If your sales emails sound like everyone else’s, they end up in the same place: ignored, deleted, or stuck in spam. Personalization is the difference—but nobody wants to spend all day rewriting the same email, just swapping out a name or company. This guide is for anyone who wants to save time and get better results by automating sales email personalization using Quillbot. I’ll walk you through real steps (not vague “just automate it” advice), point out what works, and flag what’s just hype.
Why bother with automation?
Let’s be honest: salespeople are busy. You want more responses, but you don’t have hours to tweak every email. Automation can help, but only if you don’t treat prospects like robots. The goal is to sound human and relevant—while letting the tools do the grunt work.
Who this is for:
- SDRs and AEs who send a lot of outbound
- Startup founders hustling for leads
- Marketers tasked with “personalized outreach” (but not a giant budget)
- Anyone tired of copy-paste “Hey {FirstName}” templates
What you’ll need:
- A batch of prospects (with real info, not just emails)
- Your core sales email template
- Access to Quillbot (the free version does a lot, but paid gives more control)
- A spreadsheet tool (Google Sheets or Excel)
- Optional: a basic mail merge tool (like Gmail’s built-in or GMass)
Step 1: Gather Your Prospect Data (Don’t Skip This)
Before you touch any AI, get your prospect info in order. Garbage in, garbage out.
What to collect:
- First name, company, and job title
- Something relevant: recent news, mutual connection, or company pain point
- LinkedIn bio or a line from their website (if you want extra personalization)
Put this in a spreadsheet. Each row is a person, each column is a variable you might use.
Pro tip:
Don’t invent fake “personalization.” If you don’t have real info for a field, leave it blank or fill with a fallback (e.g., “your team” instead of “Acme Corp”).
Step 2: Write a “Core” Sales Email Template
This is your starting point, not the final product.
Example:
Hi {FirstName},
I saw that {Company} is growing fast, and I think our platform could help your team save time on {PainPoint}. Would you be open to a quick call this week?
Best, [Your Name]
Don’t:
- Make it too wordy or too clever.
- Rely only on “insert name here” personalization.
Do:
- Keep it short.
- Leave clear placeholders for variables.
- Write like a real person, not a robot.
Step 3: Identify Where Personalization Matters
Not every sentence needs to change. Focus on what actually moves the needle:
- The opening line (shows you did your homework)
- The pain point (make it specific, not generic)
- The call to action (optional, but a little customization helps)
What to skip:
- Over-customizing the sign-off or subject line (unless you have a reason)
- Adding “fun facts” that feel forced
Pro tip:
Decide which variables are must-have (like the company name) versus nice to have (like a news mention). Don’t break the system if you’re missing some data.
Step 4: Use Quillbot to Paraphrase and Personalize at Scale
Here’s where Quillbot comes in. It’s mostly known as a paraphrasing tool, but you can use it to rewrite templated lines so your emails don’t all sound the same.
How to use Quillbot for this:
- Draft a few versions of your key sentences.
-
Example:
- “I noticed {Company} just launched a new product.”
- “Congrats to the {Company} team on your recent launch.”
- “Saw your new product—impressive work at {Company}.”
-
Feed them into Quillbot.
- Paste a sentence into Quillbot’s paraphraser.
- Choose a tone (Standard, Formal, Simple, or Creative).
-
Adjust the synonyms slider. More synonyms = more variety, but sometimes it gets weird.
-
Copy Quillbot’s alternatives.
- For each line, grab 3–5 rewrites that sound natural.
-
Paste these into your spreadsheet as options for each variable.
-
Create “sentence banks.”
- For each personalization point (like an opening line), have a column with several rewritten options, all referencing the variable (e.g., {Company}).
What works:
- Using Quillbot to avoid “template fatigue” (emails that all sound alike)
- Keeping the rewrites human—don’t let the tool go full robot
What to watch out for:
- Quillbot sometimes gets overly formal or awkward. Don’t blindly trust its output.
- Always review the rewrites before sending anything.
Step 5: Build Your Mail Merge Spreadsheet
Now, set up your spreadsheet so each row pulls:
- The prospect’s data (name, company, etc.)
- A randomized or selected rewrite from your “sentence bank”
- The rest of your template
How to do it:
- Use Google Sheets’ =INDEX() and =RANDBETWEEN() to pick a random rewrite for each prospect.
- Fill in variables using mail merge tags (like {FirstName}).
Example sheet structure:
| FirstName | Company | OpeningLine | PainPointLine | EmailBody | |-----------|---------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|-----------| | Sara | Acme | I noticed Acme just launched a new product. | You’re probably dealing with scaling challenges.| ... | | Mike | BetaCo | Congrats to the BetaCo team on your recent launch. | Bet you’re trying to juggle a lot right now. | ... |
Don’t:
- Overcomplicate with too many moving parts.
- Try to personalize every single word (it’ll sound fake).
Step 6: Test Your Output Before Sending
Send a few test emails to yourself or a teammate. Look for:
- Weird phrasing or grammar mistakes from Quillbot
- Repetitive sentences (if your “sentence bank” isn’t varied enough)
- Broken variables (like “Hi ,” or “Congrats to the team”)
Fix your spreadsheet or template as needed.
Pro tip:
If something feels off to you, it’ll feel off to your prospects too.
Step 7: Send (But Don’t Set and Forget)
Once you’re happy with your test emails, use your mail merge tool to send the batch. But don’t just hit “go” and walk away.
- Monitor replies. Are you getting more responses, or just more unsubscribes?
- A/B test: Try a batch with more (or less) personalization.
- Keep tweaking your sentence banks. Update them every few weeks so you don’t sound stale.
What to ignore:
- “Set it and forget it” automation hype. If you never look at your output, you’ll eventually get burned.
- Over-obsessing about open rates. Focus on replies.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
Works: - Using Quillbot to paraphrase key lines so emails don’t sound copy-pasted - Personalizing based on real info, not just tokens - Keeping templates simple and flexible
Doesn’t work: - Letting AI write the whole email unsupervised (you’ll get generic junk) - Faking personalization (“Saw you’re in {City}—great place!” when you have no clue)
Ignore: - Fancy tools that promise “1:1 personalization at scale” with zero effort. It’s never quite that easy.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t get sucked into the “automation arms race.” The best results come from a few smart tweaks, not endless tools or over-engineering. Start with a core template, use Quillbot to mix up the lines that matter, and always check your output. If your reply rate improves—even a little—you’re on the right track. Tweak, test, and keep it human. That’s how you win more replies and keep your sanity.