Bulk email outreach gets a bad rap, and honestly, it’s not hard to see why. Most people’s inboxes are full of generic, “Hi {{FirstName}}” messages that get deleted on sight. If you’re using email to get meetings, build relationships, or sell, you know you have to personalize. But you also know you can’t spend all day on it.
This guide is for salespeople, founders, and anyone sending bulk cold emails who wants to actually get replies—without turning their day into an endless copy-paste slog. We’ll walk through how to use Salesforge to personalize your outreach in a way that’s smart, not time-consuming.
Let’s get into it.
1. Understand What Actually Counts as Personalization
First, a reality check: Personalization doesn’t mean using someone’s first name and company name. That’s just mail merge. Real personalization is about making your email feel like it was written for them, not spat out by a robot.
What works: - Referencing something specific about their business, role, or recent activity. - Mentioning a mutual connection or a shared interest. - Tying your offer to an actual pain point they have.
What doesn’t: - Only swapping out the {{FirstName}} or {{CompanyName}} tags. - Overly generic “I see you’re the CEO at Company X” intros. - Flattering them for the sake of having something to say.
Pro tip: If your “personalized” intro could work for 90% of your list, it’s not really personalized.
2. Get Your Data House in Order
You can’t personalize what you don’t know. Before setting up anything in Salesforge, make sure your contact list isn’t a total mess.
Checklist for your data: - Accurate contact info: Name, email, company, job title. Obvious but often wrong. - Relevant custom fields: Industry, recent funding, tech stack, or any info you’ll use in your message. - No duplicates or dead leads: Clean this up before you start.
Where to get this info: - LinkedIn and company websites (manually or with tools). - Data enrichment services (be careful—quality varies). - Previous interactions or CRM notes.
What to skip: Don’t try to collect 20 data points “just in case.” Focus on the 2-3 things you’ll actually use in your emails.
3. Set Up Smart Custom Fields in Salesforge
Now the practical bit. In Salesforge, you’ll use custom fields to pull in personalized details for each prospect. The trick is to use these fields beyond the basics.
How to do it: 1. Import your cleaned contact list into Salesforge. Make sure each column (like “Industry” or “Recent News”) maps to a custom field. 2. Name your custom fields clearly. “PainPoint” or “RecentEvent” is better than “Field1.” 3. Don’t overcomplicate it. Two or three custom fields is usually enough for a solid email.
Honest take: If you find yourself trying to fill out custom fields you’ll never actually mention in your email, you’re making more work for yourself. Stick to what matters.
4. Write Templates That Really Use Personalization
Here’s where most people mess up: They build a template with a bunch of fields, but the core message is still generic. The best templates feel like they were written from scratch for each person.
How to write better templates: - Use custom fields in the first two sentences, not buried at the end. - Reference something specific from your research (like “Saw you just launched X feature...”). - Keep it short. Personalization loses impact if the email is a wall of text. - Have a clear reason for reaching out—don’t just “check in.”
Example (bad):
Hi {{FirstName}},
I noticed you’re the {{JobTitle}} at {{CompanyName}}. I help companies like yours with their sales process...
Example (better):
Hi {{FirstName}},
Congrats on {{RecentNews}}—that’s not easy in {{Industry}} right now. I had an idea that could help with {{PainPoint}}...
Pro tip: Read your template out loud. If it sounds like a robot, rewrite it.
5. Use Conditional Logic for Smarter Bulk Outreach
Salesforge lets you use conditional logic—basically, “if/then” statements—in your templates. This is gold for keeping templates flexible but still personal.
How it works: - You can set up sections of your email that only appear if a certain custom field is filled out. - For example: “If ‘RecentNews’ exists, mention it. If not, use a fallback line.”
Why bother?
This keeps your outreach relevant and personal, even if you don’t have the same info for every lead.
Sample snippet:
{{#if RecentNews}} Saw {{CompanyName}} just {{RecentNews}}—impressive! {{else}} I’ve been following {{CompanyName}} for a while. {{/if}}
Caution: Don’t go overboard with logic or your template becomes spaghetti. One or two “if/then”s are plenty for most campaigns.
6. Automate but Keep Room for Manual Edits
Even with all the above, sometimes you’ll want to tweak an email before it goes out. That’s fine—Salesforge lets you review and edit emails individually before sending.
When to do manual edits: - High-value targets (your “dream” customers). - When you spot something odd or blank in your custom fields. - If you see a chance to add a personal touch that’s not in your template.
What not to do:
Don’t try to manually tweak 100+ emails a day. It’s not sustainable, and you’ll burn out.
Pro tip: Block off 15 minutes a day to review just the top leads. Let automation handle the rest.
7. Test, Measure, and Ruthlessly Cut What’s Not Working
No template or process is perfect out of the gate. The key is to look at your results and adjust.
What to track: - Open rates (but don’t obsess—subject lines only get you so far). - Reply rates (your true measure of personalization). - Positive replies (because “Take me off your list” counts as a reply, technically).
How to improve: - If reply rates are low, your personalization probably isn’t specific enough. - If you’re getting replies but they’re mostly negative, check your targeting or message. - If you’re spending too much time per email, simplify your process or drop unnecessary fields.
Ignore:
Vanity metrics like “emails sent” or “clicks.” Focus on real conversations.
8. The Stuff to Ignore (Unless You Have Infinite Time)
There’s a lot of noise out there about hyper-personalization—video intros, custom images, deep LinkedIn scraping. Unless you’re selling $100k deals, most of this isn’t worth the time or technical mess.
Skip unless you’re bored: - Video messages for cold outreach (they rarely get watched). - Custom graphics with the prospect’s logo. - Overly clever subject lines (“Saw your dog on LinkedIn!”—just, no).
Stick to what moves the needle: a relevant, specific line or two at the start of your email.
9. Don’t Forget Deliverability
All this personalization is pointless if your emails never land in the inbox. Salesforge has tools to help with deliverability, but you still need to do the basics:
- Warm up your sending domain before blasting hundreds of emails.
- Use a custom tracking domain (not the default).
- Don’t send 500 emails on day one—ramp up slowly.
- Watch your bounce and spam rates.
If your emails start hitting spam:
Pause, clean your list, and double-check your template for spammy phrases.
10. Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Overthink It
You don’t need a PhD in email outreach. Start with a simple, clean process: - Good data - Smart custom fields - Templates that use real info - A quick review for top leads - Keep an eye on results
Tweak as you go. If you’re stuck, cut back and focus on just one thing to personalize. The goal isn’t to win a “most creative email” contest—it’s to start more genuine conversations, without turning it into a full-time job.
That’s it. Personalizing bulk email in Salesforge doesn’t have to be painful or slow, and you don’t need to chase every new trick. Focus on what works, ignore what doesn’t, and keep moving. You’ll thank yourself.