Smartlead Campaign Guide

Summary

This session was a comprehensive walkthrough of using Smartlead for cold email campaigns, led by two Smartlead partners, Felipe and Michael.
The discussion covered Smartlead’s features, best practices for campaign management, email warmup, list and copy preparation, and comparisons to other tools.
The video included step-by-step guidance on campaign setup, email account management, deliverability optimization, appointment setting, and leveraging advanced features such as automation via API and spreadsheet integrations.
No direct decisions or deadlines were assigned, as this was an instructional guide for Smartlead users.

(No specific action items with date or owner were assigned in this transcript, as it is an instructional video, not a collaborative meeting.)

Smartlead is used for email account warmup, campaign sending/management, and appointment setting.
Main tabs in Smartlead include Campaigns (with analytics), Master Inbox (for replies and follow-ups), Email Accounts (warmup/sending management), All Leads, Integrations (with CRM, Clay, ListKit), Client Access, and Global Analytics.
Key settings include global block lists for managing leads never to be contacted.
Best used for cold email campaigns, with built-in features for tracking, list management, reply categorization, and advanced automations.

Essential prerequisites: properly set up and diversified email accounts, a validated and clean lead list, and refined cold email copy/scripts.
Step-by-step campaign creation covers:
- Naming conventions for campaigns for easy tracking.
- Five steps: Who (target leads), What (messaging), When (sending schedule), How (technical/tracking settings), and Warmup (email account prep).
- List preparation: clean company names, validate emails (using tools like MillionVerifier and Smartlead’s own checker), upload as CSV, map custom fields, and manage duplicate/bounced leads.
- Script personalization: use merge fields and “spin syntax” to randomize content for better deliverability.
- Schedule optimization: choose prospect time zones, limit sending to business hours, and set realistic sending intervals to mimic human behavior.
- Tracking settings: preferences for open/click tracking, mailbox provider matching, reply categorization, bounce protection, and unsubscribe handling.

Emphasizes the importance of diversified, burner domains and low-volume sending per account to avoid spam detection.
Warmup is essential: maintain ongoing warmup, set appropriate reply rates, and manage sending/receiving ratios.
Custom tracking domains are recommended for better deliverability.
Adjust sending settings to balance campaigns and warmup while minimizing risk to account reputation.

Master Inbox tracks all campaign replies and allows for direct engagement, categorization, and follow-ups.
Use AI-generated replies and templates for efficient response management.
Categorize and assign leads to streamline follow-ups and track progress in the sales pipeline.
Untracked Replies feature captures responses from outside the original lead list for broader coverage.

Integrate Smartlead with spreadsheets or automation tools (like Make) for bulk management of campaigns and email accounts.
Use API for campaign reporting, bulk settings changes, and automating reply handling.
Advanced automation allows for near hands-off lead generation and appointment setting, incorporating AI-driven response drafting and lead categorization.

Not applicable — No collective business decisions or approvals were made, as this was an instructional demo.

No explicit open questions, but multiple offers were made to create deeper dives or additional videos if viewers request topics (e.g., ListKit usage, advanced deliverability, company name cleaning, advanced automation). Interested viewers are prompted to comment.