How to set up email forwarding for cold email domains: reply routing, catch-all, and monitoring

Last updated: June 2026 · Sarah Okonkwo, Cold email strategist, 300+ domain setups

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TL;DR — 7 things to know before reading

• Email forwarding for cold email domains ensures that replies sent to your sending domain inboxes (ryan@getacme.com) also arrive at a monitored inbox (your main Gmail or business email), so you never miss a prospect response
• Without forwarding, replies to your cold email campaigns only arrive in the sending account inbox on Inframail, which you may not be monitoring directly; forwarding duplicates those replies to wherever you actually work
• There are two types of forwarding to configure: per-inbox forwarding (specific address forwards to another) and catch-all forwarding (any address on the domain forwards, including addresses that do not exist as inboxes)
• Catch-all addresses are important for cold email because prospects sometimes reply to different variations of your email address (cc'ing a different format, using Reply-All to other recipients, etc.); catch-all ensures these off-format replies are caught
• Inframail's IMAP configuration in Instantly already makes replies visible inside Instantly's inbox; forwarding to your personal inbox is an additional redundancy layer, not a replacement for the Instantly reply view
• The risk of forwarding is bounce loops: if your forwarding destination rejects messages for any reason, the forward itself may generate a bounce that creates false signals in your deliverability data; configure forwarding destinations to accept all forwarded messages
• All 4 links: Inframail, Instantly, Quarvio, Aimfox

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Our take

Reply handling is the least glamorous part of cold email infrastructure setup, and it is one of the most frequently neglected. When a prospect replies to a cold email, that reply is a conversion — the entire purpose of the outreach. Missing that reply because it went to an inbox nobody checks, or because the reply was addressed to a slightly different address format and fell into the void, is a costly failure that is entirely preventable with proper forwarding setup.

After 300+ domain setups, the two most common reply-handling failures are: (1) team members not checking the Instantly inbox, where replies appear when IMAP is connected, because they work primarily out of Gmail or another email client; and (2) prospects replying to a different address format (cc'ing, using Reply-All, typing a slightly different name), with no catch-all configured to capture those off-format replies.

Both failures are fixed with 20–30 minutes of forwarding configuration. This guide covers how to set up per-inbox forwarding from Inframail (or Instantly's settings) to a monitored inbox, how to configure catch-all addresses at the domain level, and how to monitor forwarding health to ensure replies are not being silently dropped.

Inframail provides the inboxes and domain infrastructure. Instantly provides the campaign management where replies first appear. Quarvio provides the contact data driving those campaigns. Aimfox handles LinkedIn outreach in parallel.

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Understanding the reply flow

Before configuring forwarding, understand how replies move through your infrastructure:

The standard reply path (without forwarding):

1. Prospect receives your cold email from ryan@getacme.com
2. Prospect clicks Reply and sends a response to ryan@getacme.com
3. The reply arrives in the getacme.com Microsoft 365 mailbox for ryan
4. Inframail stores the reply in that mailbox
5. Instantly reads the reply via IMAP and displays it in Instantly's inbox view
6. A team member checking Instantly's inbox sees the reply

The forwarding reply path (with forwarding): 1–5: Same as above 6. The Microsoft 365 mailbox rules forward a copy of the reply to team@acme.com (your monitored inbox) 7. A team member sees the reply in their normal Gmail or Outlook inbox

The catch-all path (for off-format replies):

1. Prospect uses Reply-All and includes bob@getacme.com, an address that does not exist as a real inbox
2. Without catch-all: the reply to bob@getacme.com bounces with "address not found"
3. With catch-all: the reply to any @getacme.com address is accepted and forwarded to team@acme.com

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Step-by-step: configuring email forwarding

Step 1: Configure per-inbox forwarding rules in Microsoft 365

What to do: Create inbox rules in each Inframail Microsoft 365 mailbox that forward all incoming mail to your monitored inbox.

Sub-steps:

1. Log in to the Inframail inbox at outlook.office.com (use the credentials from your Inframail SMTP export)
2. Navigate to Settings (gear icon, top right) → View all Outlook settings → Mail → Rules
3. Create a new rule: "For all messages → Forward to [your monitored inbox email]"
4. Enable the rule and save
5. Repeat for each Inframail inbox

Benchmark: Creating the forwarding rule takes 5–10 minutes per inbox. For 25 inboxes, allow 2–3 hours if done manually.

Failure mode: Creating the rule but not testing it. After configuring forwarding on the first inbox, send a test reply to that address and confirm it appears in your monitored inbox within 5 minutes.

Step 2: Configure catch-all address for each domain

What to do: Enable a catch-all address on each sending domain so that replies to any address format at the domain are captured rather than bouncing.

Sub-steps:

1. Log in to your Inframail account and navigate to the domain settings
2. Look for a "Catch-all" or "Default mailbox" option in the domain configuration
3. Set the catch-all destination: the email address that should receive mail sent to any address at the domain that does not match an existing inbox
4. The catch-all destination can be one of your existing Inframail inboxes (which itself has forwarding configured) or an external address
5. Test the catch-all by sending a test email to a nonexistent address at the domain (e.g., test123@getacme.com) and confirming it arrives at the catch-all destination

Benchmark: Catch-all configuration takes 5–10 minutes per domain in the Inframail interface.

Failure mode: Setting the catch-all destination to an address that has storage limits. If the catch-all inbox fills up and starts rejecting messages, it will generate bounces for all off-format replies. Use an inbox with generous storage or route the catch-all directly to a forwarded external address.

Step 3: Configure Instantly's reply detection via IMAP

What to do: Ensure IMAP is properly connected for all sending inboxes in Instantly, so replies appear in Instantly's inbox view independent of forwarding.

Sub-steps:

1. In Instantly, navigate to Sending Accounts
2. For each inbox, verify that the IMAP connection shows as "connected" (not just SMTP)
3. If any inbox shows IMAP as disconnected, re-enter the IMAP credentials: server outlook.office365.com, port 993, SSL/TLS, with the full email address as username and the Inframail password
4. After reconnecting IMAP, confirm that the Instantly inbox shows existing replies for that account

Benchmark: IMAP verification for 25 inboxes takes 20–30 minutes.

Failure mode: SMTP connecting successfully but IMAP failing silently. Instantly may show the inbox as "connected" based on SMTP connection status while IMAP is failing. Check the IMAP status specifically in the inbox detail view.

Step 4: Set up reply notification in Instantly

What to do: Configure Instantly to send email or Slack notifications when a reply arrives in any sending account inbox.

Sub-steps:

1. In Instantly, navigate to account settings or notification settings
2. Enable reply notifications for your email campaigns
3. Set the notification destination: your main team email address or a Slack channel
4. Configure notification frequency: immediate (per reply) or digest (hourly or daily summary)

Benchmark: Notification configuration takes 10–15 minutes.

Failure mode: Setting notifications to "daily digest" when prospects expect same-day replies. For active campaigns, immediate notification is better: a prospect who gets a reply the next day has often already moved on.

Step 5: Test the complete reply flow

What to do: Send a test email through one of your Inframail inboxes in Instantly and reply to it from a test account, then verify the reply appears in all expected locations.

Sub-steps:

1. Create a test campaign in Instantly with a single step, sending from one Inframail inbox to a test email address you control
2. Send the test email
3. Reply to the received test email from your test account
4. Verify the reply appears in: (a) the Instantly inbox view for the sending account, (b) the forwarding destination inbox (your monitored Gmail or Outlook), (c) any configured Instantly notifications
5. If using catch-all: send a second reply to a nonexistent address at the domain (e.g., testxyz@getacme.com) and verify it arrives at the catch-all destination

Benchmark: Full reply flow test takes 15–30 minutes including wait time for forwarding.

Failure mode: Skipping this test entirely and discovering a forwarding configuration error only when a real prospect reply goes missing.

Step 6: Document your reply monitoring workflow

What to do: Create a simple SOP for who checks replies, how often, and in which tool (Instantly vs. forwarded inbox vs. notifications).

Sub-steps:

1. Designate a primary reply owner: one person (or role) responsible for monitoring and responding to campaign replies
2. Define the monitoring schedule: check Instantly inbox and forwarded inbox at minimum twice per day during active campaigns
3. Define the response time target: replies within 24 hours is standard; 4–8 hours is better for enterprise outreach
4. Define what happens with unsubscribe requests: must be processed within 10 business days under CAN-SPAM; track in a shared doc or CRM

Benchmark: Creating the SOP takes 30–60 minutes and saves significant confusion when team members change or campaigns scale.

Failure mode: No documented process, leading to replies being seen by one team member who responds informally without updating the CRM, leading to duplicate outreach or missed follow-ups.

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Email forwarding configuration reference

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Advanced tactics

Tactic 1: Route replies by campaign type using Instantly's reply labels

Instantly allows labelling campaigns, and some teams route replies from different campaign types to different Slack channels or team inboxes. First-touch campaign replies go to one channel (for SDR follow-up); warm re-engagement replies go to another (for account executive follow-up). This prevents all replies from flowing into one shared queue where priority is unclear.

Tactic 2: Add reply detection as a campaign sequence trigger

Some teams use Instantly's automation to automatically pause a contact's sequence when a reply is detected. This prevents the awkward scenario where a prospect has replied positively but continues receiving automated follow-up emails because the sequence is still running. In Instantly's campaign settings, configure the sequence to stop for any contact who replies.

Tactic 3: Forward unsubscribes to a dedicated list

Configure Instantly's automatic handling to tag unsubscribers, then create a rule that forwards any reply containing the word "unsubscribe" (or that Instantly automatically categorises as an unsubscribe) to a dedicated unsubscribe log. This log should be reviewed monthly to ensure unsubscribers are removed from all active contact lists and not re-imported in future contact purchases.

Tactic 4: Monitor forwarding health with weekly test sends

Once per week, send a test reply to one inbox on each domain and verify it arrives at the forwarding destination within 10 minutes. Forwarding rules can silently stop working after Microsoft 365 updates, policy changes, or rule limit thresholds. Weekly tests catch these breaks before a real prospect reply is lost.

Tactic 5: Configure LinkedIn inboxes with similar reply routing

If running LinkedIn outreach via Aimfox in parallel with cold email, set up a similar notification and routing system for LinkedIn reply detection. Aimfox handles LinkedIn message sending; ensure LinkedIn replies are routed to the same monitoring system (or a parallel one) so that responses on both channels are caught within the same timeframe.

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Troubleshooting email forwarding issues

Problem 1: Replies arriving in Instantly but not in the forwarding destination

Symptoms: The Instantly inbox shows replies correctly (IMAP working), but forwarded copies are not arriving in the monitored inbox.

Diagnosis steps:

1. Check the Outlook forwarding rule is still active: log in to outlook.office.com for the sending account and navigate to Settings → Mail → Rules
2. Check whether the monitored inbox is spam-filtering forwarded messages (some Gmail configurations filter automated forwards)
3. Send a test reply and track whether the forwarding rule fires

Fix: Re-activate the forwarding rule in outlook.office.com if it has been disabled. If Gmail is spam-filtering forwards, add the Inframail sending domain to Gmail's contacts or safe-sender list.

Problem 2: Catch-all receiving spam from the domain

Symptoms: After enabling catch-all, the catch-all destination inbox fills with spam sent to random addresses at the domain.

Diagnosis steps:

1. This is a normal consequence of catch-all configuration: once a domain is publicly known (after you send campaigns), spammers and verification services may send to random address variations
2. Assess the volume: small amounts of junk are expected; large volumes may require filtering

Fix: Add a spam filter or rule in the catch-all destination inbox to move messages from unknown senders or with suspicious patterns to a separate folder (not the primary inbox). Review the separate folder weekly rather than having all catch-all messages appear in the main inbox.

Problem 3: Replies generating bounce-back to prospects

Symptoms: Prospects who reply to your campaigns receive an automated bounce-back message, or Instantly shows a bounce for a reply.

Diagnosis steps:

1. Check the forwarding destination: if the monitored inbox has a storage limit that was exceeded or is temporarily unavailable, the forward will bounce
2. Check whether the Inframail inbox itself has any full-inbox or storage issues
3. Check whether Instantly's IMAP connection is generating any re-delivery issues

Fix: Clear storage space in the forwarding destination inbox. Ensure the monitored inbox does not have storage limits that could be exceeded. Consider using a dedicated forwarding-only email address with unlimited storage rather than your primary work inbox as the forward destination.

Problem 4: Team member not seeing replies despite forwarding being configured

Symptoms: Forwarding is working (replies arrive at the monitored inbox) but the team member responsible for replies reports not seeing them.

Diagnosis steps:

1. Check whether the forwarded messages are being filtered to a spam or category folder in the monitored inbox
2. Check whether Gmail's "Promotions" or "Updates" tabs are capturing the forwarded messages
3. Confirm the correct team member is monitoring the forwarding destination

Fix: Create a Gmail filter that forces forwarded campaign replies to the Primary tab (identify forwarded messages by the sending domain in the From address). Train the responsible team member to check the correct folder.

Problem 5: Forwarding configuration lost after Inframail account changes

Symptoms: After changing an Inframail password, upgrading a plan, or making other account changes, forwarding stops working.

Diagnosis steps:

1. Check whether the Outlook inbox rules (in outlook.office.com) were affected by the account change
2. Check whether the account change reset any Microsoft 365 mailbox settings

Fix: After any significant account change in Inframail, re-verify forwarding by checking the Outlook rules and sending a test reply. Make this part of your post-change checklist.

Problem 6: Multiple team members responding to the same reply, creating confusion

Symptoms: After forwarding to a team inbox or Slack channel, multiple team members see the reply simultaneously and respond, creating duplicate or conflicting outreach.

Diagnosis steps:

1. There is no technical failure here; this is a process coordination failure
2. Assess whether the forwarding destination needs better access controls

Fix: Route campaign replies to a dedicated shared inbox (a shared Gmail account or Outlook shared mailbox) with a clear ownership protocol: the first person to view a reply claims it and marks it as "in progress" for other team members. Alternatively, forward to a CRM (if one is in use) where reply ownership is automatically assigned.

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What practitioners say

A verified buyer on Instantly reviews on G2, where Instantly holds 4.9/5 from 2,800+ verified reviews:

"We missed a $40k deal because someone's reply went to the Instantly inbox and the team member assigned to that domain hadn't checked Instantly in 3 days. After that, we set up forwarding to our main Slack channel and a daily Instantly inbox review protocol. It's been 18 months and we haven't missed a reply since."

— Verified buyer on Instantly reviews on G2

A thread in r/coldemail (743 upvotes):

"Catch-all is the one that people always forget. You set up forwarding for your 5 inboxes, think you're covered, and then a prospect hits Reply-All on a company email and includes an address that doesn't exist on your domain. Without catch-all, that goes nowhere. With catch-all, you get it. Always configure catch-all before launching campaigns."

— r/coldemail, 743 upvotes

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Our actual stack

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Frequently asked questions

Is email forwarding required for cold email campaigns?

It is not technically required — Instantly shows replies via IMAP without forwarding. But forwarding to a monitored inbox is strongly recommended as a redundancy layer. If IMAP fails or if the team is not regularly checking Instantly's inbox view, forwarding ensures replies reach the people responsible for responding.

Will forwarding affect my email deliverability?

Forwarding is for incoming messages (replies from prospects). It does not affect the deliverability of outgoing cold emails. The only indirect risk is if forwarding configuration errors create bounce loops (forwards that bounce back to prospects), which is addressed by testing the forwarding setup before going live.

Should I forward to Gmail or a business Outlook account?

Either works. Gmail's spam filtering occasionally classifies forwarded cold email replies as spam or as Promotions; create a filter to prevent this. Business Outlook has fewer filtering issues with forwarded messages. The monitored inbox choice is a team preference.

What is a catch-all address and why do I need one?

A catch-all address accepts email sent to any address at the domain, even if that specific address does not exist as a real inbox. For example, if your domain is getacme.com and you have inboxes for sarah, ryan, and james, a message to alex@getacme.com would bounce without catch-all (alex does not exist) and be delivered to the catch-all destination with catch-all enabled. This matters for cold email because prospects sometimes reply to addresses that differ from the one the email was sent from.

How do I configure catch-all in Inframail?

Navigate to your domain settings in the Inframail dashboard and look for a "Catch-all" or "Default mailbox" option. Set the destination address (where messages to undefined addresses should be delivered). Test by sending to a nonexistent address at the domain.

How often should I check the Instantly inbox for replies?

At minimum twice per day during active campaigns: once in the morning and once in the afternoon. For enterprise or high-touch campaigns, checking every 2–4 hours during business hours improves reply conversion because faster responses produce higher meeting booking rates.

Can Instantly automatically tag and sort replies by campaign?

Yes. Instantly categorises replies and allows you to filter the inbox view by campaign, sending account, or reply category (interested, not interested, unsubscribe, auto-reply). Use these filters to prioritise positive replies.

Do I need forwarding for each inbox individually, or can I configure it at the domain level?

Per-inbox Outlook forwarding rules apply to individual inboxes. Catch-all is a domain-level setting. For complete coverage, configure both: per-inbox forwarding for your real inboxes, and catch-all for addresses that do not have real inboxes.

What happens to autoreplies and out-of-office messages?

Autoreplies and out-of-office messages arrive in the Inframail inbox and are forwarded like any other message if forwarding is configured. Instantly's inbox view typically identifies and categorises auto-replies automatically. For campaign analytics, auto-replies are not counted as positive replies and should not trigger manual follow-up.

How many replies should I expect from a cold email campaign?

Reply rates vary significantly by industry, list quality, and message quality. Per Instantly's cold email benchmarks, average reply rates for cold email are 8–12% for well-targeted campaigns. At 1,000 emails per day, expect 80–120 replies per day, of which perhaps 20–40% are positive (interested, want to learn more, meeting requests). Planning for this volume when configuring reply routing helps design a workflow that handles scale.

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Never miss a reply with verified contacts in your campaigns

Properly configured reply routing ensures you catch every prospect response. The quality of those responses depends on who you are reaching: sending to verified, accurately targeted contacts produces replies from real decision-makers; sending to unverified or poorly targeted contacts produces bounces, auto-replies, and unsubscribes instead of real conversations.

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