Honor every opt-out in every tool
Keep one list of everyone who asked you to stop, sync it to every sending tool and your CRM every week, and check new lists against it.
By Angelo Natale45 minSet up once, then every week
What it does
Someone asks you to stop. You take them out of one campaign. Three months later they’re on a new list in a different tool, and they get your email again. That’s how domains get reported as spam, and how a small company gets a bad name. One master opt-out list, synced everywhere, fixes it.
What you need
- Every tool that sends email or stores contacts
- A spreadsheet, or your sending tool’s blocklist
- Later, Zapier or n8n to keep the tools in sync
How it works
Make one master list
Every email address and domain that asked you to stop, from every tool: unsubscribes, blocklists, CRM opt-outs, and replies that said stop.
Google Sheets: paste into A1, one row per opt-outEmail or domain Date they asked Where they asked Blocked in every tool? [EMAIL OR DOMAIN] [DATE] [E.G. REPLY TO A COLD EMAIL] [YES / NO]
Block the whole domain when the company asks
“Take us off your list” from a company means the domain, not just the person who wrote.
Act the same day
A stop reply goes on the master list the day it arrives (see answer every reply). In the US, the FTC’s guide to CAN-SPAM gives you 10 business days to honor an opt-out. Same day is better, and other countries have their own rules. This isn’t legal advice: check the rules where your buyers are.
Sync it to every tool every week
Import the list into each sending tool’s blocklist, and mark each contact in your CRM. Once it works by hand, automate it with Zapier or n8n.
Check every new list against it
Before anything is sent, every new list is checked against the master list, along with your customers and open deals (see verify every list right before it sends).
What good looks like
Nobody who asked you to stop ever hears from you again, from any tool, inbox or teammate.
Mistakes to skip
- Removing them from one campaign only.
- Forgetting new tools. Every tool you add starts with an empty blocklist.
- Arguing, or asking why. Confirm in one line, and stop.
More playbooks
- InstantlyGmailYour website+1
Set up sending domains that protect your main one
Buy separate domains for cold email, set them up right and size them to your volume, so your main domain never pays for outreach.Angelo Natale2 hours, plus warmup - InstantlyApApolloGoogle Sheets
Verify every list right before it sends
Check every address the day it goes into a campaign, test each batch small, and stop at 3% bounces, so one bad list can’t burn your domains.Angelo Natale30 min - ClaudeChatGPTInstantly
Write a first cold email in under 50 words
A reason to write, one line on what changes for them, one easy question and a PS, read out loud before it goes anywhere.Angelo Natale45 min