Step 1: Pick your email channel: Gmail OAuth, IMAP, or SMTP relay
The three viable choices:
- Gmail OAuth. Native Google Workspace integration via the official OAuth flow. Best inboxing rate on Gmail recipients (most consumer + many business). Limited to ~500 sends per day per user (Workspace policy). Recommended default for B2B teams under 500 daily volume.
- IMAP + SMTP. Standard protocols supported by every email provider. Works with Microsoft 365, Fastmail, Zoho, your own mail server, anything. Same per-mailbox volume cap as the provider enforces (M365: ~10,000/day; Fastmail: varies). Use this when Gmail OAuth is not available.
- SMTP relay (SendGrid, Postmark, Mailgun, AWS SES). Transactional/marketing email service. Best for high-volume nurture, transactional, or shared-IP sending. Requires you to manage domain authentication carefully. Deliverability depends on shared-IP reputation; pick a reputable provider.
CRM Solid supports all three. You can mix: Gmail OAuth for sales-rep-sent outbound, SMTP relay for high-volume newsletters, IMAP for support inbound. Pick the right tool per use case.
Step 2: Connect your mailbox
Gmail OAuth (recommended for Workspace teams)
- Go to Accounts > Add email account > Gmail OAuth.
- Click Authorize with Google. You will be redirected to Google's consent screen.
- Grant the scopes:
gmail.send(send outbound).gmail.modify(mark replies as read, label).gmail.readonly(sync inbox for unified-inbox view).
- On approval, the mailbox connects. Initial sync of last 90 days of mail takes 2-10 minutes.
IMAP + SMTP (Microsoft 365, others)
- Generate an app password in your provider's security settings (do not use your account password directly).
- In CRM Solid, go to Accounts > Add email account > IMAP / SMTP.
- Fill in:
Microsoft 365 typical settings:
IMAP server: outlook.office365.com
IMAP port: 993
IMAP TLS: SSL/TLS
SMTP server: smtp.office365.com
SMTP port: 587
SMTP TLS: STARTTLS
Username: [email protected]
Password: <app password from M365 security>- Click Test connection. Both directions should succeed.
- Save. The inbox syncs.
SMTP relay (high-volume)
- Set up an account with SendGrid, Postmark, Mailgun, or AWS SES.
- In CRM Solid, go to Accounts > Add email account > SMTP relay.
- Paste the relay credentials (API key or SMTP user/pass).
- Verify the From-address domain is configured at the relay.
Step 3: Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
This is the single highest-leverage step in email deliverability. A mailbox without these three records lands in spam folders for 20-40% of recipients. With them set correctly, inboxing climbs to 95%+ on Gmail and 90%+ on Outlook.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
SPF is a TXT record on your domain that lists which servers/IPs are authorized to send email for you. Example for a domain sending via Gmail + SendGrid:
# DNS TXT record
Host: @ (root of yourcompany.com)
Value: "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net ~all"
# Reading this:
v=spf1 -> SPF version 1
include:_spf.google -> trust Google's published sender IPs
include:sendgrid.net -> trust SendGrid's published sender IPs
~all -> soft-fail everything else (logged but accepted)Set -all (hard-fail) only after you have verified no legitimate senders are being blocked.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)
DKIM cryptographically signs each outgoing email so the recipient can verify it actually came from you. CRM Solid (and Gmail, SendGrid, etc.) generate a public key you publish in DNS:
# DNS TXT record
Host: default._domainkey.yourcompany.com
Value: "v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIIBIjANBgkqhki..." (long base64 public key)
# CRM Solid generates this for you under
# Accounts > (mailbox) > Authentication > Generate DKIMMultiple services can each have their own DKIM record under different selectors. Add one per service.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication)
DMARC tells receiving servers what to do when SPF or DKIM fails. Start with reporting-only (p=none) for 7 days, review reports, then tighten:
# DNS TXT record (start here)
Host: _dmarc.yourcompany.com
Value: "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]"
# After 7 days of clean reports, tighten:
Value: "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:[email protected]"
# After another 14 days clean:
Value: "v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:[email protected]"CRM Solid auto-monitors DMARC reports if you point rua at a CRM-Solid-provided address; alerts you to any authentication failures.
Step 4: Warm up new sending domains for 14 days
A brand-new sending domain (or new mailbox on an old domain) has no reputation with major mail providers. Send 200 emails from a cold domain on day 1 and they land in spam.
The 14-day warm-up curve:
Day Daily target Audience mix
1-3 10-20 Internal team, friends, opted-in nurture list
4-7 30-50 70% opted-in, 30% warm leads
8-10 60-100 Mixed warm + small batch cold
11-14 100-200 Standard production mix
15+ Full ceiling Whatever your sending plan calls forCRM Solid's warm-up mode for email accounts enforces this curve automatically. Enable in Settings > Warm-up mode > Email with the 14-day preset.
Step 5: Build a 5-touch outbound sequence
The five-touch outbound framework converts at 8-15% reply rate on a well-targeted warm-to-cold audience.
Touch 1 (Day 0): Opener
Subject: {Quick one for|Question for} {first_name|you}
Body: 1-sentence personalized hook + 1-sentence value prop +
1-sentence soft question. Total < 60 words.
Touch 2 (Day 3): Nudge
Subject: Re: <same as touch 1>
Body: "Hey {first_name}, in case my last note got buried..."
+ 1 fresh sentence + same question. Total < 40 words.
Touch 3 (Day 7): Value drop
Subject: {Resource for|Sharing for} {first_name|you}
Body: Standalone useful resource (case study, benchmark, template).
No ask. Total < 80 words.
Touch 4 (Day 12): Direct ask
Subject: 15 minutes next week, {first_name}?
Body: Specific calendar link + 1-sentence outcome ("you'll
walk away with X"). Total < 50 words.
Touch 5 (Day 20): Breakup
Subject: Closing the loop, {first_name}
Body: "I'll stop reaching out; if anything changes, my door is
open." Total < 30 words.All five with stop-on-reply at the sequence level. The breakup email (touch 5) often produces the highest reply rate per send because it forces a decision; recipients who would have ghosted now reply with a polite "not now" or, surprisingly often, "wait, tell me more."
Step 6: A/B test subject lines
Subject lines are the highest-leverage variable in email. Same body, different subject; open rates can swing 2-3×.
In CRM Solid's sequence editor:
- Open touch 1 of your sequence.
- Click + Add subject variant.
- Write two materially different subjects. Examples:
- Variant A: "Quick question for {first_name}"
- Variant B: "Saw your {company} post about {topic}"
- Set the split to 50/50.
- Set the minimum sample size to 200 per variant before declaring a winner.
After 200+ sends per variant, CRM Solid surfaces:
- Open rate per variant.
- Reply rate per variant.
- Statistical significance (p-value).
- Recommendation: "Variant B wins by X% open rate, X% reply rate, p < 0.05".
Pause the losing variant. Run the winner to the remaining audience. Run a new test on touch 1 every 30 days; fatigue is real.
Step 7: Test deliverability before scaling
Pre-launch checklist:
- Send touch 1 to mail-tester.com using the actual mailbox you will send from. Target score: ≥ 9.5/10. Fix anything flagged (missing alt text, broken links, weak from-name, etc.).
- Send touch 1 to a 50-email test cohort spanning Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Apple iCloud, and one or two corporate domains.
- Check the deliverability report 24 hours later. Targets:
- Gmail inbox: ≥ 95%
- Outlook inbox: ≥ 85%
- Yahoo inbox: ≥ 90%
- Apple Mail inbox: ≥ 95%
- Corporate inbox: ≥ 80%
- If any are below threshold, fix:
- Re-check SPF/DKIM/DMARC are propagated (dnschecker.org).
- Remove URL shorteners; use full URLs.
- Remove image-only emails; keep ≥ 60% text.
- Avoid spam-trigger phrases ("free", "limited time", "act now").
Step 8: Monitor deliverability metrics weekly
Open Analytics > Email health every Monday. Watch:
- Open rate: cold target ≥ 40%, warm ≥ 60%. Sudden drop = subject fatigue or deliverability problem.
- Reply rate: cold target ≥ 8%, warm ≥ 20%. Drop = template fatigue or audience drift.
- Bounce rate: hard cap 2%. Anything higher, clean the list immediately.
- Spam-complaint rate: hard cap 0.1%. Above this, all major providers throttle you within days.
- Unsubscribe rate: target ≤ 0.5% per send. Above 1% means audience targeting is off.
- Inboxing rate: overall % landing in inbox vs spam. Target ≥ 95%. CRM Solid surfaces this via seed-list probing.
The four sequence frameworks every business needs
1. Welcome sequence (new signup / new customer)
Day 0: Welcome + 1 most-useful resource
Day 2: Quick-start guide (3 things to try first)
Day 5: Customer success story
Day 9: Power-user feature you might miss
Day 14: Check-in + ask for feedback2. Nurture sequence (engaged but not yet customer)
Weekly: Curated industry insight + soft product mention
Day 7: Direct value (template, calculator, benchmark)
Day 14: Case study from a similar customer
Day 21: Comparison content (your tool vs alternatives)
Day 30: Direct invite to demo or trial3. Re-engagement sequence (gone quiet 60-180 days)
Day 0: "Still useful?" with one-click opt-in to stay
Day 7: Curated highlight reel of what changed since they left
Day 14: Big-win product update they may have missed
Day 30: Final ping or auto-archive contact as inactive4. Win-back sequence (churned customer)
Day 0: "What went wrong" - ask honestly
Day 7: Share what has changed since they left
Day 14: Offer (extended trial, discounted return)
Day 30: Final goodbye + opt-out optionRun all four in parallel against the right segment. CRM Solid's sequence routing automatically picks the right framework based on contact lifecycle stage.