skill-cold-email-outreach
Apollo → Hunter → Instantly automated cold email pipeline.
Scrape leads, verify emails, upload to campaign — fully automated B2B outreach in one command.
What it does
- Source leads — Apollo CSV export (free tier) or Apollo API scrape (paid)
- Verify emails — Hunter.io filters invalid/risky addresses
- Upload & personalize — pushes verified leads to Instantly v2 with dynamic first lines
- Sequence — 3-email drip: D0 (ROI pitch) → D3 (pain question) → D8 (soft close)
Requirements
- Node.js 18+
- Apollo.io account (free = CSV export, paid = API)
- Hunter.io API key (free = 25/mo, paid for scale)
- Instantly.ai account + campaign pre-created
- Instantly v2 Bearer token
Setup
# 1. Edit config.js — add your keys
cp scripts/config.example.js scripts/config.js
# Fill in: instantly.apiKey, hunter.apiKey, apollo.apiKey, target ICP
# 2. Run
node scripts/import-csv.js your-apollo-export.csvScripts
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
import-csv.js | Apollo CSV → Hunter verify → Instantly upload |
pipeline.js | Apollo API scrape → Hunter verify → Instantly upload |
config.example.js | Config template (copy to config.js) |
emails.js | 3-email sequence content (customize subject/body) |
Target Config
target: {
industries: ["ecommerce", "retail"],
countries: ["AE", "SA", "EG"], // ISO-2 codes
titles: ["Founder", "CEO", "Owner"],
perPage: 25,
maxLeads: 200,
}Output
📋 Parsed 18 rows from CSV
🔍 Verifying emails with Hunter...
✓ john@example.com — John @ Acme Store
✗ bad@fake.com — invalid
✅ Verified: 17 / 18 leads
📤 Uploading to Instantly...
╔══════════════════════════════════╗
║ IMPORT COMPLETE ⚡ ║
║ Uploaded: 17 ║
║ Failed: 0 ║
╚══════════════════════════════════╝After running
- Open app.instantly.ai → your campaign
- Connect sending inboxes (warm them first)
- Set daily limit: 40/inbox
- Hit Launch 🚀
Tips
- Warm inboxes 2–3 weeks before launching cold campaigns
- Apollo free: 50 contacts/month via manual CSV export
- Keep sequences short (3 emails max for cold)
- Personalize first line by industry/location for higher reply rates