If you’re tired of spraying emails everywhere and hoping for the best, this guide’s for you. Whether you’re in sales, marketing, or just trying to get people to reply to your cold emails, targeted outreach is where results happen. I’ll walk you through setting up a campaign in Bounceban that actually stands a chance of converting—without wasting your time or annoying your prospects.
Why Bother with Targeted Outreach?
Let’s be honest: most outreach fails because it’s lazy. Blasting the same email to everyone is a waste. Targeted campaigns—messages tailored to specific people or groups—get better open rates, replies, and ultimately, more deals closed. Bounceban makes some of this easier, but tools only help if you put in the work.
Step 1: Get Your Target List Right
This is the part most people rush—and regret later. If you don’t know exactly who you’re trying to reach, even the fanciest tool can’t save you.
How to build a solid target list: - Start with a clear goal: Are you trying to book demos, get feedback, or close sales? - Define your ideal customer: Industry, company size, job title, geography—get specific. - Use LinkedIn, industry directories, or your own CRM to find contacts. Don’t buy sketchy email lists; they’re full of junk and will hurt your sender reputation. - Double-check emails using a verifier (Bounceban has basic validation, but don’t rely on it alone if deliverability is critical).
Pro tip: Fewer, better-targeted prospects beat a big, messy list every time.
Step 2: Segment Your Outreach (Yes, Really)
Don’t send the same pitch to everyone. Break your list into smaller groups based on something meaningful—role, industry, pain point, whatever fits your product.
How to segment in Bounceban: - Import your contact list as a CSV. Include columns like “Industry” or “Persona.” - Use Bounceban’s tagging or segmentation feature to group contacts. - If possible, add custom fields (e.g., “Recent Funding” or “Uses Salesforce”) for better personalization.
What to ignore: Over-segmentation. Don’t make 20 micro-lists unless you have time to write 20 versions of your email. Three to five solid segments is plenty for most campaigns.
Step 3: Write Emails People Might Actually Read
This is where most outreach dies. If your message looks like a template or tries too hard, it’ll get deleted.
Tips for writing better emails: - Keep it short. No one’s reading an essay from a stranger. - Personalize with real details (name, company, something you noticed). - State why you’re reaching out—fast. - Make a simple ask (not “let’s hop on a call,” unless you’ve earned it). - Avoid hype, jargon, or fake urgency.
Bounceban features to use: - Use merge tags for first name, company, etc. - Set up email templates for each segment. - Preview emails before sending—make sure personalization works.
What doesn’t work: Copy-pasting the same “just bumping this to the top of your inbox” follow-up. Write something new or don’t bother.
Step 4: Set Up Your Campaign in Bounceban
Here’s where you put it all together:
- Create a new campaign in Bounceban. Give it a clear name—“Q2 SaaS CEOs Outreach” beats “Campaign 1.”
- Upload your segmented contact lists or tag contacts within Bounceban.
- Choose your sending domain. Don’t use your main business domain for cold outreach. Set up a subdomain or alternate domain to protect your reputation.
- Set up your email sequence. Bounceban supports multi-step campaigns—plan 2–4 emails, spaced out over days. Space out sends to look more human.
- Add your email templates for each segment. Make sure the right message goes to the right group.
- Configure sending settings:
- Limit daily sends (100-200/day per mailbox is safe).
- Randomize sending times if possible.
- Use custom tracking domains if you want to track opens/clicks—but know this can hurt deliverability.
- Test with a small batch before going big. Send to a few addresses (ideally your own or colleagues’) to make sure everything looks right and lands in the inbox.
What to skip: Don’t obsess over every Bounceban feature. Focus on getting the basics right—good list, good message, reasonable volume.
Step 5: Monitor, Adjust, and Don’t Panic
You’ve hit send. Now what?
Watch the right metrics: - Open rates: Decent means your subject lines aren’t terrible. If they’re below 30%, you might have deliverability issues. - Reply rates: The real measure of success. 5–10% is typical for cold outreach that’s done well. - Bounce rates: Keep it under 3%. Higher means your list is bad or you’re hitting spam traps.
Use Bounceban’s analytics to spot trends, but don’t get lost in the weeds. If you’re not getting replies, tweak your message or rethink your targeting. If you’re landing in spam, dial back sending volume, warm up your domain, or change your content.
What to ignore: Click tracking as a vanity metric. It’s easy to track, but it doesn’t mean much if no one replies.
Step 6: Follow Up—But Don’t Be Annoying
Following up works—but not if you’re a pest.
- Space out follow-ups by several days.
- Keep them even shorter than your first email.
- Reference your last message, but don’t guilt-trip people.
- If you don’t get a reply after 2–3 tries, move on. Persistence is great; desperation isn’t.
Bounceban can automate follow-ups, but make sure each step adds value or at least doesn’t annoy.
Real World: What Actually Moves the Needle
- Research matters. The more you know about who you’re contacting, the better your results.
- Personalization beats automation. Use automation to save time, not to churn out spam.
- Quality > quantity. Ten strong conversations are worth more than a thousand ignored emails.
What doesn’t matter as much as you think: - Fancy graphics. Keep it text-only for deliverability. - Sending on “the perfect day or time.” It barely matters—just avoid weekends. - A/B testing subject lines endlessly. Do it once, then move on.
Keep It Simple: Start, Learn, Repeat
The best campaigns are the ones you actually send—not the ones you plan forever. Start small, focus on quality, and use Bounceban to handle the grunt work. Review your results honestly, make one change at a time, and don’t get distracted by shiny features or marketing hype. Iterate, improve, and you’ll see real results.
If you remember nothing else: know who you’re writing to, say something worth their time, and keep tweaking until it works. You’ll be way ahead of most people already.