Email outreach doesn’t have to feel like shouting into the void, or worse, like spamming strangers and praying for a reply. If you’re running outbound campaigns—maybe you’re in sales, recruiting, or hustling for partnerships—you want more than just emails sent. You want responses.
This guide is for anyone who’s tired of blasting out emails with little to show for it, and wants a straightforward way to automate smarter, more effective outreach using Emelia. We’ll walk through the nuts and bolts, call out what actually moves the needle, and help you avoid the mistakes that get your emails ignored (or flagged as spam).
1. Get Your List Right (Don’t Skip This)
Before you even log into Emelia, let’s get honest: garbage in, garbage out. No amount of automation will save you if your list is old, messy, or completely off-target.
What works: - Build a focused list. Stick to prospects who are likely to care about your message. - Double-check emails for accuracy. Use a verifier if you have a lot of contacts. - Segment by relevant criteria: job title, industry, location, or pain points.
What doesn’t: - Buying lists. You’ll get low response rates and risk hurting your sender reputation. - Mass-blasting everyone with the same pitch.
Pro tip: If you wouldn’t talk to this person at a conference, don’t add them to your list. Quality beats quantity every time.
2. Set Up Your Emelia Account and Sending Domains
Assuming you’ve signed up for Emelia, you’ll need to connect your sending email accounts. This part is not glamorous, but it’s crucial.
Steps: 1. Connect your email provider: Emelia supports Gmail, Outlook, and custom SMTP. Pick what you use for business, not your personal account. 2. Authenticate your domain: Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. These are fancy acronyms, but they basically tell inboxes you’re not a spammer. Emelia guides you through this, but if you get stuck, ask your IT person (or Google it with your provider’s name). 3. Warm up new domains: If you’re using a fresh email address, send a handful of real emails each day for a couple weeks before blasting out hundreds. Emelia can automate this “warm-up,” which helps keep you out of spam folders.
What to ignore: Any “hacks” that promise instant inbox placement. Deliverability is about reputation and consistency, not tricks.
3. Write Your Campaign (Keep It Human)
Automation is great, but if your email sounds like a robot wrote it, you’re sunk. Most people hit delete on anything remotely generic.
What works: - Short, clear subject lines: “Quick question” sometimes works, but being specific (“About [Their Company]”) is usually better. - Personalization tokens: Emelia lets you insert first names, company names, etc. Use them, but don’t overdo it—one or two per email is enough. - One clear ask: Don’t cram in three different calls to action. Pick one (reply, book a call, etc.). - Plain text format: Fancy designs scream “mass email.” Stick to text. - Natural language: Write like you talk, not like you’re writing a press release.
What doesn’t: - Overly clever or clickbaity subject lines (“Open for a surprise!”). - Wall-of-text paragraphs. - Generic templates from Google.
Pro tip: Email yourself or a friend your draft. If you’d roll your eyes at it, so will everyone else.
4. Build a Sequence, Not Just a One-Off
Most replies come after a follow-up or two. Emelia makes it easy to set up sequences, which is just a fancy word for “send more than one email—automatically.”
How to do it: 1. Create a new campaign in Emelia. 2. Set your first email: This is your opener—brief, personal, and to the point. 3. Add follow-ups: Space these out every 3-5 days. Change up the wording each time. Don’t just say “Did you see my last email?” 4. Decide when to stop: Three to five touches is usually enough. After that, you’re probably just annoying people.
What works: - Each follow-up should add a new angle or value (“Just wanted to make sure this didn’t slip through,” or “Saw your recent [event/news], congrats!”). - Always include a clear way to opt out (“If this isn’t relevant, just let me know”).
What doesn’t: - Endless pestering. - Guilt trips (“I guess you’re just too busy to reply…”).
5. Fine-Tune Sending Settings (Avoid Tripping Spam Filters)
The best email in the world is useless if it lands in spam. Emelia gives you control over how and when emails go out.
Key settings to tweak: - Daily send limits: Stay under 100-150 emails per day, per inbox, especially when starting out. - Send times: Mimic real humans. Spread emails throughout the workday, not all at once at 8:00 AM. - Randomize sending: Emelia can shuffle send times so you don’t look like a bot. - Custom tracking domains: If you’re tracking opens/clicks, use your own domain.
What works: - Consistency: Don’t double your send volume overnight. - Testing: Try sending to a test inbox to see where your messages land.
What doesn’t: - Using tons of links or attachments. - Weird formatting, ALL CAPS, or lots of exclamation points.
Pro tip: If you notice open rates tanking fast, pause the campaign and check your setup. Better to fix early than get blacklisted.
6. Respond Fast and Personally
Automation gets your foot in the door, but real conversations need a human touch.
Best practices: - Reply quickly: The faster you answer, the more likely you’ll keep someone’s attention. - Drop the script: Once someone responds, stop automating. Write like a person. - Track replies in Emelia: Use tags or notes to keep organized.
What doesn’t work: Relying on canned responses for every reply. You’ll get ignored.
7. Monitor, Measure, and Adjust (But Don’t Obsess)
Emelia shows you stats like open rates, reply rates, and bounces. These numbers are useful, but don’t read too much into them day-to-day.
What to look for: - Open rate: Under 40%? You might have deliverability trouble or bad subject lines. - Reply rate: Under 5%? Your message or list needs work. - Bounce rate: Over 5%? Clean your list.
What actually matters: Are you getting real conversations started with the right people? That’s the only metric that pays the bills.
Pro tip: Change one thing at a time—subject line, email body, timing—so you know what made the difference.
8. Common Mistakes to Dodge
- Sending too much, too soon: Warm up your inbox and increase volume slowly.
- Ignoring opt-outs: If someone asks to be removed, do it immediately.
- Over-personalizing: It’s weird when a stranger seems to know your dog’s name.
- Chasing vanity metrics: Opens and clicks are nice, but replies are what matter.
- Not testing: Always try your emails on yourself before launching to a list.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Overthink It
Most people overcomplicate outbound campaigns. Start with a clean list, write like yourself, follow up a few times, and pay attention to what works. Emelia can handle the grunt work, but it’s still up to you to make your message worth reading.
Tweak things, keep it human, and don’t be afraid to experiment. The best campaigns are rarely perfect out of the gate—they get better with each try.