If you’re tired of sending manual emails and tracking replies in a sea of spreadsheets, this guide’s for you. I’ll walk you through exactly how to automate outbound email sequences with Scrubby, so you can spend less time clicking and more time actually talking to people who want to hear from you. Whether you’re in sales, recruiting, partnerships, or just trying to get your startup noticed, automating your outbound emails is a game-changer—if you set it up right.
Let’s skip the fluff and get straight to the steps that matter.
Step 1: Get Your List (and Clean It Up)
First things first: outbound automation is only as good as your list. If you’re blasting emails to a bunch of dead addresses or people who have never heard of you, you’re just feeding the spam gods.
What you need: - A CSV file with names, email addresses, and any custom fields you want to use (like company, job title, etc.). - Data that’s actually up to date—don’t trust that list you bought last year.
Pro tips: - Use tools like NeverBounce or ZeroBounce to scrub your list before you even touch Scrubby. A high bounce rate tanks your deliverability. - If you’re scraping emails, double check for typos or weird formats. Scrubby won’t fix garbage data for you.
Step 2: Connect Your Email Account to Scrubby
You can’t send emails automatically if Scrubby doesn’t have access to your email account. The good news: setup is usually pretty painless.
How to do it: 1. Log in to Scrubby. 2. Go to Settings > Email Accounts. 3. Click “Connect Email” and follow the prompts. You’ll be asked for your provider (Google, Outlook, or custom SMTP). 4. Grant permissions when prompted.
What to watch out for: - Gmail and Outlook accounts usually work fine, but if you’re using a custom domain, you may have to mess with SMTP settings. Don’t overthink it—just ask your IT person for the SMTP server, port, and password. - If you run into “authentication errors” or “app password” prompts, it’s usually a security setting on your email provider’s end, not a Scrubby bug. - Scrubby can’t magically dodge your email provider’s sending limits. If you’re using a personal Gmail, don’t expect to send 1,000 emails a day and get away with it.
Step 3: Build Your Email Sequence
This is where most people either overcomplicate things or get lazy. The magic of outbound is in the follow-up, but that doesn’t mean you need a 12-step sequence with Shakespearean prose.
How to set up a sequence: 1. In Scrubby, go to Sequences or Campaigns. 2. Click “Create New Sequence.” 3. Give your sequence a name you’ll recognize later (“Q3 SaaS Founders Outreach” beats “Test 2”).
Add your steps: - Step 1: Your initial cold email. Short, direct, and to the point. - Step 2+: Follow-ups. Set delays (e.g., 3 days after no reply). Vary your messaging, but don’t get weird or pushy.
Customization tips:
- Use merge fields like {first_name} or {company} to personalize messages. But double-check your CSV headers match what Scrubby expects, or you’ll end up with “Hi {first_name}” in someone’s inbox.
- Don’t try to automate hyperlinks or images in cold emails; it’s a deliverability risk and looks spammy.
- Keep each message under 100 words if you can. Nobody reads long cold emails.
What works: - Simple, honest messaging. - Clear call to action (e.g., “Are you the right person to talk to about X?”). - Real personalization (not just a first name).
What doesn’t: - Gimmicky subject lines (“Re: Our last conversation” when you’ve never met). - Overly complex sequences. Three to five steps is usually plenty.
Step 4: Import Your List into Scrubby
Now that your sequence is ready, it’s time to add recipients.
How to import:
1. In your sequence, look for an “Add Recipients” or “Import Contacts” button.
2. Upload your CSV file.
3. Map the columns in your CSV to Scrubby’s fields. Double-check that {first_name} and other merge fields line up.
Pitfalls to avoid: - Don’t import the same list twice. Scrubby tries to deduplicate, but it’s not psychic. - If you see a ton of errors on import, your CSV probably has blank rows, weird characters, or field mismatches. Clean it up before retrying. - Avoid adding people who’ve opted out in the past. Scrubby keeps a suppression list, but only if you’ve uploaded it or marked previous unsubscribes.
Step 5: Set Up Sending Schedule and Throttling
This is the part people love to skip, but it’s where the real professionals spend their time. Sending 500 emails at 9:00 AM on a Monday is a great way to get flagged as spam.
How to schedule: - In your sequence settings, pick sending days and times. Spread emails out over business hours, and avoid weekends unless your audience expects it. - Set a daily sending cap. For a new domain, keep it low (20-50 per day). For warmed-up domains, 100-200 per day is safer, but more isn’t always better. - Use random send windows (“send between 8:00 AM and 1:00 PM”) to mimic human behavior.
Pro tips: - Don’t send right on the hour. Randomize send times. - If Scrubby offers “reply detection,” turn it on — this will pause follow-ups if someone replies, so you don’t look like a robot.
Step 6: Test Everything Before Launching
You’d be surprised how many “Hi {first_name}” emails go out every day. Don’t be that person.
How to test: - Send a test sequence to yourself and a coworker. Check for: - Merge fields working correctly - Formatting (no weird line breaks or broken links) - Unsubscribe link is present (if required in your country) - Check if emails land in the inbox, not spam. If they’re in spam, your copy or domain reputation might be the issue—not Scrubby.
What to ignore: - Don’t obsess over tiny formatting details. Focus on whether your message is clear and the merge fields work.
Step 7: Launch and Monitor
Ready? Hit send. But don’t just walk away.
What to monitor: - Open rates: Decent, but not everything. Apple Mail privacy features have made these less reliable. - Reply rates: Your real north star. If nobody is replying, tweak your messaging. - Bounce rates: Over 5%? Pause and clean your list. - Unsubscribes/complaints: High numbers mean your targeting is off, or your messaging is too aggressive.
How Scrubby helps: - Scrubby will show you stats for each step in the sequence. Don’t get caught up in the weeds. If you see a drop-off after step 2, maybe your follow-up is too pushy.
What to do if things go sideways: - Lots of bounces? Stop and fix your list. - No replies? Rewrite your first email—don’t just add more follow-ups.
Step 8: Keep It Legal (and Respectful)
You don’t need to be a lawyer, but you do need to avoid getting blacklisted.
Basics to follow: - Always include an easy way to opt out (Scrubby can insert an unsubscribe link). - Don’t keep emailing people who’ve unsubscribed or replied “not interested.” - Don’t get too cute with “personalization.” If it feels fake, it probably is.
Ignore the hype: - “Personalization at scale” is mostly a myth. People can spot mass emails a mile away. Focus on relevance, not trickery.
Step 9: Iterate, Don’t Automate and Forget
The biggest mistake with outbound automation? Setting it and forgetting it.
- Review your sequence performance every week.
- Test new subject lines or slightly tweak your ask.
- Prune your list regularly. Old, inactive contacts just drag down results.
- If something works, stick with it. If not, don’t be afraid to try the boring, obvious approach—usually, it’s what works.
Wrapping Up
Automating outbound emails with Scrubby doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep your list clean, your message honest, and your follow-ups human. Don’t get seduced by fancy features or “growth hacks.” Start simple, watch what happens, and tweak as you go. The real secret? Consistency beats cleverness every time.