Why does deliverability matter more for cold than warm campaigns?

Cold email faces an uphill battle from the start. With warm campaigns, recipients have opted in, engaged before, or have an existing relationship. Mailbox providers see that history and trust the sender. With cold campaigns, none of that context exists.

Mailbox providers treat unknown senders with suspicion. Your messages compete against spam that also arrives unsolicited. Without positive engagement signals (opens, replies, moves from spam), filters have little reason to trust you.

Cold campaigns also tend to generate higher complaint rates. Recipients who never asked to hear from you are more likely to hit the spam button. Even a small percentage of complaints can tank deliverability when there's no positive engagement to counterbalance.

Warm senders enter the harbor with credentials. Cold senders must prove themselves at every port.