Getting started
Getting started with EmailPal
The shortest path from signup to sending: pick a plan, add a domain, create or claim mailboxes, warm them, verify a list, then export SMTP into the sequencer you already use.
The order that works
EmailPal is the infrastructure under cold email: domains, mailboxes, DNS, warming, verification. Sequences live in Instantly, Smartlead, Plusvibe, or a script. Getting started is wiring those two halves in the right order so you do not send from an unknown mailbox to an unverified list.
- Create an account and add a card (or AppSumo licence) under Billing. Provisioning spends real registrar and mail-server work; onboarding will not mint unpaid infrastructure. How billing works and How onboarding works.
- Add a domain — register from $1, bring your own, or claim aged inventory. Wait until DNS is green on public resolvers. Domains and mailboxes.
- Create mailboxes, or skip the wait and claim pre-warmed inboxes.
- Turn on warming unless the mailbox is already a pre-warmed lease (included). $0.60/mo on everything else. Email warming by EmailPal.
- Verify the list you intend to mail. How to verify an email list before sending.
- Export SMTP/IMAP into your sender, or send single messages through EmailPal's inbox API. SMTP and IMAP credentials.
Onboarding in the product follows the same sequence. You can leave and come back; unfinished steps stay on /onboarding until they are done.
Two paths to first send
| Fresh domain you own | Pre-warmed lease | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Register or BYO, create mailboxes, warm | Claim a listed domain |
| Price after plan | Domain $1–$10 once, mailboxes in plan or $1 overage, warming $0.60 | $3/inbox/mo, 90-day term, warming included |
| Time to cold email | Typically 14+ days (about 7 on aged) | Minutes after claim |
| Daily cap | 40/day once campaign-ready | 15/day from day one |
| You pick the name? | Yes | No |
Most people who need to send this week take the pre-warmed path. Most people who need a brandable domain take the fresh path. Both still need a clean list.
Plans: Starter $69 / 50 mailboxes, Growth $189 / 200, Scale $499 / 600. Pricing, plans and mailbox overages.
What not to do first
- Do not import 50,000 unverified leads onto a mailbox that finished provisioning five minutes ago. DNS can be green while reputation is still empty.
- Do not send from your company
.com. Use a secondary sending domain. - Do not raise the per-mailbox cap because a sequencer defaulted to 50 or 100. EmailPal's caps are 40 (plan) and 15 (pre-warmed).
- Do not skip SPF/DKIM/DMARC because "the domain just registered." How to set up DNS records.
- Do not connect EmailPal SMTP and also add Google on the same domain. One sending stack per name.
The checklist version of this advice is the cold email deliverability guide.
After the first mailbox exists
- API and MCP are available immediately. Create an API key, Connect the MCP server.
- Replies land in the unified inbox. Warming traffic is filtered out by default.
- Campaign-ready is a measured inbox rate, not a calendar date. When is a mailbox ready to send?.
- Support is a ticket, not a Slack guess. Open a support ticket.
FAQs
Do I need a campaign tool?
Only if you want sequences, lead databases and A/B tests. EmailPal will host the mailbox and can send single messages via the inbox API. Most customers connect SMTP to a sequencer they already use.
How long until I can send cold email?
Pre-warmed: the same day, 15/day. Fresh domain: typically 14+ days of warming. Aged unwarmed domain: typically ~7 days.
Can I skip domain registration and only lease pre-warmed inboxes?
Yes, once billing is active. Pre-warmed inboxes do not use a plan domain slot.
Will Instantly / Smartlead take these accounts?
Yes, as SMTP. They are not Google or Outlook seats. SMTP vs Google vs Outlook for cold email.
I am stuck on DNS.
DNS verification failed. BYO domains fail most often because nameservers were not pointed yet.
Need More Help?
Domains and mailboxes, Pre-warmed Mailboxes by EmailPal, or open a ticket.