BackLumenosis AI
Free Call

Apollo Cold Email Automation

AI-powered lead scraping & personalized outreach

Complexity:Intermediate
Setup Time:30-45 minutes
Lead Capacity:1000+ per run
Download N8N TemplateCopy Google Sheet Template

Free templates • No email required • Ready to import

Last updated: December 2024•12 min read

Apollo Cold Email Automation with AI Personalization

Automate your Apollo lead scraping and generate personalized cold emails at scale. This workflow scrapes 1000+ leads from Apollo, creates custom AI-generated messages for each prospect, and optionally sends them through Instantly.ai.

Tools & Integrations:

N8NApollo.ioApifyOpenAIGoogle SheetsInstantly.ai

What You're Building

You're going to create a complete cold email automation system that:

🎯 Automation Capabilities:

  • Scrapes leads from Apollo.io using any search URL you provide
  • Writes unique, AI-powered personalized messages for each lead
  • Saves all data to Google Sheets for easy management and review
  • Optionally uploads to Instantly.ai for automatic cold outreach

The entire process is hands-off once configured. Simply paste your Apollo search URL, run the workflow, and watch as it generates 1000+ personalized leads ready for outreach.

💡 Why This Beats Traditional Tools:

Most lead tools cost $300+ per month and send the same generic message to everyone. This setup costs less than $5 per 1000 leads and actually personalizes each message based on the prospect's background, company, and role.

What You Need

Before we start building, you'll need accounts for the following services. Most offer generous free plans:

🔧 Core Automation Platform:

📊 Data & Outreach:

💰 Cost Breakdown:

  • • N8N: Free for first 200 workflow runs per month
  • • Apify: $5 free credits (covers ~5000 leads)
  • • OpenAI: ~$0.01 per personalized message (minimal cost)
  • • Others: Free plans cover everything else

Step 1: Create All Your Accounts

Go through each service and create free accounts. This should take about 10-15 minutes total:

1. N8N Cloud Setup

  1. Visit n8n.cloud and sign up
  2. Verify your email address
  3. Complete the onboarding (no credit card required)

2. Apify Account (For Apollo Scraping)

  1. Go to apify.com and create account
  2. Verify email and log in
  3. Navigate to Settings → Integrations → API Tokens
  4. Copy your API token (you'll need this later)

3. OpenAI API Setup

  1. Visit openai.com and sign up
  2. Go to API section and create an API key
  3. Add some billing info (you get free credits to start)
  4. Copy your API key for later use

4. Apollo.io & Google Accounts

  1. Create Apollo.io account (free plan is enough)
  2. Ensure you have a Google account for Sheets
  3. Optional: Create Instantly.ai account for automated sending

💡 Pro Tip: Keep all your browser tabs open after signing up - you'll need to switch between them during setup.

Step 2: Import the N8N Workflow Template

Now let's get the automation workflow into your N8N account:

📥 Download & Import Process:

  1. Download the N8N workflow template from the sidebar (Cold_Email_Live_Build.json)
  2. Save the .json file somewhere you can find it on your computer
  3. Go to your N8N dashboard
  4. Click the "Import" button (arrow pointing down icon) at the top right
  5. Select the .json file you just downloaded
  6. The workflow will open in your N8N editor

🔄 What You're Getting:

The workflow includes 8 connected nodes that handle form submission, Apollo scraping, AI personalization, Google Sheets integration, and optional Instantly.ai upload. Everything is pre-configured - you just need to add your API keys.

Workflow Overview:

Data Flow:
  • 1. Form Trigger (Apollo URL input)
  • 2. HTTP Request (Apify scraper)
  • 3. Google Sheets (Save leads)
  • 4. If condition (Filter new leads)
AI Processing:
  • 5. Loop Over Items (Batch processing)
  • 6. OpenAI (Generate personalized messages)
  • 7. Google Sheets Update (Add messages)
  • 8. Instantly.ai Upload (Optional sending)

⚠️ Important: Don't try to run the workflow yet - we need to configure your API keys first!

Step 3: Configure API Keys & Integrations

Now we need to connect all your accounts to the workflow. This is where the magic happens:

🔧 Apify Integration (Apollo Scraper)

  1. In your N8N workflow, click on the "HTTP Request" node
  2. Look for the Authorization header field
  3. Replace the empty "Bearer " with "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"
  4. Save the node configuration

Your Apify token: Found in Apify Dashboard → Settings → Integrations → API Tokens

🤖 OpenAI Integration

  1. Click on the "OpenAI" node in your workflow
  2. Click "Create new credentials" or "Connect account"
  3. Enter your OpenAI API key when prompted
  4. Test the connection to ensure it works

Model Settings: The workflow uses GPT-4.1-mini for cost-effective personalization (~$0.01 per message)

📊 Google Sheets Setup

  1. First, copy the pre-formatted Google Sheet
  2. Click "Make a copy" and save it to your Google Drive
  3. In N8N, click on any "Google Sheets" node
  4. Click "Connect account" and authorize N8N access to Google
  5. Select your copied spreadsheet from the dropdown
  6. Choose the "SAAS" worksheet tab

Sheet Structure: Pre-configured with columns for Name, Email, Company, Title, Industry, and Icebreaker message

📧 Instantly.ai Setup (Optional)

  1. If using Instantly.ai for sending, click the "HTTP Request1" node
  2. Go to Instantly → Settings → API Keys
  3. Copy your API key
  4. In N8N, replace the Authorization header with "Bearer YOUR_INSTANTLY_KEY"
  5. Update the campaign ID to match your Instantly campaign

Note: You can skip this step and just use Google Sheets for manual sending if preferred

🔒 Security Reminder:

Never share your API keys publicly. N8N stores them securely, but always keep them private in your own accounts.

Step 4: Run Your First Automation

Now for the exciting part - let's scrape some leads and generate personalized messages!

🎯 Get Your Apollo Search URL:

  1. Log into your Apollo.io account
  2. Use the search filters to build your ideal lead list:
    • Industry (e.g., SaaS, Real Estate, Marketing)
    • Job titles (e.g., CEO, Marketing Director, Sales Manager)
    • Company size, location, technologies used
  3. Once your search results load, copy the URL from your browser's address bar
  4. This URL contains all your search parameters - that's what we'll use

Execute the Workflow:

🚀 Running Process:
  1. In N8N, click on the "Form Trigger" node (first node)
  2. Click "Execute Workflow" to start
  3. Paste your Apollo search URL when prompted
  4. Hit submit and watch the magic happen!
⏱️ What Happens Next:
  • Scraping: Apify extracts up to 1000 leads from your Apollo search
  • Storage: All lead data gets saved to your Google Sheet
  • AI Processing: OpenAI generates a unique icebreaker for each lead
  • Updates: Personalized messages are added back to the sheet
  • Optional Upload: If configured, leads go to Instantly.ai for sending
📊 Expected Results:
Data Quality:
  • 500-1000 verified leads per run
  • Contact info, company details, job titles
  • Industry keywords and insights
AI Personalization:
  • Unique message for each prospect
  • References their company/role/location
  • Friendly, conversational tone

💬 Sample AI-Generated Message:

"Hey Sarah,

Noticed you're leading growth at TechFlow - really cool space. Was hoping to run something by you."

Each message is unique and based on the prospect's actual background from Apollo

Troubleshooting & Next Steps

Common Issues & Solutions:

❌ Apify Scraping Fails
  • • Check that your Apollo URL is complete and valid
  • • Verify your Apify API token is correct (no extra spaces)
  • • Ensure you have Apify credits remaining ($5 free = ~5000 leads)
  • • Try a smaller lead search first (reduce filters)
⚠️ OpenAI Messages Not Generating
  • • Confirm OpenAI API key is valid and has credits
  • • Check if you've hit rate limits (wait a few minutes)
  • • Verify the model is set to "gpt-4.1-mini" for cost efficiency
  • • Test with a smaller batch first (10-20 leads)
📊 Google Sheets Not Updating
  • • Make sure you copied the pre-formatted sheet template
  • • Check that N8N has permission to access your Google account
  • • Verify you selected the correct spreadsheet in the node
  • • Ensure the "SAAS" worksheet tab exists and is selected

🚀 Scaling & Optimization Tips:

  • • Batch Processing: Process 100-200 leads at a time for reliability
  • • Cost Management: Monitor your Apify and OpenAI usage
  • • Quality Control: Review AI messages before sending
  • • A/B Testing: Try different Apollo search criteria
  • • Follow-up Sequences: Set up multiple message variations

📈 Expected Performance:

Volume:

500-1000 leads per workflow run

Speed:

~30-60 seconds per personalized message

Cost:

~$0.005-0.01 per lead (all-in)

💡 Need Personalized Help?

Running into issues or want to customize the automation for your specific use case? I'm happy to help you get this running perfectly.

Schedule Free 30-Minute Setup Call
Back to All WorkflowsVisit Lumenosis AI