Email subdomain setup proposal.
Configuring a dedicated marketing sending subdomain (email.smeadcap.com), wired into HubSpot with a deliverability-first warm-up plan.
More marketing volume,
A dedicated subdomain lets Smead push more marketing email without putting the reputation of smeadcap.com (the domain your team uses for real client correspondence) at risk. Done right, it also lifts inbox placement over time.
It also gets you clean on the rules that now matter. Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook all require proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for senders at any real volume, and they reward low complaint rates with better placement. Setting this up correctly isn't just good hygiene anymore, it's the price of admission.
The catch: sending reputation for a new subdomain is earned, not given. The first two months matter more than any month after. That's where the warm-up plan and monitoring come in.
Pick the scope that fits.
All three include the same technical setup. Options 02 and 03 add monitoring through the first 60 days. Option 03 also builds and validates the engagement lists inside HubSpot so warm-up starts on clean data.
Get the subdomain sending cleanly.
Everything needed to stand up email.smeadcap.com the right way and start sending from it through HubSpot. Once live, your team drives the warm-up and ongoing sends.
- Stand up email.smeadcap.com as a dedicated marketing sending subdomain (confirming any existing use first, so nothing live is disrupted)
- Configure DKIM, SPF, and DMARC authentication for the subdomain in DNS, including DMARC reporting so sends can be monitored
- Verify and connect the subdomain inside HubSpot
- Point HubSpot's marketing From-address to the new subdomain, so sending reputation actually moves off your primary domain (this is the step that makes the subdomain worth doing)
- Set up Google Postmaster Tools for the new subdomain and your primary domain to track reputation
- Document the warm-up plan: most-engaged first, then 90-day openers, then full list
- Handoff notes so your team knows exactly what changed and why
Setup, plus a steady hand through warm-up.
Same setup as Option 01, with active monitoring during the critical first 60 days. Google, Yahoo, and Outlook decide your sender reputation in this window, so we watch the data, adjust pacing, and make sure the ramp does not stall or tank.
- Everything in the setup package
- Up to 60 days of active monitoring after go-live
- Weekly check-ins on Postmaster reputation, authentication (DMARC), bounces, and complaint rates
- Adjust warm-up pacing based on real deliverability data
- Direct Basecamp or email access for questions during the ramp
- Final report with a deliverability baseline and recommendations
Setup, monitoring, and clean lists ready to send.
Same setup and monitoring as Option 02, plus we build and clean the engagement lists inside HubSpot so the warm-up segments are ready to use. On a brand-new subdomain, list quality is what makes or breaks the ramp, so this is the option that most protects the outcome. This covers list building and hygiene only. It does not include writing or sending the emails.
- Everything in the setup + monitoring package
- Build the engagement-based warm-up lists inside HubSpot (most-engaged, 90-day openers, full list)
- Run the lists through third-party validation and remove invalid, risky, and previously-bounced addresses before the first send
- De-duplicate segments and confirm suppression logic, so past bounces and opt-outs are never re-mailed
- Verify list health so the warm-up starts on data that protects your new sender reputation
- Document the list structure and handoff so your team can run ongoing sends
Does not include email copy, creative, or actual email sends.
Two quick things to keep the timeline honest.
DNS access. We'll need access to your DNS (currently Cloudflare), or we'll provide the exact records for your IT to add. The clock on go-live starts once records can be published.
The From-address switch. We'll point your HubSpot marketing From-address to the new subdomain. Your everyday @smeadcap.com email and client correspondence are completely untouched. This only affects marketing sends.
A quick subdomain check. If email.smeadcap.com is already pointed at anything today, we confirm its current use first, or set you up on a dedicated alternative (like news.smeadcap.com), so nothing running now is affected.
Don't blast the full list on day one.
The pattern that works: send only to your most engaged users the first 1 to 2 weeks, then expand to 90-day openers for the next couple of weeks, then move to the full list. Avoid warm-up services like Warmup Inbox or Lemwarm. Google has been cracking down on those hard.
One thing that matters even more on a brand-new subdomain: the list has to be clean before the first send. A fresh subdomain has no reputation history to absorb a bad send, so the earliest bounces and complaints are exactly what Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook use to score it. Validating the list and suppressing known-bad addresses up front is the difference between a ramp that builds trust and one that stalls out. That cleanup is built into Option 03, and available as an add-on with the other options.
The setup gets you technically ready. The clean list and the warm-up pacing are what actually earn the reputation.
This is a deliverability change, nothing more.
Moving marketing to a dedicated subdomain improves inbox placement. It does not change how your marketing email is reviewed, archived, or unsubscribed under the rules you already follow. Your existing compliance and recordkeeping process carries over unchanged.
Just reply with the option that fits.
Once you confirm and we have DNS access, we can typically have the subdomain authenticated and connected in HubSpot within a few business days, then begin the warm-up ramp.