What is an “outreach domain” and why is it used?

An outreach domain is a domain registered specifically for cold email campaigns, separate from your primary brand domain.

Why senders use them:

Reputation isolation: Cold email carries higher risk of complaints and blocks. If an outreach domain gets blocklisted, your main domain continues operating normally.

Protect transactional email: Password resets, order confirmations, and other critical messages from your main domain won't be affected by outreach problems.

Testing flexibility: You can experiment with volume, messaging, and tactics without risking your primary brand reputation.

Outreach domains are typically related to the brand (like companyhq.com or meetcompany.io for company.com) so recipients can still identify the sender.

This practice is common but comes with responsibility. It doesn't make aggressive tactics acceptable. Mailbox providers track patterns across related domains and will eventually connect abusive behavior to your brand.