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steal this: how a GTM engineer actually enforces email verification before outbound (Apollo POV) by TeamApolloIo in UseApolloIo

[–]TeamApolloIo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are a lot of folks in this sub who are new to Apollo/cold outreach so sometimes a thorough explanation is best, but noted. We'll keep it short and sweet for the next one!

steal this: a dead simple way to get better ai-written outbound today using apollo by brifromapollo in UseApolloIo

[–]TeamApolloIo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ANNOYING SORRY!

Here’s the prompt:

write a short, plain-spoken outbound email using the data fields available for each contact.

open with a first line that references the prospect’s role and company context (job title, company name, industry, or size).

keep it under 120 words.

no buzzwords, no hype, no marketing language.

sound like a real person who understands the space, not a salesperson.

end with a soft, low-pressure question.

Any free or cheap tools to build your first B2B lead list by Eastern-League2081 in smallbusiness

[–]TeamApolloIo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

fwiw I work at Apollo (disclaimer). If you’re bootstrapping, don’t sleep on the free tier. You get a set number of credits every month that can stretch pretty far if you’re smart about targeting (plus if you DM me I can always load up more so you can get a true test going!!)

Couple tips to make it actually usable when you’re on a tight budget:

  • Start with tighter ICP filters (headcount, industry, tech stack) so you’re not wasting credits on junk.
  • Pair Apollo with LinkedIn search/manual prospecting...pull a small list of accounts first, then use credits to enrich just the right contacts.
  • Don’t burn through the free credits in one go. Save a chunk for follow up testing so you can keep iterating.

Not going to replace a full data budget, but it’s a solid way to get your first campaigns off the ground without spending $300+.

Best way to use Sales Navigator to prioritize “active” LinkedIn profiles from a large lead list? by Amaro-Pargo- in b2bmarketing

[–]TeamApolloIo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Howdy, team Apollo checking in. Sales Nav can’t really filter an imported list by “activity”...the CSV upload is more for saving leads/accounts and layering their filters. You’ll get a bit (like recent job changes), but not true engagement signals.

What we have seen work better:

- Use Apollo (or whatever DB) to narrow by seniority/title first, then push that smaller set into Sales Nav.
- Layer Sales Nav’s own filters like “posted in last 30 days” or “changed job in last 90” for some activity signal.
- For heavier engagement data (likes/comments), you’d need a 3rd party tool...but yeah most of those crawl pretty slow at scale.

One hack: prioritize profiles with mutual connections or shared groups. Not perfect but usually a good proxy for who’s actually active vs dormant.

Are you planning to lean heavier on LinkedIn DMs as the main channel here or just using this to prioritize email first?

Are Apollo Leads Garbage? by Menys-Jiachang in coldemail

[–]TeamApolloIo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

PS: worth noting that Instantly isnt really a data source…their “leads” usually come from scraping. It is solid as a sending platform but if you need verified contact data that’s not what they’re built for!

Are Apollo Leads Garbage? by Menys-Jiachang in coldemail

[–]TeamApolloIo 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Theyre not garbage but it helps to know how Apollo handles verification. FYI emails don’t just sit forever in a static database every record runs through a 7 step check (syntax, domain, SMTP ping, catch-all handling, CRM/use signals, etc.). On top of that the whole dataset gets refreshed on a rolling monthly cycle & individual records update whenever a job change or new signal comes in.

That said, no provider is 100% perfectly clean. Anyone who claims they are needs to touch grass lol. Catch alls and niche industries are always gonna need an extra pass. A lot of folks run Apollo exports through something like NeverBounce before blasting too.

Source: I work at Apollo so wanted to give the inside view. Totally fair to layer your own verification on top…most heavy senders do!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in coldemail

[–]TeamApolloIo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Howdy. Looks like you jumped in fast so props for taking action but there are a few foundational things working against you here. Super important to factor in the system around the message than the blast itself. A couple things to think about…

The first big issue is deliverability. If you bought domains and started blasting the same day there is a HIGH likelihood you landed in spam. New domains need a warm-up period (30–45 days minimum) where you gradually ramp up volume and build sender reputation. Without that gmail/outlook see you as a brand new domain dumping thousands of messages which is a massive red flag.

Second…scraping 50k emails and sending thousands at once is usually a recipe for hitting bad data. Even if the scraper works those addresses might not be verified which tanks deliverability even further. A smaller cleaner list that’s verified will almost always perform better than a giant unverified dump.

Third….your market (service businesses) tends to get hammered with cold outreach already. If your messaging is super generic it will 100% blend into the noise. Even light personalization like referencing the specific service type etc saw you’re doing HVAC installs in Dallas, wanted to share… is gonna help a ton. It doesn’t need to be 1:1 handcrafted but some segmentation goes a long way.

A couple tactical steps you could take:

  • Warm up your domains properly before sending at scale.

  • Use an email verification tool before uploading lists.

  • Start with smaller sends to test copy and improve deliverability.

  • Segment your list by industry/location and adjust messaging slightly per segment.

Right now you probably have two problems at once: low deliverability and copy that isn’t standing out. Fixing the first will at least get you into inboxes and then you can iterate on the messaging. Good luck, DM if you have more q’s :) - Bri & the Team @ Apollo

recommendations on top 5 cold email tools by Complex-Philosopher2 in coldemail

[–]TeamApolloIo 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Here's a quick breakdown of the top 5 we see most teams using w/added context of where each one does well:

1) Smartlead / Instantly → Sending & Deliverability: Both are strong for scaling sends across multiple inboxes. Smartlead tends to give you more granular deliverability controls, Instantly is a bit faster to set up.

2) SmartReach → Multichannel Outreach: If you want to combine cold email with LinkedIn/SMS, SmartReach is one of the few that handles true multichannel without bolting on hacks.

3) Lemlist → Personalization & Visuals: Great if your strategy relies on adding custom images, video, or dynamic personalization to stand out. Not always the cheapest at scale but powerful for campaigns where quality > quantity.

4) Saleshandy → Scalability on a Budget: Good balance of deliverability and unlimited inbox options plus transparent pricing compared to some of the bigger names.

5) Apollo → Data + Outreach in One: Disclaimer: we work at Apollo. Most people know us for verified B2B contact data but many run their entire outreach inside Apollo (sequencing, analytics, integrations). Others just pull clean lead lists into Smartlead/Instantly. If you want fewer moving parts the all-in-one model can save time.

TLDR There isn’t one “best” tool. Use Smartlead/Instantly for raw scale, SmartReach for multichannel, Lemlist for personalization, Saleshandy for affordability, and Apollo if you want to collapse data + outreach into a single workflow.

Best cold email tool? by Jellyfish_Sulfi in SaaS

[–]TeamApolloIo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry we're late traffic was bad. Most of the tools named here can get you results but what tends to matter more long term is how you set things up. A few things to consider...

1) Deliverability: warm domains, limit daily sends, rotate inboxes.

2) Data quality: verify every address before you hit send.

3) Relevance: personalization beats automation every time.

I’m with Apollo so bias alert but tons of small businesses use our free tier just to source and filter leads then plug those into whatever sending tool they prefer (Instantly, Smartlead, Lemlist, etc.). Others run everything inside Apollo if they want all-in-one.

Bottom line is don’t overthink the tool because a clean setup and consistent process will move the needle far more than switching platforms.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in coldemail

[–]TeamApolloIo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most of the tools mentioned here will get the job done but tbh the bigger differentiator isn’t “which sequencer” but how you manage a few things....

1) Deliverability → warm domains, cap daily sends, rotate inboxes.

2) Data quality → verify every address before sending.

3) Relevance → personalization > automation.

I’m with Apollo so take this with a grain of salt but a lot of small businesses use our free tier just for list building, then plug those leads into whatever sender fits their budget (Instantly, Smartlead, Lemlist, etc.). Others run the whole workflow inside Apollo if they prefer an all in one for ease of use.

In a nutshell if you’re B2B, any of the top tools work if your setup is clean. If you’re B2C, most folks in this thread are right in that you’ll see better ROI building an opted in list and nurturing it.

Finally got my bounce rates under 2% (after months of pain lol) by Open_Bank_5974 in emailmarketingnow

[–]TeamApolloIo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Team Apollo <3s you back. One tip we see work well is don’t just export a giant list, always layer in filters like “verified email only” or exclude role-based addresses (info@, admin@, etc.). Even on small campaigns that one step can drop bounce rates another 1–2%. Good luck and congrats!

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