The Plain Email Checklist: Send Cold Emails With Zero Links

Why the extras get you in trouble

A cold email comes from someone the reader has never emailed. Spam filters are extra careful with those. Links, images and tracking codes are things marketing emails and scams use a lot, so they add risk to a message that already has none of the trust of a known sender.

A plain email looks like what it should be: one person writing to another.

What the data says

• Tracking costs replies. In Hunter's State of Email Outreach 2026 (31 million emails), sequences with tracking on got 4.4% replies vs 7.4% with it off.
• Open tracking is a hidden image. Hunter explains that an open-tracking pixel is "an invisible image" added to the email, and that some spam filters may block emails with tracking pixels or tracked links.
• Zero links is the safe default. lemlist's guidance says to limit links to 1 per email, "ideally 0 in your initial cold outreach", and that untracked links show better deliverability than tracked ones.
• Images aren't a magic fix either way. Hunter found images and attachments did not measurably change reply rates. So there's little upside to adding them, and they push the email toward looking like marketing.

The plain email checklist

Run every first email through this before it goes live.

How to set it up, step by step

1. Write in plain text. In your sending tool, pick the plain text option, or paste from a plain text editor so no hidden formatting comes along.
2. Remove every link from email 1. That includes your website, your calendar link and social links in the signature.
3. Clean the signature. Name, title, company. That's it. If you type your website, many email apps will turn it into a link, so leave it out of email 1.
4. Turn off open tracking and click tracking in the campaign settings. Measure replies instead. Replies are the number that matters.
5. Turn on provider matching if your tool has it. Instantly, for example, sends from an account with the same provider as the recipient, such as Google to Google.
6. Add a text opt-out line at the bottom.
7. Send a test to yourself on both a Gmail and an Outlook address. Check it arrives in the main inbox and looks like a normal email.

Let them ask for the link

Instead of a link, offer the thing in words. When they reply "sure, send it", that's a reply, which is what you want. Then you send the link in your answer, to someone who asked for it.

Hi [first name],

Here you go: [link]

The part most useful for you is [section], since [one reason tied to their company].

Want me to walk you through it Thursday at 10?

[your name]

Where links can go later

• In your replies, once they ask for something. A link in a conversation they started is normal.
• In a later follow-up, if you must, and only one. Keep it plain (no tracking) and on a domain that matches your sending domain.
• Never a link shortener like bit.ly. Short links hide where they go, which is what scammers do.

Stay legal without an unsubscribe link

You still have to let people opt out. The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide allows a return email address as the opt-out method, so "reply and I'll stop" can work in the US. It also requires your valid physical postal address in the email and that you honor opt-outs within 10 business days. Other countries have their own rules, so check the law where your buyers are.

Google's sender guidelines ask senders of marketing and subscribed messages to support one-click unsubscribe, and bulk senders (over 5,000 messages a day to Gmail) to keep their spam rate under 0.3%. Keep your newsletters and marketing emails on the normal unsubscribe link.

Worked example: before and after

Clean up your email with Claude

Here is my cold email:
[paste email, including signature]

Rewrite it as a plain first email:
- Remove every link, image and attachment, including from the signature
- If the email points to a link (case study, video, calendar), replace it with a one-line offer to send it, e.g. "Want me to send it?"
- Under 80 words, short sentences, about their problem, one clear ask
- Signature: name, title, company only
- End with: "Reply 'no thanks' and I won't email again."
Then list every change you made.

Common mistakes

Links and tools

Quick answers

Then how do I measure if the email works?

Count replies and positive replies. Opens are unreliable anyway, because some apps and security bots load images automatically.

Can I put a link in a follow-up email?

You can, but keep it to one, untracked, on your own domain. Many people keep all links for the reply, after the person asks.

What if my tool doesn't do provider matching?

Then focus on the rest of the checklist. Matching helps, but plain text, no tracking and a good list matter more.

Is a plain-text opt-out legal?

In the US, CAN-SPAM allows a return email address as the opt-out method, plus your physical address in the email. Rules differ by country, so check where your buyers are.