How to test and launch email flows

The hidden reason 90% of outbound campaigns die after 30 days (and it's not what you think). It's not deliverability issues. It's not terrible offers. It's not bad copy. It's that most teams never build feedback loops. They launch a campaign, send it for a month, and when results plateau, they blame the list. Then they start over with new: Copy. Targeting. And sequences. And the cycle repeats itself. Here's what we learned after running outbound for 120+ companies: Your best-performing campaigns are hiding in your current data. You're just not listening to it. At ColdIQ, we treat every reply as intelligence. Prospects' feedback should be leveraged into better campaigns: 1. Tag Every Single Reply We use three categories in Instantly.ai: → Positive (interested, asking questions, booking calls) → Negative (unsubscribes, "not interested," objections) → Neutral (out of office, wrong person, timing issues) But we go deeper. For positive replies, we track: → Which email in the sequence hooked them → Which subject line did they respond to → Which value proposition resonated → Which persona/role they hold For negative replies, we track: → Budget concerns by role → Common objections by industry → And timing pushbacks by company size 2. Analyze Patterns Weekly Every Friday, we pull campaign data from Instantly and Clay. We look for: → Which industries respond best to specific messaging → Which angles get the most positive replies → Which CTAs drive the most meetings Example from last month: CTOs at Series A companies responded 40% better to efficiency messaging than to ROI messaging. So, we built a separate sequence just for that segment. 3. Build Iteration Workflows Based on weekly data, we create new email variations using Claude. But we don't rewrite entire campaigns. We test micro-improvements: → New subject lines for low open rates → Different pain points for cold segments → Alternative CTAs for warm prospects We use Instantly's A/B testing to run these variations against control groups. 4. Create Campaign Evolution Rules When a campaign hits certain thresholds, we automatically evolve it: → If positive reply rate drops below 2% after 500 sends, we test new angles → If objections cluster around budget, we add ROI-focused follow-ups → If timing pushbacks exceed 30%, we build nurture sequences 5. Feed Insights Back Into New Campaigns Every insight gets documented in our Clay database. When we build campaigns for new clients, we start with proven patterns: → Subject lines that work by industry → Pain points that resonate by role → CTAs that convert by company size We're not starting from scratch each time, but building on what already works. The result? Average positive reply rates improve 30-40% between month 1 and month 3. Feedback should guide your strategy. Treat outbound like a conversation where you actually listen and optimize accordingly. Questions? 👇

Here's how I'm using beehiiv to automate, segment, and execute my second course launch: 1. Waitlist - When someone clicks a specific link → add to waitlist. - Include that link in the newsletter for the past month. - Sent an 'invitation' email a few days before the launch (I sent this morning for a Monday launch). Make sure to nurture the waitlist. For example, I sent that group a separate email this morning that was an 'FAQ' style email. 2. Connect to Circle via API + Zapier - When someone joins the course, they are tagged as a customer in beehiiv. - The 'customer' segment gets excluded from all sales emails. - The 'customer' segment has an automation attached where they get a small drip sequence to show them around the course, share extra tips, etc. 3. Five day launch period with bonuses - Waitlist gets first dibs and an exclusive coupon. - Smaller coupon available to everyone for launch week. - Two bonus modules only available during launch week. The idea is this drives urgency to buy even though the course will now be evergreen after the launch period. 4. The Actual Emails - Day 1: Launch announcement -- separate emails for waitlist and full list. - Days 2-4: Educational emails, more similar to my usual newsletter but with a CTA to the course at the top and bottom. Day 5: Three emails. One educational, two more copy + urgency driven. I had no idea what I was doing during my first one of these, so I wanted to share this in case it helps someone in that position.

Launched 500+ cold email campaigns this year & noticed most people SKIP the fundamentals They obsess over 'advanced tactics' while their basic setup is broken Here's the exact checklist I use before launching ANY campaign: 1 - Know who you help ☑ Who is the buyer? ☑ What do they need? ☑ Why would they say yes? ☑ Write one clear promise. 2 - Make your offer clear ☑ Say what you can give. ☑ Say how it helps them. ☑ Keep it very simple. ☑ Use words they know. 3 - Build a clean list ☑ Pick only the right people. ☑ Check OBVIOUS fits. ☑ Verify each email. ☑ Remove bad or fake ones. 4 - Set up sending infra ☑ Add SPF, DKIM, DMARC. ☑ Warm new inboxes first. ☑ Send small numbers daily. ☑ Use backup inboxes ready. 5 - Write a simple email ☑ Say why you wrote to them. ☑ Say what you can do. ☑ Keep it short and clear. ☑ Ask one small next step. 6 - Add real relevance ☑ Mention their tool or role. ☑ Or name the pain they have. ☑ Do not add fluffy lines. ☑ Keep it real and human. 7 - Set sending settings ☑ Space emails through the day. ☑ Match provider when you can. ☑ Send 2-3 short follow-ups. ☑ Stop if they reply or opt out. 8 - Track results ☑ Watch replies instead of opens. ☑ Look at spam reports too. ☑ Test new words or lists. ☑ Keep what works, drop the rest. — Most failed campaigns skip steps 1-4 and wonder why nothing works You can't optimize what's fundamentally broken Get the basics right first, then worry about fancy stuff This checklist has saved me from launching dozens of campaigns that would have flopped