If you’re cobbling together cold outreach using a Frankenstein’s monster of spreadsheets, browser tabs, and Chrome extensions, you’re not alone. Multi-channel outreach—meaning LinkedIn, email, maybe Twitter DM, maybe something weird—can get out of hand fast. You want automation, but not another tool that’s more trouble than it’s worth.
This guide is for anyone who wants to actually wire up Texau with Zapier so your outreach isn’t a mess. No hype. Just a real step-by-step, plus some warnings about what’s worth doing and what’s a waste of time.
What You’ll Need (And What You Don’t)
Before you dive in, here’s what you actually need—plus a reality check on the “nice-to-haves” you can ignore:
Must-haves: - A Texau account (obviously, and you’ll need at least a paid plan for API access) - A Zapier account (free tier is fine for testing, but you’ll hit limits fast) - A real use case: e.g., “When someone connects on LinkedIn, send them a follow-up email and add them to a Google Sheet”
Optional (skip unless you have a plan): - Outreach tool subscriptions (Mailshake, Woodpecker, etc.) if you want to get fancy - Integrations with Slack, Trello, or other team tools—possible, but don’t start here
Skip it: - Overcomplicated “hyper-personalization” setups - Anything that requires 10+ steps just to send a message
Step 1: Understand What Texau and Zapier Can (and Can’t) Do Together
Let’s get this out of the way: Texau is good at scraping data and triggering automations on social platforms. Zapier is good at wiring together APIs, not at handling complex outreach logic. The integration isn’t “native”—you’ll be using Texau’s webhook or API features to connect the two.
What works: - Triggering Texau “recipes” (automations) from Zapier - Sending scraped data from Texau into Zapier, then on to email, sheets, or CRMs
What doesn’t: - Real-time, instant triggers (there’s always a delay) - Handling large lists without running into rate limits, bans, or errors
Pro tip: Start with a single channel and simple flow. Multi-channel is cool, but you’ll just build a monster if you try to do everything at once.
Step 2: Set Up Your Texau Automation (Recipe)
Everything starts with a Texau recipe—a workflow you want to automate. For example: scrape new LinkedIn connections and get their emails.
To set up your recipe: 1. Log into Texau. 2. Go to “Recipes” and pick what you want to automate (e.g., “Extract LinkedIn profile data”). 3. Set up input (e.g., LinkedIn search URL, profile list, etc.) 4. Run it once manually to confirm it works. Download the CSV and check it’s not full of garbage.
Pro tip: If your recipe requires login cookies, make sure they’re fresh. Texau automations break quietly when cookies expire.
Don’t bother: With recipes that need lots of manual tweaking or can’t run headless—automation should save time, not create new chores.
Step 3: Grab Your Texau API Key
You’ll need API access to get Texau and Zapier talking.
- In Texau, click your profile icon > “Settings.”
- Find the “API Key” section.
- Copy your API key. Don’t share it—treat it like a password.
Note: If you only see “Upgrade to unlock,” you’ll need a paid Texau plan. There’s no workaround.
Step 4: Create a Webhook or Use Texau’s Native Zapier App (If Available)
Texau sometimes offers a “Zapier app” in beta, but honestly, it’s not always reliable. For control, use webhooks.
Option 1: Use Texau’s Zapier App - Search for “Texau” inside Zapier’s “Add app” menu. - If it shows up, try it—it may let you trigger recipes directly. - If not, or if you want more flexibility, use the webhook method.
Option 2: Use Webhooks (Recommended) - In Texau, set your recipe’s output to “Webhook.” - Paste your Zapier “Catch Hook” URL (see next section) into Texau.
Pro tip: Webhooks are more reliable than beta Zapier apps. Stick with them unless you like debugging.
Step 5: Set Up the Zap in Zapier
Now you’ll wire up the pieces in Zapier.
- Create a new Zap.
- Trigger: Search for “Webhooks by Zapier.” Pick “Catch Hook.”
- Copy the webhook URL Zapier gives you.
- Paste it into Texau as the output for your recipe.
- Test it: Run your Texau recipe so data gets sent to Zapier. Zapier should show your test data.
Common gotchas: - Texau sometimes sends weirdly formatted JSON. Use Zapier’s “Formatter” step to clean things up. - If nothing shows up, double-check your webhook URL and recipe settings.
Step 6: Add Your Outreach Channels in Zapier
Now for the “multi-channel” part. From Zapier, you can send your data just about anywhere:
- Email: Use Gmail, Outlook, or your favorite email app
- Sheets: Add rows to Google Sheets for tracking
- CRM: Pipe leads into HubSpot, Salesforce, whatever you use
- Slack/Discord: Ping yourself or your team
To set this up: 1. Add an action step in Zapier (e.g., “Send Email” or “Create Spreadsheet Row”). 2. Map the data from Texau (name, email, LinkedIn URL, etc.) to the right fields. 3. Test the step—a real message or row should appear.
Multi-channel tip: Don’t blast the same message everywhere. Think through what actually makes sense on each channel.
What to ignore: Don’t try to run “conditional logic” (e.g., “If this, then that”) in Zapier until your basic flow works. Complexity = headaches.
Step 7: (Optional) Add Delays and Logic
If you want to get fancy, you can add delays or filters:
- Delays: Add a “Delay” step in Zapier to wait between actions (so you don’t look like a bot).
- Filters: Only continue if certain fields exist (e.g., skip if email is missing).
- Paths: Split leads into different sequences, but honestly, this gets messy fast.
Reality check: The more you add, the more things break. Start simple, then add complexity only if you actually need it.
Step 8: Test the Whole Flow—Then Turn It On
Before you go live, run your whole process with test data. Check: - Did the right info come through? - Did the emails send (and not hit spam)? - Did any errors pop up in Texau or Zapier?
Pro tip: Run your first few batches with your own info or colleagues’ profiles. Nothing ruins credibility like a botched outreach blast.
Pitfalls, Rate Limits, and What to Watch Out For
Automated outreach is powerful, but it’s easy to overdo it and get your accounts restricted—or worse, banned. Here’s how to avoid common screwups:
- LinkedIn hates automation: Don’t blast hundreds of actions per day. Stay way under Texau’s default limits.
- Emails can get flagged: Use a separate sending domain, warm up inboxes, and rotate templates to avoid spam filters.
- Zapier task limits: Free plans run out fast. Upgrade if you’re serious, or you’ll just get stuck.
- Texau failures are often silent: Monitor your runs. Texau won’t always tell you when a recipe breaks.
Ignore the hype: “100% hands-free multi-channel automation” is a fantasy. You’ll always need to monitor and tweak.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t try to build the Death Star out of the gate. Start with one channel and one simple automation. Make sure it works. Then, and only then, add complexity.
Automation is supposed to save you time, not create new headaches. Stay skeptical, pay attention to what actually works, and keep your flows as dumb and robust as possible. If you’re spending more time fixing automations than doing outreach, you’re missing the point.
Good luck—and remember, it’s just software. If it makes your life harder, kill it and move on.