If you want to get more leads without manually combing through LinkedIn and firing off one-off emails, automating your outreach is the way to go. But most tools either overpromise or make you jump through hoops. This guide walks you through exactly how to set up automated lead generation campaigns using Hunter—so you can focus on actual conversations, not busywork.
This is for people who want a real-world, no-nonsense walkthrough: founders, marketers, sales folks, and even the unlucky souls who got dumped into “doing outbound” for their startup. Whether you’re brand new to Hunter or you’ve clicked around but never really set up a campaign, you’ll find what you need here.
Step 1: Get Clear on What Hunter Can—and Can’t—Do
Before you dive in, let’s clear up a few things about Hunter. Hunter is best known for finding email addresses and verifying them, but it also has tools for automating cold email campaigns. It’s not a full-blown CRM, and it won’t do your prospecting for you. Here’s what to expect:
What Hunter does well: - Finds email addresses by domain or company name. - Verifies emails so you’re not sending to dead or risky addresses. - Lets you set up automated cold email sequences (basic, but covers most needs). - Tracks opens, clicks, and replies.
What Hunter won’t do: - Source leads for you with fancy AI (you still need to pick your targets). - Replace your CRM or sales pipeline. - Warm up your email address—do that separately or risk the spam folder. - Give you highly customizable, multi-channel campaigns (it’s mostly email).
Bottom line: If you want fast, straightforward email outreach, it works well. If you want a marketing Swiss Army knife, look elsewhere.
Step 2: Build (or Import) a List of Leads
Hunter is only as good as the list you feed it. Here’s how to get your leads in shape:
Option 1: Use Hunter’s Email Finder
- Use the “Domain Search” to find emails at a specific company.
- Upload a list of domains or company names.
- Use the “Email Finder” for a specific person (if you know name + company).
- Export results to a CSV.
Pro tip: The more targeted your list, the less likely you’ll be flagged as spam. Don’t just scrape 1,000 random marketing managers—know who you want to reach, and why.
Option 2: Import Your Own List
If you already have a list (from LinkedIn, events, etc.), make sure it’s in CSV format:
- Required columns: First Name, Last Name, Email.
- Optional but helpful: Company, Position, Website.
You can import this directly into Hunter’s “Leads” section.
Verify Your Emails
Always run a verification step—Hunter makes this easy. This reduces bounces and keeps your sender reputation intact. Don’t skip it.
Step 3: Set Up Your Sending Account Properly
This is where most people cut corners and pay the price.
You need to: - Use a dedicated sending email (not your main work email). - Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your domain. (Check your domain settings or ask your IT person.) - Warm up your email account for at least 2–4 weeks by sending real, non-campaign emails before blasting out hundreds of cold emails. - Limit your daily sends (Hunter lets you set this) to avoid getting blacklisted. Start with 30-50 a day and ramp up slowly.
Ignore: Anyone who tells you to just “scale up” and send 500 emails a day from a brand-new domain. That’s a fast track to nowhere.
Step 4: Craft a Campaign That Doesn’t Suck
Hunter’s Campaigns tool lets you set up automated email sequences. You get:
- A main email (“Step 1”)
- Follow-ups (“Step 2,” “Step 3,” etc.)—these send automatically if someone doesn’t reply
How to not sound like a robot: - Write like a human. If you wouldn’t say it out loud, don’t send it. - Personalize at least one sentence. Use Hunter’s variables (like {{first_name}}, {{company}}) to make it feel less generic. - Keep it short—nobody reads long cold emails. - Ditch jargon and fake “value adds.”
Example first email:
Subject: Quick question about {{company}}
Hi {{first_name}},
Saw you’re leading growth at {{company}}. Are you open to new ways of finding customers? I’ve got a couple of ideas that work well for similar teams.
If you’re up for a quick chat, let me know.
Thanks,
[Your Name]
Follow-up rules: - 1–2 polite follow-ups, spaced 3–5 days apart, is plenty. - Don’t just resend the same email. Change it up (“Just checking in—didn’t want this to get lost.”) - Stop after 2–3 total emails unless you enjoy being marked as spam.
Step 5: Set Up and Launch Your Campaign in Hunter
Here’s the straightforward process:
- Go to the “Campaigns” tab.
- Click “New campaign.”
- Name your campaign (so you don’t confuse it later).
- Select your sending account (the one you set up earlier).
- Upload or select your lead list.
- You can pull from your “Leads” database, or upload a new CSV.
- Write your email sequence.
- Draft your first email and any follow-ups.
- Use variables for personalization.
- Set delays between each step (e.g., 3 days).
- Review and test.
- Send test emails to yourself. Check for typos, formatting, and that variables work.
- Make sure links aren’t broken.
- Set sending limits.
- Hunter lets you set daily max sends. Start low.
- Launch.
- Hit send and monitor.
Pro tip: Don’t blast your whole list at once. Start with a small batch, see how it goes, tweak, then scale.
Step 6: Monitor, Reply, and Tweak
Hunter tracks opens, clicks, and replies. Don’t obsess over open rates (Apple Mail privacy makes them unreliable), but do look at replies and bounce rates.
- High bounce rate? Pause, verify emails again, and clean your list.
- No replies after 100+ emails? Your message probably needs work, or your list is off.
- Getting marked as spam? Lower your daily sends and revisit your sending domain setup.
Always reply to real responses quickly. The whole point is to start conversations, not just “send emails.”
What to Ignore (Seriously)
You’ll hear a lot of noise about hacks and “secret” deliverability tricks. Most of it’s nonsense or short-lived. Here’s what you can skip:
- Fancy HTML email templates: Text-only is less likely to hit spam or look automated.
- Fake “Re:” subject lines: People see through it instantly.
- Buying giant lists: You’ll nuke your domain and annoy strangers.
- Over-automating: If you can’t keep up with replies, your campaign is too big.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Ship It, and Iterate
You don’t need complicated tools or magic scripts to get started with lead generation in Hunter. The best campaigns are targeted, genuine, and manageable. Focus on quality over quantity. Start small, see what works, and make changes as you go. Don’t get hung up on “optimization” before you’ve even sent your first email.
Just get your first campaign out the door. You’ll learn more from hitting send than from reading a dozen more guides.