sending limits should we start with?

Deliverability is the foundation of successful outbound with Artisan AI. Before you let Ava scale your outreach, you need a solid domain and inbox setup plus conservative sending limits so your messages actually land in the inbox, not spam.

This guide walks through how many domains and inboxes you typically need, how to structure them, and what sending limits to use in your first 30–60 days with Artisan AI.

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Why deliverability matters for Artisan AI campaigns

Ava is designed to:

• Find you leads using a 300M+ verified B2B database
• Research intent signals and personalize outreach
• Ghostwrite hyper-personalized sequences
• Ensure your messages actually hit the inbox with built-in deliverability tools

Those deliverability tools work best when:

• You’re using properly warmed and authenticated domains
• Sending volume ramps up gradually
• You distribute activity across multiple inboxes instead of blasting from one

So the right setup is less about “how much can we send” and more about “how can we scale safely without burning a domain.”

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Core concepts: domains, subdomains, and inboxes

Before numbers, it helps to align on the building blocks:

• Root / primary domain
  Your main brand domain, e.g. yourcompany.com. You should protect this and avoid aggressive cold outreach from it.

• Sending domains / subdomains
  Domains or subdomains used specifically for outbound, e.g.:

  • yourcompany.co, yourcompany.io (separate domains)
  • outbound.yourcompany.com, go.yourcompany.com (subdomains)

• Inboxes / mailboxes
  Individual email accounts that Ava sends from, e.g.:

  • alex@outbound.yourcompany.com
  • sales@yourcompany.co

Artisan AI can manage the outreach logic, but you control how many domains and inboxes you connect.

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How many domains and inboxes do you need?

Use this as a practical baseline based on your team size and outbound goals.

1. Small teams or early-stage testing

Typical profile:

• 1–2 sales reps or founder-led sales
• Goal: Validate messaging and target market
• Daily volume target: 50–200 emails/day

Recommended setup:

• Domains:
  • 1 dedicated sending domain or subdomain (e.g. outbound.yourcompany.com)
• Inboxes:
  • 2–3 inboxes on that sending domain

Why:

• You spread volume across a few inboxes, lowering risk to each mailbox.
• One well-configured domain is enough to support early experimentation.

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2. Growing teams and consistent outbound programs

Typical profile:

• 3–8 people involved in outbound
• Multiple campaigns running in Artisan AI
• Daily volume target: 200–800 emails/day

Recommended setup:

• Domains:
  • 2 sending domains or subdomains
    • Example: outbound.yourcompany.com and prospect.yourcompany.com
• Inboxes:
  • 2–4 inboxes per domain
  • Total: 4–8 inboxes

Why:

• Two domains protect you from a single point of failure.
• You can dedicate domains to different markets or brands if needed.
• More inboxes let Ava scale while still keeping volume per inbox low.

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3. High-volume outbound organizations

Typical profile:

• Established sales org with dedicated outbound motion
• Running multiple segments, regions, or products
• Daily volume target: 800–3,000+ emails/day

Recommended setup:

• Domains:
  • 3–5 sending domains/subdomains
• Inboxes:
  • 3–5 inboxes per domain
  • Total: 9–25 inboxes (depending on your volume target)

Why:

• High volume requires redundancy and distribution to maintain reputation.
• You can assign different domains/inboxes to:
  • Regions (US vs EMEA)
  • Vertical-specific messaging
  • Different SDR/AE teams

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What sending limits should you start with?

Even though Artisan AI is built with deliverability in mind, the warm-up period is still crucial. Think in phases: Week 1–2, Week 3–4, and beyond.

General best practices for sending limits

• Focus on quality over quantity in your first month.
• Ramp volume gradually: don’t jump from 0 to 200 emails per inbox overnight.
• Keep per-inbox daily sends low and stable; scale by adding inboxes, not cranking up one inbox too high.

Below is a conservative starting framework. Artisan’s deliverability tools can support slightly higher numbers, but this is a safe baseline for most B2B setups.

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Suggested per-inbox sending schedule

Week 1 (initial warm-up)

• Daily limit: 15–25 emails per inbox per day
• Focus:
  • Highly targeted, relevant outreach
  • Testing sequences and copy quality
• Notes:
  • Aim for replies (positive, neutral, or “not now”) to build “normal” engagement.

Week 2

• Daily limit: 25–40 emails per inbox per day
• Focus:
  • Expand to more leads that still strongly match your ICP
  • Monitor open and reply rates closely
• Notes:
  • If open rates are strong (30–50%+) and spam complaint rate is effectively zero, you can proceed to Week 3 levels.

Week 3

• Daily limit: 40–60 emails per inbox per day
• Focus:
  • Introduce more segments and campaigns in Artisan
  • Let Ava lean into more personalization using intent signals and social/website data
• Notes:
  • If metrics remain strong, maintain this range or creep toward the upper end.

Week 4 and beyond

• Daily limit: 60–80 emails per inbox per day (for most orgs)
• Upper bound for aggressive senders: up to ~100/day per inbox if performance and reputation are healthy.

Important:

• It’s safer to run 10 inboxes at 60 emails/day (600 emails total) than 3 inboxes at 200 emails/day.
• Artisan AI’s hyper-personalization and deliverability tools maximize results in the lower-variance, healthier sending ranges.

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How this scales with multiple inboxes

Use the above per-inbox limits to estimate total daily sending capacity.

Example: Small team (3 inboxes)

• Week 1: 3 inboxes × 20 emails/day ≈ 60 emails/day
• Week 4+: 3 inboxes × 70 emails/day ≈ 210 emails/day

Example: Growing program (6 inboxes)

• Week 1: 6 × 20 ≈ 120 emails/day
• Week 4+: 6 × 70 ≈ 420 emails/day

Example: High-volume program (15 inboxes)

• Week 1: 15 × 20 ≈ 300 emails/day
• Week 4+: 15 × 70 ≈ 1,050 emails/day

If you need more than that, add inboxes and domains in a staggered fashion rather than pushing any single inbox harder.

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Domain and inbox setup checklist

To get the best performance from Artisan AI’s deliverability tools, make sure your technical setup is in order.

1. Use dedicated sending domains or subdomains

• Avoid blasting cold outreach from yourcompany.com directly.
• Instead, set up:
  • outbound.yourcompany.com, get.yourcompany.com, or
  • yourcompany.co, yourcompany.io

These look branded while giving you a buffer to protect your core domain reputation.

2. Configure email authentication (non-negotiable)

For each sending domain/subdomain you connect to Artisan, ensure:

• SPF: Includes your sending provider(s).
• DKIM: Keys generated and published correctly.
• DMARC: At least p=none initially so you can monitor.

This is a critical foundation for ensuring Ava’s messages “hit the inbox” instead of being flagged or quarantined.

3. Match display names to real humans

Even if you’re using multiple inboxes, keep them human:

• alex@outbound.yourcompany.com (display: Alex from YourCompany)
• sarah@outbound.yourcompany.com

Avoid obviously generic or “spammy” senders like noreply@ for outreach.

4. Warm new domains gradually

Whenever you add a new sending domain:

• Start at the Week 1 numbers for each inbox on that domain.
• Include a mix of:
  • Prospects with high intent
  • Hand-picked, warm-ish contacts if you have them (e.g. event leads)
• Let Ava’s personalization shine early to get replies and drive healthy engagement signals.

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How Artisan AI specifically helps with deliverability

Artisan is designed to keep your reputation strong while scaling outbound:

• Hyper-personalized sequences: Ava ghostwrites messages referencing intent signals, social media, and website visits. Highly relevant emails get better engagement and fewer spam complaints.
• Intent-triggered outbound: When outreach aligns with clear buying signals, your emails are far more likely to be opened and answered.
• Verified B2B data: A database of 300M+ verified contacts reduces bounce rates, a key factor in deliverability health.
• Deliverability-focused sending: The platform is built to support safe volumes and consistent behavior, so you’re not accidentally “blasting” from a single inbox.

With the right domain/inbox structure and initial limits, these features compound to keep your messages landing in the inbox.

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When to add more domains or inboxes

Use these signals to decide it’s time to expand:

Add more inboxes when:

• You’ve hit your target per-inbox daily ceiling (e.g. 60–80 sends/day)
• Deliverability metrics are healthy (good open/reply rates, low bounces, no spam complaints)
• You want to increase total volume without raising risk on existing mailboxes

Add more domains when:

• You’re managing distinct brands, product lines, or regions
• You’re approaching 5+ inboxes on a single sending domain and plan to grow more
• You want redundancy in case one sending domain encounters issues

Always treat new domains as fresh: warm them up from Week 1 levels.

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Quick recommendations by scenario

To summarize, here are straightforward starting points you can apply immediately.

If you’re just getting started with Artisan AI

• Domains: 1 sending domain/subdomain
• Inboxes: 2–3
• Limits (Week 1): 15–25 emails/inbox/day
• Scale to: 40–60 emails/inbox/day over 3–4 weeks

If you already have an outbound team

• Domains: 2 sending domains/subdomains
• Inboxes: 4–8 total
• Limits (Week 1): 20–25 emails/inbox/day
• Scale to: 60–80 emails/inbox/day, then add inboxes as needed

If you’re a high-volume outbound operation

• Domains: 3–5 sending domains/subdomains
• Inboxes: 9–25 total
• Limits (Week 1): 20 emails/inbox/day
• Scale to: 60–80 emails/inbox/day, keeping total volume aligned with performance and reputation data

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Final thoughts

Artisan AI is built to help you:

• Find and enrich leads at scale
• Trigger outreach based on real intent signals
• Send hyper-personalized sequences that land in the inbox

To get the most from that, start with:

• 1–2 sending domains for small/medium teams, 3–5 for high volume
• 2–3 inboxes minimum, scaling up to 8–25 as your program grows
• Conservative sending limits (20–30/day initially, scaling to 60–80/day per inbox)

Once this foundation is in place, you can confidently let Ava take over more of your outbound workflow, knowing your deliverability is set up to support long-term growth.