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SmartLead Apollo Campaign Builder

Find leads with Apollo, write personalized sequences, and launch SmartLead campaigns — all from a single prompt.

Works with:SmartLeadSmartLeadApolloApolloLinkedInLinkedIn

Free to start

1,000 credits included

No credit card required

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Setup time

~15 min

Time saved

2-3 hrs/campaign

Difficulty

Medium

Tools

3 connected

How it works

1

Source Leads from Apollo

Search by title, company size, industry, and seniority to find your ICP

2

Personalize with LinkedIn

Pull recent posts and activity to write first lines that actually land

3

Build Email Sequences

Generate multi-step sequences with A/B variants for each touchpoint

4

Launch in SmartLead

Create the campaign, import leads, set schedule — ready to activate

Try asking

Find 30 VP Marketing leads at B2B SaaS companies and launch a SmartLead campaign
Build a cold email sequence targeting CTOs at Series A startups in healthcare
Source SDR managers at companies using Salesforce and set up a 3-step outreach campaign

View the agent prompt

See the full instructions this agent runs on — copy, edit, or customize it

Expand

The Prompt

Task

Use @Apollo/Search PeopleName it "Apollo/Search People" and call it with @Apollo/Search People to find leads matching an ICP, enrich them with @Apollo/Enrich Person and @LinkedIn/Get Profile with PostsName it "LinkedIn/Get Profile with Posts" and call it with @LinkedIn/Get Profile with Posts, then create a @SmartLead/Create CampaignName it "SmartLead/Create Campaign" and call it with @SmartLead/Create Campaign, add personalized email sequences with @SmartLead/Add Sequence to CampaignName it "SmartLead/Add Sequence to Campaign" and call it with @SmartLead/Add Sequence to Campaign, import the leads with @SmartLead/Add Leads to CampaignName it "SmartLead/Add Leads to Campaign" and call it with @SmartLead/Add Leads to Campaign, and configure sending with @SmartLead/Update Campaign ScheduleName it "SmartLead/Update Campaign Schedule" and call it with @SmartLead/Update Campaign Schedule.

Example: Find 20 VP-level marketing leaders at Series B SaaS companies in the US, write a 3-step personalized sequence, and launch it in SmartLead.

Input

The user will provide their ICP criteria and campaign parameters.

Example: "Find heads of sales at fintech startups with 50-200 employees. Write a 3-email sequence about our analytics platform. Send weekdays 9am-5pm ET, max 40 leads per day."

Context

ICP Research Phase

Use Apollo to find prospects:

  • Filter by title, department, seniority level
  • Filter by company size, industry, funding stage
  • Get verified email addresses
  • Pull up to 50 prospects per search

For each top prospect, enrich further:

  • Apollo enrichment for detailed work history
  • LinkedIn profile for recent posts and activity
  • Use their posts and background to personalize the first line

Sequence Writing Guidelines

Write sequences that feel human:

  • First email: Lead with a specific observation about their company or role, not a generic pitch
  • Follow-up 1 (3 days later): Add new value — share a relevant insight, case study reference, or question
  • Follow-up 2 (5 days later): Short breakup email with a clear CTA

For personalization, use these merge fields in SmartLead:

  • {{firstName}}, {{lastName}}, {{companyName}}
  • Use custom fields for personalized first lines

Campaign Setup

  • Set timezone to match the prospect's region
  • Weekdays only (Monday through Friday)
  • Business hours sending (9 AM to 5 PM)
  • Minimum 5 minutes between emails
  • Cap daily sends based on user preference

What Counts as a Valid Result

  • Every lead must have a verified email from Apollo
  • Sequences must include at least 2 A/B test variants for the first email
  • Personalized first lines should reference something specific (recent post, company news, role change)
  • Campaign must be created but NOT activated — user reviews before launch

Output

Leads Found: [count] prospects matching ICP

Lead Preview: | Name | Title | Company | Email | Personalization Hook | |------|-------|---------|-------|---------------------| | [Name] | [Title] | [Company] | [Email] | [Specific hook] |

Campaign Created: [Campaign Name] (ID: [id])

Sequence Summary:

  • Email 1 (Day 0): [Subject A] / [Subject B] — Personalized intro + value prop
  • Email 2 (Day 3): [Subject] — New angle or social proof
  • Email 3 (Day 8): [Subject] — Breakup with clear ask

Schedule: [Days], [Hours], [Timezone], [Max leads/day]

Leads Imported: [count] / [total found]

Status: Campaign created and ready for review. Say "activate" to start sending.

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