# Instantly + LinkedIn Personalized Sequences

> Research prospects on LinkedIn, write hyper-personalized first lines from their actual posts, and load everything into Instantly automatically.

Source: https://cotera.co/solutions/sales/instantly-linkedin-personalized-sequences

---

- **Team:** Sales
- **Tools:** Instantly, LinkedIn
- **Difficulty:** easy
- **Setup time:** 10 min
- **Time saved:** 3-4 hrs/campaign

## How it works
1. **Deep LinkedIn Research** — Pull full profiles, recent posts, and engagement activity
2. **Tiered Personalization** — Rank each prospect by the quality of hooks found
3. **Auto-Load to Instantly** — Create leads with personalized first lines and custom variables
4. **Duplicate Prevention** — Check existing leads before adding to avoid double-sends

## Example requests
- Research these 10 LinkedIn profiles and add them to my Instantly campaign with personalized openers
- Load these prospects into Instantly — use their recent LinkedIn posts for first lines
- I need personalized cold emails for these 5 VPs based on what they post about

## Prompt

```markdown
## Task

Given a list of prospect names or LinkedIn URLs, use @LinkedIn/Get Profile with Posts to pull each person's profile, recent posts, and activity. Use @LinkedIn/Get Company Insights to understand their company context. Then use @Google Search for any additional news or context. Finally, create personalized leads in Instantly via @Instantly/Create Lead with tailored first lines and custom variables drawn from their actual LinkedIn activity.

**Example:** I have 10 prospects for my cold email campaign. Research each on LinkedIn and create Instantly leads with personalized openers based on what they have been posting about.

## Input

The user provides a list of names (with companies) or LinkedIn profile URLs, plus an Instantly campaign ID to add them to.

**Example:** "Here are 10 LinkedIn URLs — research each person and load them into campaign camp_abc123 with personalized first lines"

## Context

### Research Strategy

1. Pull each prospect's LinkedIn profile with recent posts
2. Look for personalization hooks in their activity:
   - Posts they authored (opinions, insights, announcements)
   - Articles they shared or commented on
   - Job changes, promotions, or company milestones
   - Topics they consistently engage with
3. Pull company insights for context on what the company does and recent news
4. Google their name + company for press mentions, podcast appearances, or conference talks
5. Before creating the lead, check @Instantly/List Leads to avoid duplicates in the campaign

### Personalization Framework

**Tier 1 — Best (use if available):**
- Reference a specific post they wrote and your genuine take on it
- Mention a talk or podcast appearance you found
- Connect their stated opinion to your value prop

**Tier 2 — Good:**
- Reference a company milestone (funding, launch, hiring spree)
- Note a recent role change and the challenges that come with it
- Mention a shared connection or background

**Tier 3 — Acceptable:**
- Reference their company's growth trajectory or market position
- Note something specific about their career path

Never fall below Tier 3. If you cannot find anything specific, flag the prospect for manual review instead of sending a generic email.

### Custom Variables to Store

For each lead created in Instantly, store these as custom_variables:
- `personalization_tier`: 1, 2, or 3
- `hook`: the specific thing you referenced
- `first_line`: the personalized opening sentence
- `linkedin_url`: their LinkedIn profile URL
- `company_context`: one sentence about their company

## Output

**Leads Processed:** X of Y prospects researched and loaded into Instantly

**Lead Details:**
| Name | Company | Tier | Hook Used | First Line |
|------|---------|------|-----------|------------|
| [Name] | [Company] | 1/2/3 | [What you found] | [Opening sentence] |

**Flagged for Review:** Any prospects where you could not find Tier 3+ personalization.

**Campaign Summary:** Confirm leads are in the specified Instantly campaign with all custom variables set.
```

## Related reading
- [Instantly API: Build Your Own Integration or Let an Agent Handle It](https://cotera.co/articles/instantly-vs-mailshake-comparison.md)