Return-Path: Delivered-To: andrew@sterlingcal.com Received: from reseller401.webserversystems.com by reseller401.webserversystems.com with LMTP id UPYMBxqHv2eJQgoAchKAPA (envelope-from ) for ; Wed, 26 Feb 2025 15:26:50 -0600 Return-path: Envelope-to: andrew@sterlingcal.com Delivery-date: Wed, 26 Feb 2025 15:26:50 -0600 Received: from o137.ptr6841.mail.beehiiv.com ([149.72.163.231]:45450) by reseller401.webserversystems.com with esmtps (TLS1.2) tls TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 (Exim 4.98.1) (envelope-from ) id 1tnOvY-00000002q1i-1IUX for andrew@sterlingcal.com; Wed, 26 Feb 2025 15:26:50 -0600 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=mail.beehiiv.com; h=content-type:from:mime-version:subject:reply-to:list-unsubscribe: list-unsubscribe-post:to:cc:content-type:from:subject:to; s=s1; bh=aqeHgMtIIXmyXc6Pj0dzXIEm08ShYaaPw9AK6ulQW8g=; b=nZkpD5RGDOKpUteiG1cRCZRAJ7VwAPTMXlTVDd9JusgakIHuATxdaI6fBoRbgSHRuqVR L+XVVI+jcpIWBQr5YoE49qhdVLq8iMdzbR6b0QfjCQ8SHEUVDT60JAP9OVTQNdlI46QoEl lH50RHlqk3aZpiPdKJTaDI1bajoCh80an19sBMnwDFhFLrXpSmfkmiC8p7ukiBdcMTkTrh crRIwCX2BjJxgv1euPUC6BDNL9rAnh7xrb3kKe+eKnCT60ZVyC30v+NDe+w5lmE1CAyhT6 yyCZXTQTcsKxyhpZ9Rrj3H5ub9/gxxsBouAdW0LAY9Duu1c1cPiLURHBBXstrBQg== Received: by recvd-68b5db6845-csqgt with SMTP id recvd-68b5db6845-csqgt-1-67BF86FA-1C 2025-02-26 21:26:18.400215812 +0000 UTC m=+8985794.306136171 Received: from MzczMzExMjU (unknown) by geopod-ismtpd-6 (SG) with HTTP id PmoCNC4ASuuVns5R3XwNIw Wed, 26 Feb 2025 21:26:18.321 +0000 (UTC) Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=5cb5b01404a712a3a3d83100e5bbe8ab641af238d794f8c7a54f5b434eae Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2025 21:26:36 +0000 (UTC) From: Ryan Allis Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: Subject: Outbound 2.0: The Guide to AI-Personalized Outbound Emails Reply-To: Ryan Allis Feedback-ID: =?us-ascii?Q?4c22dce1-28d7-4dcd-8d2a-cdd2956f94d6=3Anewsletter=3A8a46fb20-5b78-?= =?us-ascii?Q?45e0-ae38-2525b17867ca=3Acfa52acda08d1fe?= List-Unsubscribe: =?us-ascii?Q?=3Cmailto=3A8a46fb20-5b78-45e0-ae38-2525b17867ca+1d17dc26-c1df-44e?= =?us-ascii?Q?0-812a-883b6ad5b6bc+4c22dce1-28d7-4dcd-?= =?us-ascii?Q?8d2a-cdd2956f94d6=40unsub=2Ebeehiiv=2Ecom=3E=2C?= =?us-ascii?Q?_=3Chttps=3A=2F=2Fsaasrise=2Ebeehiiv=2Ecom=2Funsubscribe=2FeyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJh?= =?us-ascii?Q?bGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9=2EeyJzdWJzY3JpYmVyX2lkIj?= =?us-ascii?Q?oiMWQxN2RjMjYtYzFkZi00NGUwLTgxMmEtODgzY?= =?us-ascii?Q?jZhZDViNmJjIiwicG9zdF9pZCI6IjRjMjJkY2Ux?= =?us-ascii?Q?LTI4ZDctNGRjZC04ZDJhLWNkZDI5NTZmOTRkNiI?= =?us-ascii?Q?sImxhc3RfcmVzb3VyY2VfZ3VpZCI6IlBvc3Q6NG?= =?us-ascii?Q?MyMmRjZTEtMjhkNy00ZGNkLThkMmEtY2RkMjk1N?= =?us-ascii?Q?mY5NGQ2In0=2Es8nObTJdon3Nhk8S6GSMpzseePWr?= =?us-ascii?Q?noC-facY3j6=5FZvw=3E?= List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click sId: 8a46fb20-5b78-45e0-ae38-2525b17867ca x-beehiiv-ids: =?us-ascii?Q?{=22account=5Fname=22=3A=22https=3A=2F=2Fsaasrise=2Ebeehiiv=2Ecom=2F=22=2C=22campaign=5Fid=22=3A?= =?us-ascii?Q?=224c22dce1-28d7-4dcd-8d2a-cdd2956f94d6=22=2C?= =?us-ascii?Q?=22category=22=3A=22newsletter=22=2C=22email=5Fgenerate?= =?us-ascii?Q?d=5Fat=22=3A1740605178=2C=22user=5Fid=22=3A=228a46fb20-5b?= =?us-ascii?Q?78-45e0-ae38-2525b17867ca=22}?= x-beehiiv-type: newsletter x-list-id: 8a46fb20-5b78-45e0-ae38-2525b17867ca x-list-owner: x-newsletter: =?us-ascii?Q?https=3A=2F=2Fsaasrise=2Ebeehiiv=2Ecom=2Fp=2Foutbound-2-0-the-guide-to-ai-pe?= =?us-ascii?Q?rsonalized-outbound-emails?= x-newsletter-id: https://saasrise.beehiiv.com/ x-newsletter-signup: https://saasrise.beehiiv.com/subscribe X-SG-EID: =?us-ascii?Q?u001=2Esr+Zi4HchtZiAIrGLItAkqAJLamgo33aet=2FuqlkyaJPf=2Fx4cfuqMKIwYl?= =?us-ascii?Q?dAofkCR68C2a3749fFAiIGPJkwLFcYcFmsXnkFe?= =?us-ascii?Q?Bokvaw0FSGHsnYFxmxpmzBSoO0fZbyTTjlV9XEa?= =?us-ascii?Q?+hLDfOTUpo3vFZRWTwnfb2uvTAtkK7YRCZbE3TR?= =?us-ascii?Q?pV=2FJ8ZWo9jLMBLxFGSXEz0iYNTyhJj8YdUSPyh0?= =?us-ascii?Q?9atSkZSlR83p6Tv7odozOPeUHV9hjaXj2YT8wH2?= =?us-ascii?Q?A=2FVN?= X-SG-ID: =?us-ascii?Q?u001=2ESdBcvi+Evd=2FbQef8eZF3BpTL9BgbK5wfSJMJGMsmprAVgeiC8iaV7rEmQ?= =?us-ascii?Q?+cYi2k7xkNjcGm3aAhCdSpZGToIk45GNymsPtV6?= =?us-ascii?Q?9NYI401xyWXZm1lljnj5AHMhdr2fU5jCMjiyGSr?= =?us-ascii?Q?+JkQJt7Lj3nkbV2fgq1HnsRiOlHCbNRLtx3=2FKmd?= =?us-ascii?Q?vOYuFpI0EmsBLuOi9r1a9umGYRz=2F7BIXuQWmE0Z?= =?us-ascii?Q?YdPzvcYlVroZnISB2cOFUs3RFVMRnw=2FwKXbctnI?= =?us-ascii?Q?LcMsQ90Wtf1OsvxsDQ8plIDZ1g=3D=3D?= To: "andrew@sterlingcal.com" X-Entity-ID: u001.sWV69YT6CipfOgvvxr5vQg== X-Spam-Status: No, score=1.7 X-Spam-Score: 17 X-Spam-Bar: + X-Spam-Flag: NO --5cb5b01404a712a3a3d83100e5bbe8ab641af238d794f8c7a54f5b434eae Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Hi Andrew =E2=80=94 In today=E2=80=99s deep dive guide, I=E2=80=99m going to break down exactly= how to do AI-personalized outbound emailing for your B2B company. I call this **Outbound Email 2.0**. B2B cold email is not dead=E2=80=94**but lazy, generic cold email is.**=20 I=E2=80=99ve found that AI personalization for each recipient based on thei= r LinkedIn Profiles is the key to scaling outreach that **actually gets cli= cks and responses.** In my experience, AI-outbound prospecting works very well at any B2B compan= y where you get at least $2,000 per year per customer. We=E2=80=99re doing lots of AI outbound email invitations at [SaasRise](htt= ps://saasrise.com/), and it=E2=80=99s improved the click through rate of ou= r outbound email campaigns by 465% compared to the old non-personalized ema= ils. Now, 2/3rds of our new member signups come via AI-personalized email r= eachouts.=20 Below we break down exactly what we do to send out 125,000 automated prospe= cting emails per month to our target market =E2=80=94 and how you gain a bi= g edge on your competition by doing it before they do. Below is an overview video and the full 12-page guide. Watch the Video on AI-Personalized Outbound (https://www.loom.com/share/92c= b2467bfc242ec834d11bcf35d1b16) View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXerSnbZHDrPLoJ= r9slMJxr_EaJYJIhGONPO_b0AffY09HfWt-S7sgBHHl6TmkASsl9cH4Oj7xt0CgAEzPCZFCkThz= AmWmJHfItCyXzpe_M9zAtQ8hBdNx6zXxHoWmYxHDCGOVRo?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZdQ= cD) Follow image link: (https://www.loom.com/share/92cb2467bfc242ec834d11bcf35d= 1b16) Caption: Watch this 11 minute Loom video on how to do AI Outbound Read the AI Outbound Guide as a Google Doc (https://docs.google.com/documen= t/d/1dPYitt4_HtZc6qyyPQSF92LjQoPez4dsLa0bpmEpYSQ/edit?tab=3Dt.0) =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94 View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdsHyvevQuErIy= t-OaratUnqg89GI-IebBeaeKChqeY05lzdBwKDl3FBkePWcdKQgYrScV0v0Z2pnkj3VdcrmkOFI= A-9YGeaCH3EjtDE82Akvx1IG32czNqfBRvmlktR322nFIsrg?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZ= dQcD) Caption:=20 ## **Outbound 2:0: The Guide to Sending AI-Personalized B2B Cold Emails** **By Ryan Allis, CEO of **[**SaasRise**](https://saasrise.com/) =E2=80=9C**About the Author: ** Ryan Allis is the CEO and co-founder of [SaasRise](https://saasrise.com/), = the community for SaaS CEOs & founders. Ryan founded and grew iContact as C= EO to $50M ARR, sold it for $169M, and earned his MBA from Harvard Business= School. Today, Ryan coaches SaaS CEOs in rapidly scaling up revenue, build= ing their teams, and preparing for and executing on $100M+ exits.=E2=80=9C = =E2=80=94=20 In this deep-dive guide, I=E2=80=99m going to break down exactly how to do = AI-personalized outbound emailing.=C2=A0 Cold email is not dead=E2=80=94**but lazy, generic cold email is.** AI pers= onalization, combined with **automated, high-deliverability sending**, is t= he key to scaling outreach that **actually gets clicks and responses.** Cold emailing into a target market has long been a staple in B2B Rev Ops, b= ut with AI-driven personalization of each message, it=E2=80=99s now working= better than ever for firms with annual contract values (ACVs) north of $2k= .=20 Today, we=E2=80=99re diving deep into how AI can supercharge cold email str= ategy and be part of building a predictable revenue machine for the fastest= growing B2B firms.=C2=A0 This guide will walk you through exactly how to do AI-powered cold outreach= : 1. How to Use Gen AI to Write Personalized Cold Emails with Clay 2. Setting Up Instantly for Efficient Cold Email Sending & Deliverability 3. Optimizing Your Cold Email Content Strategy to Maximize Replies and Clic= ks We=E2=80=99ll also provide actual examples, video tutorials, and templates.= Save this post and pass it along to your CMO/CRO/Head of Growth. By the end of this, you=E2=80=99ll have an AI-driven outbound machine that = gets **5x the click and reply rates** of traditional outbound campaigns. These days prospects are bombarded with sales pitches. If your email looks = even remotely templated, it=E2=80=99s getting ignored. **AI personalization= changes the game by making your outreach feel tailor-made for every recipi= ent.** Using tools like [Clay](https://clay.com/?via=3Dffe4dd) and [Instantly](htt= ps://instantly.ai/?via=3Dsaasrise), you can pull **real-time data** from Li= nkedIn, company websites, and other sources to craft a hyper-personalized o= pener that makes your email **impossible to ignore.** View image: (https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=3Dscale-down,forma= t=3Dauto,onerror=3Dredirect,quality=3D80/uploads/asset/file/0e8fef4c-dec7-4= 24b-b1e4-357038daedcc/Screenshot_2025-02-26_at_1.52.19_PM.png?t=3D174059954= 4) Caption:=20 ## **What Is AI-Personalized Outbound Prospecting?** What do we mean by AI-personalization of cold email? It means that a custom, personalized email message is generated for each re= cipient, based on their LinkedIn headline, LinkedIn summary, and website ho= mepage.=C2=A0 We generate this AI-personalized cold email copy using [Clay](https://clay.= com/?via=3Dffe4dd) (An ABM list building tool that integrates with many dif= ferent data providers and generative AI platforms including Claude, ChatGPT= , and Gemini) Once the AI-personalized emails are written, we send out the emails themsel= ves using our cold emailing tool [Instantly](https://instantly.ai/?via=3Dsa= asrise).=C2=A0 ### **Step 1: Building the AI-Personalized ABM Lead List in Clay** View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdrdsWfgkoUB3o= XBvFyltjY0_G2HwS3Jkhmop40PHB2qWTJo2ZURaz9yAeGSJ6mp8E53YsDIfs2r9fdoXbBBXiI-F= PiG5is-44ft2HV_50lu1I8udCICkX5aI4ZzufFViGzEIKZog?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZ= dQcD) Caption: Step 1: Building the AI-Personalized ABM Lead List in Clay ### **Step 2: Set Up Your Message Sequence in Instantly** View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfK6LxLxOE4V0e= swqEfHybLv6BpM0Jv8sfv1Wpdf3inghlgOG_5_NDN6yJFs0zSJcGVYgutpLbJQxdJEiwPaZJvYC= 7xUhTE7ey3HL0eiO11TLutZY4mfpEV0P6xx7KoXb--5YW3CA?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZ= dQcD) Caption: Step 2: Cold Prospect Email Sequence in Instantly ### **Example: AI-Personalized vs. Generic Openers** Compare the differences in the below emails. =F0=9F=9A=AB** Generic Email Opener:** _"Hi [Name], I noticed you are a [Job Title] at [Company]. Let=E2=80=99s co= nnect and explore synergies."_ =E2=9C=85** AI-Personalized Opener (Generated via Clay):** _"Hey [Name], turning a negative 146% margin business into +51% within thre= e quarters is next-level. As a fellow SaaS founder, I=E2=80=99d love to inv= ite you to our private mastermind call next week."_ **Why it works:** It highlights a **specific achievement** from their Linke= dIn profile, making it **personal, engaging, and relevant.** This is all done at scale via AI =E2=80=94 allowing you to easily send out = 1000-2000 of these AI-personalized outreaches per day. While you could do this using [11x.ai](http://11x.ai), the costs there are = ~$5000 per month for 3,000 leads. Using the below method you can reach 30,0= 00-60,000 new leads per month for that cost. ## **The Video Guide On Exactly How to Do AI Outbound** Here is a 27 minute [video tutorial on how to do AI-personalization for a l= ist built within Clay](https://www.loom.com/share/4b58c43aa89147399a74bca8a= 76ae4e9). I made it last week. View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcwT3wRgxrIl6Y= S-AccGrgxS3mrtnbjs-ReRBfvwcK9Mv4fpVPpXPyW1PD4-BWEXYrAFJtkjs68t1qCMvZK4CMPsA= AhH_xouxLYKfdvQW_Js1dWLsAV-dsuJHERhc2oZXAxU3ibkg?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZ= dQcD) Caption:=20 And here is [an 11 minute video tutorial on how to do AI-personalization fr= om any lead list](https://www.loom.com/share/92cb2467bfc242ec834d11bcf35d1b= 16), regardless of where it was originally built. View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXerSnbZHDrPLoJ= r9slMJxr_EaJYJIhGONPO_b0AffY09HfWt-S7sgBHHl6TmkASsl9cH4Oj7xt0CgAEzPCZFCkThz= AmWmJHfItCyXzpe_M9zAtQ8hBdNx6zXxHoWmYxHDCGOVRo?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZdQ= cD) Caption:=20 Once you finish your AI-personalization of your list, just import it into a= sending tool like Instantly to send out. ## **The Exact Steps on How to Do AI-Personalization Outbound** Here are the steps to follow, they are a bit technical so watch the above v= ideos to do it properly. The key is to experiment and learn. 1. Import CSV file of your ABM Lead List into Clay (you can create the list= in Clay directly or import from Instantly, ListKit, Apollo, ZoomInfo, Lush= a, Adapt, Seamless, LinkedIn Sales Navigator etc.) 2. Make sure the file has LinkedIn Profile URL as a column already 1. If it doesn=E2=80=99t, add a new column called =E2=80=9CLinkedIn Profi= le=E2=80=9D and enrich list (use APIs if doing in bulk). Once you have the = LinkedIn Profile URL=E2=80=A6 2. If you don=E2=80=99t have LinkedIn URLs, you can enrich your data using = Clay=E2=80=99s built-in LinkedIn profile scraper or third-party tools like = Evaboot, Findymail, or Snovio. 3. Enrich with =E2=80=9CFull Profile=E2=80=9D (1 credit) and add LinkedIn H= eadline and LinkedIn Summary columns (education column optional). 4. Then add a column (=E2=80=9CUse AI=E2=80=9D) and create your custom AI p= rompt (example below) 5. Then use the latest model of Claude (currently 3.5 Sonnet) or ChatGPT (c= urrently 4o) (3 credits or use APIs to save $) 6. Test prompt on ~10 records a few times before you run it on all 7. When pleased with results, run on full list 8. When done, import CSV file to Instantly to send out emails ### **How to Set Up AI-Powered Personalization in Clay** Here=E2=80=99s some extra details on how to do this right=E2=80=A6 #### **1. Building a High-Quality ABM Lead List** To get started, you need a **highly targeted** Account-Based Marketing (ABM= ) list in Clay, ListKit, Lusha, Adapt, ZoomInfo, Seamless or a similar tool= with the following data: * Full Name * Job Title * Company Name * LinkedIn URL * Work Email If you don=E2=80=99t have LinkedIn URLs, you can **enrich your data** using= Clay=E2=80=99s built-in LinkedIn profile scraper or third-party tools like= Evaboot or FindEmail. #### **2. Generating AI-Personalized Openers** Once your ABM list is loaded into **Clay**, here=E2=80=99s how to personali= ze at scale: 1. **Import Your Lead List** =E2=80=93 Upload your ABM list into Clay. 2. **Enrich Profiles** =E2=80=93 Use Clay=E2=80=99s data enrichment to extr= act insights from LinkedIn summaries, company websites, and headlines. 3. **Craft Your AI Prompt** =E2=80=93 The magic happens here. Your prompt s= hould be **detailed and specific** to generate high-quality openers. Exampl= e: "Act as a top-tier cold email copywriter. Generate a compelling, two-senten= ce email opener using specific insights from the recipient=E2=80=99s Linked= In profile. Make it engaging, natural, and unique." 1. We give a full even longer prompt example below. 4. **Choose the Right AI Model** =E2=80=93 Use **Claude 3.5 Sonnet (Anthrop= ic)** or **ChatGPT 4.0** for the best results. 5. **Run AI Generation** =E2=80=93 Clay will generate **customized openers = for every lead.** You can do this on 1000 leads in about 20 minutes of back= ground processing. 6. **Export and Use in Email Campaigns** =E2=80=93 Once finalized, download= your enriched lead list and import it into your email-sending platform (li= ke Instantly, SmartLead, Apollo, [Reply.io](https://Reply.io), Outreach, Sa= lesLoft, etc.) ## **More Examples of AI Personalized Emails** To grow our [SaasRise](https://saasrise.com/) community membership, we reac= h out to CEOs and Founders of SaaS firms to invite them to join. Below are examples of AI-generated subject lines, opening lines, and P.S. l= ine, all generated by Claude Sonnet 3.5 based on the lead=E2=80=99s LinkedI= n profile (Headline, summary, and education) using [Clay](https://clay.com/= ?via=3Dffe4dd) and then sent with [Instantly](https://instantly.ai/?via=3Ds= aasrise). These types of messages, as you=E2=80=99ll see below, are currently getting= us 5x the results of our non-AI personalized campaigns. **AI Generated Subject Line** **AI Generated Openers** **AI Generated P.S. Lines** amsterdam data ceo meetup Hey Leonard, Your decade-long journey transforming Crobox from a data analytics startup = into a full-scale product discovery powerhouse caught my eye - you'd fit ri= ght in with our tight-knit group of SaaS CEOs. P.S. Love how you leveraged your data science background to disrupt e-comme= rce in Amsterdam's tech ecosystem - quite a few of our members made similar= bold moves. mapping the future since 1991 Hey Harold, From GPS devices to autonomous driving - what a journey TomTom's been on. B= et you'd have some killer stories to share with our group of SaaS CEOs who = are all scaling like crazy. P.S. Love how you're making Amsterdam's roads smarter. Next time you're in = town, let's grab a stroopwafel and talk tech. construction speed breakthrough Hey Daniel - seeing how your TVD system is disrupting traditional construct= ion workflows, I think you'd gel well with our community of 300+ SaaS CEOs = who are equally obsessed with efficiency. P.S. Love how you're shaking things up in both construction tech and Dalmat= ian real estate - that entrepreneurial spirit is exactly what we're about. The first email looks like the following inside Instantly.=C2=A0 View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdGOTYWTq9cyAr= 9Xrv-g5mQjJDansgwvnZ1G-HjjUFKLciHAGzDQPKPRRKZT7ubfKKfAK9J1FqStGnxrJpkrTeuLi= J34ULGpIQHsRQbhmVbROY0nScuZCLZDchg7IdIYQXqt1f7TA?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZ= dQcD) Caption: What the email looks like before the mail merge variables are fill= ed in from the table These fields get mailed-merged when sent out, which turns into this final o= pening email=E2=80=A6 View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcmb3ClO14gjtF= WESNiHnSY0Wb2RxkT1V33cLwAgbW8y6EHRJ52Z3Y_EXJe3k3ejGHwAiR7Ze5qGbMamXItY_vYdz= iBzae-s21rciazURp6HWvFcofEU0A760uNgY2f1_qyI7jH8w?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZ= dQcD) Caption: This prospect responded very favorably to the reach out We=E2=80=99re currently sending out invitations to 35,000 new leads per mon= th (125,000 total emails due to there being 4 emails, 3 days apart, in our = sequence) and the overall email strategy is generating 2/3rds of our new me= mbers. ## **The AI Prompt We Use to Get Great Results** When using AI (whether via Clay, Instantly, or directly on ChatGPT or Claud= e) you need to put in a prompt explaining what you want to get a good outpu= t. Here=E2=80=99s the prompt we use. You can modify it for your target market = and call to action. Play around with various options before you run it on a= ll your leads.=C2=A0 (Why do we give so much good stuff away, well, because we want you to [join= our community](https://saasrise.com/) and take our next [B2B SaaS Growth P= rogram](https://go.saasrise.com/growthprogram) starting May 22, 2025) ``` #CONTEXT# Act as a great cold email copywriter designed to get these Softwa= re-as-a-Service CEOs to join our next weekly mastermind call. I am a peer t= o them, not a salesperson. I sold my SaaS business for $169M. I am a succes= sful SaaS CEO and founder like them who is inviting them to join my private= mastermind group focused on helping them grow their business faster and ha= ve an even more successful exit (sale) of their company. We already have 50= 0 members in our community and based on their background they have qualifie= d to join our community as well. #OBJECTIVE# Write a compelling yet brief two sentence email opener for {{Fi= rst Name}}, who is the {{Job Title}} at {{Company Name}}, demonstrating tha= t you've done substantial research on them, reviewing their {{Headline}}, {= {Summary}}, and {{Company Domain}}. Use specific facts or knowledge about {= {First Name gained from their {{Headline}}, {{Summary}}, and {{Company Doma= in}}. Choose quirky or lesser known facts to highlight that you've done rea= l research and so that your message is memorable and stands out. Be sure to= invite them to join next week's growth mastermind call in the second sente= nce while building credibility by mentioning that I am also a SaaS CEO who = exited my company for $169M and now I'm building a community of peers. Keep= the email intro to a maximum of two sentences and 30 words. #INSTRUCTIONS# 1. Research First Name's LinkedIn profile, focusing on their= {{Headline}}, {{Summary}}, and {{Company Domain}} to gather unique insight= s. 2. Create an engaging and personalized email opener. 3. Use a tone that = is entrepreneurial and casual, avoiding corporate jargon like leverage. #EXAMPLES# Example Input: First Name: John, Job Title: CEO, Company Name: T= ech Innovations, Headline: "Revolutionizing cloud storage," Summary: "Exper= ienced leader with a passion for cutting-edge solutions.", Company Domain:"= techinnovations.com" Example Output: "John, loved how Tech Innovations is d= emocratizing cloud storage. I'm a fellow SaaS CEO and sold my last business= for $169M--I'd love to have you join one of our upcoming SaasRise growth m= asterminds!" ``` ## **The Results We Got After Switching to AI-Personalized Cold Email** The proof is in the pudding=E2=80=A6 What results did we see after making the upgrade to AI-personalized cold em= ail? We saw clickthrough rates (CTRs) on our outbound prospecting email reach ou= ts increase by 465% from a baseline of 2.0% without AI-personalization to 1= 1.3% with AI personalization. Here are the actual results from within our I= nstantly account.=20 View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXc7GGjPKE5MPPA= TV5NQqi6FkK9aInjZu8-w6iJKFdECwpfqQzqAVU2vksmyO-_uMc_ftZP845Qf6vdEWx2c-gOAsU= udTtPUrF8a6AmxzZIZ_3xkLDehbZw1qFKiSTRNMbFOnhixIg?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZ= dQcD) Caption: Our actual CTR on Instantly, before and after AI-personalization o= f the messages After the initial emails go out, we send a short follow-up every 3 days for= a total of 4 emails over 9 days (day 0, 3, 6, and 9). If the prospect unsubscribes we don=E2=80=99t contact them again, but if th= ey engage (click), we put them on a longer 15 email sequence (with long-for= m article content like this) designed to provide a LOT of free value to hel= p demonstrate the value of joining the SaasRise growth mastermind community= . There are 450,000 SaaS CEOs and Founders globally (we know, we built a list= of all of them) and so if we can reach 35,000 new leads per month, it will= take us one year for us to reach out to all of them using personalized AI.= We are working on ramping up our infrastructure so we can go faster. Of the 35,191 cold SaaS CEO and founder leads we=E2=80=99ve reached out to = over the last month, 3,976 CLICKED on at least one email (11.3% of the lead= s), resulting in 150 additional qualified applications to join our communit= y per month and 30 additional paying SaasRise members (**resulting in $336k= in New ARR in just the last 30 days**). This means that in a 12 month period if we keep seeing the same results, th= is strategy will yield $4.03M in additional annual recurring revenue for ou= r business. So yes, this is working.=C2=A0 _**Strategy Sidenote: **__We go for clicks as we have a low initial price p= oint ($197/mo) with a free 14 day trial and our goal is to get folks to app= ly. Other firms with a higher ACV and/or demo-led sales process sometimes w= ill optimize for reply rate instead of click rate._ ## **Combining Cold Email With Digital Ads for B2B Brand Omnipresence** We recently passed 500 paying SaasRise members and people ask me how we=E2= =80=99ve grown so quickly (we started the community just 18 months ago). The answer: AI-personalized outbound + content + ads =E2=86=92 all targetin= g the same ABM lead list. AI cold email alone is helpful =E2=80=93 but it=E2=80=99s cold email COMBIN= ED with putting out GREAT CONTENT WEEKLY, and making your brand omnipresent= through matched audience ads, retargeting ads, lookalike ads, and thought = leadership ads THAT REALLY MOVES the needle. 1. Use AI-personalized cold email. Target sending to about 30k-60k new cold= leads per month depending on the size of your ABM lead list. 2. Show these same people ads everywhere they go on the internet. 3. Put out great content (like this) once per week. We=E2=80=99ve bootstrapped from $0 to $3.9M in ARR in 18 months using this = content-led, invitation led strategy combined with retargeting ads, matched= audience ads, and lookalike ads on Meta, LinkedIn, Google, and Adroll (plu= s some Thought Leadership boosted post ads on LinkedIn which work like jam = on hotcakes). View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfaJpgY6kuPmYu= Cp1Dz4qe4190Fje6ccCq2Vr32UWNeUfmb5BgG2_GSbTEe4fQpphVmiyIi9xmqJyNoleBci0YmgW= 91fTpeMNSfSBILov6_ctj3m6r1e0DehO77QErk3vf3Qrn_aA?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZ= dQcD) Caption: Our ARR has gone from $0 to $3.9M in 18 months using this strategy **Outbound Campaign Costs=C2=A0** We are spending about $5k per month on our cold email strategy. This breaks= down as: View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdJQn9lsSpCRT_= Zi7hlPra1Wgh_wWBZAcphepT6o06AaiVpxDWPIDppcM0qvKCE5nt-UXmeWIyjh9nHcs8xjvO_b9= vmb10SAQr4qRsRCGlEqczfFsK4z167Y2Xg4C7fBK6Z2P-H?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZdQ= cD) Caption: Expected costs to send out 125,000 cold AI-personalized emails per= month Here=E2=80=99s an [Outbound Email Calculator](https://docs.google.com/sprea= dsheets/d/1qHviF9Sd4Bi2u33NcmapfwODr_lb8XRDq-_rJ0nYJfA/copy) you can copy a= nd use that will estimate your costs and ROI depending on your volume.=20 View image: (https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXe9kvgx9-JbXky= Vlls2Hk0d5J7FJ2SiaiRxCf9EAmq98YPBNhYEstQ__PAKMUZoKReO818J1fioT8S9t0CR3zNWx2= wLrlWJD_Z1--wAyHfiD6bEWuy0MKPwPMJFcF0RbdqgF99ChA?key=3DC6KOzmuP1fNLsxJVPJnZ= dQcD) Caption: Here is our [Outbound Email Calculator](https://docs.google.com/sp= readsheets/d/1qHviF9Sd4Bi2u33NcmapfwODr_lb8XRDq-_rJ0nYJfA/copy) you can cop= y and use that will estimate your costs and ROI depending on your volume.=20 ## **Setting Up Instantly for High-Deliverability Email Sending** ### **Why Use Instantly?** AI-personalized openers are **half the battle**=E2=80=94the other half is *= *getting your emails delivered.** Instantly allows you to send at **scale**= while keeping deliverability high. ### **Step-by-Step Guide to Email Sending with Instantly** #### **1. Setting Up Domains and Inboxes** Using your main domain for cold email? **Big mistake.** You need alternativ= e domains to prevent email blacklisting. 1. Sign up for Instantly and select =E2=80=9CDone-for-You Email Setup=E2=80= =9D 2. Purchase multiple sending domains =E2=80=93 Example: getsaasrise.co, joi= nsaasrise.co, meetsaasrise.co 3. Create 5 inboxes per domain (Instantly=E2=80=99s limit per domain) 4. Set up domain forwarding #### 2. Enable Email Warm-Up Before sending real emails, inboxes need to warm up (fake emails sent/recei= ved in a closed network to boost credibility). 1. Turn on email warm-up for each inbox 2. Run warm-up for 7-14 days before sending real emails 3. Monitor inbox placement =E2=80=93 Ensure 70%+ land in the primary inbox = (otherwise tweak settings). #### 3. Structuring a Winning Cold Email Sequence A well-designed sequence maximizes responses: * Email 1 (AI-Personalized Opener) =E2=80=93 The hook * Email 2 (Value-Driven Content) =E2=80=93 Share a free report or webinar * Email 3 (Short, Reply-Oriented Message) =E2=80=93 Example: _"Hey [Name], = I=E2=80=99ve got a SaaS M&A report with 1,000+ data points. Want a copy?"_ * Email 4 (Long-Form Thought Leadership) =E2=80=93 Industry insights or cas= e study * Email 5 (Final Call to Action) =E2=80=93 A soft check-in with a clear ask #### 4. Tracking Performance & Optimization Inside Instantly, monitor these key metrics: * Click-through rate (CTR) =E2=80=93 Aim for 6-10% * Reply rate =E2=80=93 1-5% is solid * Bounce rate =E2=80=93 Keep below 3% ## **Our Marketing ROI ** Our total cost to generate ~$4M in additional ARR per year?=C2=A0 Well we spend $34k in Sales & Marketing costs per month currently (of which= we spend $5k on this cold email strategy and the rest on ads + sales team = + software). So we=E2=80=99re turning $34k in S&M costs into about $336k in= New ARR per month, a 10:1 ratio of ARR to S&M costs. Anytime you=E2=80=99re generating $10 in ARR for every $1 on S&M spend, you= =E2=80=99re onto something. Some firms are happy with $1 in ARR for $1 in S= &M spend. I like to look at the ROI in terms of the entire S&M strategy =E2=80=93 as = while cold email might generate the lead, it usually takes months of ads + = warm email + SDR reach outs to actually get them over the finish line.=C2= =A0 Remember it=E2=80=99s multi-touch that closes the customer =E2=80=93 not on= e particular channel.=C2=A0 ## **Final Thoughts** Cold email is not dead=E2=80=94**but lazy, generic cold email is.** AI pers= onalization, combined with **automated, high-deliverability sending**, is t= he key to scaling outreach that **actually gets responses.** Use **Clay + Instantly** to transform your outbound strategy, **get more re= plies, close more deals, and grow your business faster.** =F0=9F=9A=80 **Start implementing today and watch your results skyrocket!** =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94 I hope this guide helped! Let me know your thoughts, and I=E2=80=99ll see y= ou next time with another deep dive. **Ryan** P.S. - If you want the **full SaaS Growth Course**, it=E2=80=99s free insid= e the SaasRise community. [Apply to join here](http://www.saasrise.com/) an= d start your **two-week free trial today**. ## **Join Our Community of SaaS CEOs & Founders** Thanks for reading. We hope this SaaS M&A Report 2025 has been helpful to y= ou. Please take a moment to learn more about [SaasRise](https://saasrise.co= m/), our community for SaaS CEOs and Founders. We welcome all CEOs and Foun= ders with $1M-$100M in ARR to join us. We hold three masterminds each week = for our members and provide an in-depth library of SaaS growth, fundraising= , and exit resources. You can [apply here](https://www.saasrise.com/). View image: (https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/hfBs593YmI4BmWtDAy-IYLfUy= zxsIZtkXekvhMxE6scbeaw3ols42QrNCpn0QBmwa5wAjDC_JrJiDJVB9XomoREPGh1MbycbrrYC= wFLQIpZsQ8yVSDEFSo4kypr8or0iCFJBG9_umJx5QX6vufzCXSM) Caption: We=E2=80=99re now up to 500 members in SaasRise, representing over= $3B in ARR Apply to Join SaasRise Here (https://saasrise.com/) See you next week with more killer SaaS scaling content! =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94 ### **Join Our Community for SaaS CEOs at $1M+ in ARR** If you like this type of content, please apply to join [SaasRise](https://s= aasrise.com/) our community for SaaS CEOs with $1M-$100M in ARR here. It=E2= =80=99s a mastermind community of growth-focused SaaS CEOs. Membership is $= 197 per month =E2=80=93 but might just be the difference between your firm = making it across the chasm and getting to a successful nine figure outcome = from a PE firm or strategic acquirer.=20 =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94 Thanks for reading! If you liked this article, join the SaasRise community = at [www.saasrise.com](http://www.saasrise.com) for even more helpful growth= content and weekly SaaS CEO masterminds.=20 ### _**About The Author**_ View image: (https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=3Dscale-down,forma= t=3Dauto,onerror=3Dredirect,quality=3D80/uploads/asset/file/95ce4977-1eff-4= 123-99fd-29b7974424a0/Ryan_Allis_Headshot_.jpg) Caption:=20 =E2=80=9C_Ryan Allis is the founder of _[SaasRise](https://www.saasrise.com= )_, the mastermind community for growth-focused SaaS CEOs with $1M-$100M in= ARR. He is a three time INC 500 CEO. He was previously CEO of iContact and= grew the firm as founder/CEO to 70,000 customers, 1 million users, 300 emp= loyees, $50M per year in sales, and an exit for $169M to Vocus (NASDAQ:VOCS= ). _ _Since the sale of iContact, Ryan has been the CEO coach to high-growth Saa= S firms including Instantly, Tatango, Seamless.ai, Pipeline, Datalyse, Gree= n Packet, Revenue Accelerator, Galleon, Clearstream, YouCanBookMe, Retreave= r, and EventMobi. Ryan has been part of the EO and Summit Series communitie= s._ _He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was Co-President of= the Social Enterprise Club and a member of the Harvard Graduate School Lea= dership Institute. He=E2=80=99s passionate about helping recurring revenue = software companies grow and exit._=E2=80=9C =E2=80=94=20 _We=E2=80=99ll see you next time with more great SaaS growth and scaling co= ntent!_ =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94 You are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best experience,= copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online: https://saasrise.beehiiv.com/p/outbound-2-0-the-guide-to-ai-personalized-ou= tbound-emails --5cb5b01404a712a3a3d83100e5bbe8ab641af238d794f8c7a54f5b434eae Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Outbound 2.0: The Guide to AI-Personalized Outbound Emails
A guide to sending AI-personalized outbound emails that get 5x t= he results vs. traditional outbound prospecting  ‌ ‌&= #160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ̴= 4; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ &#= 8204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&#= 160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= ; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = 204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= 60;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌=  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ R= 04; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ &= #8204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= 0;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&= #160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ̴= 4; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ &#= 8204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&#= 160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= ; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = 204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= 60;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌=  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ R= 04; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ &= #8204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= 0;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&= #160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ̴= 4; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ &#= 8204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&#= 160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= ; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = 204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= 60;‌ ‌
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(Why do we give so muc= h good stuff away, well, because we want you to join our community and take our next B2B SaaS Growth Program= starting May 22, 2025)

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February 26, 2025   |   Read Online

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Outbound 2.0: The Guide to AI-Personalized Outbound Emails

=

= A guide to sending AI-personalized outbound emails that get 5x the results= vs. traditional outbound prospecting

Hi Andrew =E2= =80=94

In today=E2=80=99s deep dive guide, I=E2=80=99m going to break d= own exactly how to do AI-personalized outbound emailing for your B2B compan= y.

= I call this Outbound Email 2.0.

B2B cold email is not dead=E2=80=94but lazy, generic cold email is.=C2=A0

I=E2=80=99ve found that AI person= alization for each recipient based on their LinkedIn Profiles is the key to= scaling outreach that actually gets clicks and responses.

In my experi= ence, AI-outbound prospecting works very well at any B2B company where you = get at least $2,000 per year per customer.

We=E2=80=99re doing lots of AI out= bound email invitations at SaasRise, and it=E2=80=99s improved the click through rate of our outbound e= mail campaigns by 465% compared to the old non-personalized emails. Now, 2/= 3rds of our new member signups come via AI-personalized email reachouts.

Belo= w we break down exactly what we do to send out 125,000 automated prospectin= g emails per month to our target market =E2=80=94 and how you gain a big ed= ge on your competition by doing it before they do.

Below is an overview video= and the full 12-page guide.

Watch the Video on AI-Personalized Outbound
=
3D""<= /td>

Watch this 11 = minute Loom video on how to do AI Outbound

Read the AI Outbound Guide as a Google Doc =
 
3D""

Ou= tbound 2:0: The Guide to Sending AI-Personalized B2B Cold Emails
By Ryan Allis, CEO of SaasRise

Abou= t the Author:
Ryan Allis is the CEO and co-founder of SaasRise, the community for SaaS CEOs & f= ounders. Ryan founded and grew iContact as CEO to $50M ARR, sold it for $16= 9M, and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. Today, Ryan coaches Sa= aS CEOs in rapidly scaling up revenue, building their teams, and preparing = for and executing on $100M+ exits.

=

In thi= s deep-dive guide, I=E2=80=99m going to break down exactly how to do AI-per= sonalized outbound emailing.=C2=A0

Cold email is not dead=E2=80=94but lazy= , generic cold email is. AI personalization, combined with automated= , high-deliverability sending, is the key to scaling outreach that a= ctually gets clicks and responses.

Cold emailing into a target market has = long been a staple in B2B Rev Ops, but with AI-driven personalization of ea= ch message, it=E2=80=99s now working better than ever for firms with annual= contract values (ACVs) north of $2k.

Today, we=E2=80=99re diving d= eep into how AI can supercharge cold email strategy and be part of building= a predictable revenue machine for the fastest growing B2B firms.=C2=A0

This = guide will walk you through exactly how to do AI-powered cold outreach:

  1. How to Use Gen AI to Write Personalized Cold Emails with Clay

    2. Setting Up Instantly for Efficient Cold = Email Sending & Deliverability

  2. Optimizing Your Cold Email Content Strategy to Maximize Replies and Click= s

We=E2=80=99ll also provide actual examples, video tutoria= ls, and templates. Save this post and pass it along to your CMO/CRO/Head of= Growth.

By the end of this, you=E2=80=99ll have an AI-driven outbound machin= e that gets 5x the click and reply rates of = traditional outbound campaigns.

These days prospects are bombarded with sales= pitches. If your email looks even remotely templated, it=E2=80=99s getting= ignored. AI personalization changes the game by making= your outreach feel tailor-made for every recipient.

Using tools li= ke Clay= and Instantly, you can pull real-time data from Li= nkedIn, company websites, and other sources to craft a hyper-personalized o= pener that makes your email impossible to ignore.

3D""

What Is AI-Personalized Outbound Prospecti= ng?

What do we mean by AI-personalization of cold email?

It means th= at a custom, personalized email message is generated for each recipient, ba= sed on their LinkedIn headline, LinkedIn summary, and website homepage.=C2= =A0

We generate this AI-personalized cold email copy using Clay (An ABM list buildi= ng tool that integrates with many different data providers and generative A= I platforms including Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini)

Once the AI-perso= nalized emails are written, we send out the emails themselves using our col= d emailing tool I= nstantly.=C2=A0

Step 1: Building the AI-Personalized = ABM Lead List in Clay

Step 1: Building the AI-Personalized ABM Lead Lis= t in Clay

Step 2: Set Up Your Message Sequence = in Instantly

=
3D""

Step 2: Cold Prospect Email Sequence in Instantly

Example: AI-Personalized vs. Generic O= peners

Compare the differences in the below emails.

=F0=9F=9A=AB Generic Email Opener:

"H= i [Name], I noticed you are a [Job Title] at [Company]. Let=E2=80=99s conne= ct and explore synergies."

=E2=9C=85 AI-Pe= rsonalized Opener (Generated via Clay):

"He= y [Name], turning a negative 146% margin business into +51% within three qu= arters is next-level. As a fellow SaaS founder, I=E2=80=99d love to invite = you to our private mastermind call next week."

Why it works: It highlights a specific a= chievement from their LinkedIn profile, making it personal, engaging, and relevant.

This is all= done at scale via AI =E2=80=94 allowing you to easily send out 1000-2000 o= f these AI-personalized outreaches per day.

While you c= ould do this using <= span>11x.ai, the costs there are ~$5000 = per month for 3,000 leads. Using the below method you can reach 30,000-60,0= 00 new leads per month for that cost.

The= Video Guide On Exactly How to Do AI Outbound

Here is a 27 minute = video tutorial on how to do AI-personalization for a list built within = Clay. I made it last week.

3D""

And here is an 11 minute video t= utorial on how to do AI-personalization from any lead list, rega= rdless of where it was originally built.

3D""

Once you finish your AI-personalizati= on of your list, just import it into a sending tool like Instantly to send = out.

The Exact Steps on How to Do AI-Personaliz= ation Outbound

Here are the steps to follow, they are a bit techni= cal so watch the above videos to do it properly. The key is to experiment a= nd learn.

  1. Import CSV file of your ABM Lead List into Clay (you can cre= ate the list in Clay directly or import from Instantly, ListKit, Apollo, Zo= omInfo, Lusha, Adapt, Seamless, LinkedIn Sales Navigator etc.)

    2. Make sure the file has LinkedIn Profile U= RL as a column already

    1. If it doesn=E2=80=99t, add a new column called =E2=80=9CLinkedIn Profil= e=E2=80=9D and enrich list (use APIs if doing in bulk). Once you have the L= inkedIn Profile URL=E2=80=A6

    2. = If you don=E2=80=99t have LinkedIn URLs, you can enrich your data using Cla= y=E2=80=99s built-in LinkedIn profile scraper or third-party tools like Eva= boot, Findymail, or Snovio.

  2. Enrich with =E2=80=9CFull Profile=E2=80=9D (1 credit) and add Link= edIn Headline and LinkedIn Summary columns (education column optional).

  3. Then add a column (=E2=80=9CUse = AI=E2=80=9D) and create your custom AI prompt (example below)

  4. Then use the latest model of Claude (curre= ntly 3.5 Sonnet) or ChatGPT (currently 4o) (3 credits or use APIs to save $= )

  5. Test prompt on ~10 records = a few times before you run it on all

  6. When pleased with results, run on full list

  7. When done, import CSV file to Instantly to send out = emails

How to Set Up AI-Powered= Personalization in Clay

Here=E2=80=99s some extra details on how to do this right=E2=80=A6

1. Building a High-Quality ABM Lead List

To = get started, you need a highly targeted Acco= unt-Based Marketing (ABM) list in Clay, ListKit, Lusha, Adapt, ZoomInfo, Se= amless or a similar tool with the following data:

  • Full Name

  • Job Title

  • Company Name

  • LinkedIn URL <= /p>

  • Work Email

If yo= u don=E2=80=99t have LinkedIn URLs, you can enrich your= data using Clay=E2=80=99s built-in LinkedIn profile scraper or = third-party tools like Evaboot or FindEmail.

2.= Generating AI-Personalized Openers

Once your ABM list is loaded = into Clay, here=E2=80=99s how to personalize= at scale:

  1. Import Your Lead List =E2=80= =93 Upload your ABM list into Clay.

  2. =

    Enrich Profiles =E2=80=93 Use Clay=E2= =80=99s data enrichment to extract insights from LinkedIn summaries, compan= y websites, and headlines.

  3. Craft Your AI Prompt =E2=80=93 The magic happe= ns here. Your prompt should be detailed and specific to generate high-quality openers. Example:
    "Act as a top-t= ier cold email copywriter. Generate a compelling, two-sentence email opener= using specific insights from the recipient=E2=80=99s LinkedIn profile. Mak= e it engaging, natural, and unique."

    1. We give a full even longer prompt example below.

  4. Cho= ose the Right AI Model =E2=80=93 Use Claude = 3.5 Sonnet (Anthropic) or ChatGPT 4.0 for the best results.

  5. Run AI Generation =E2=80=93 Clay will generate= customized openers for every lead. You can = do this on 1000 leads in about 20 minutes of background processing.

  6. Export and Use in= Email Campaigns =E2=80=93 Once finalized, download your enriche= d lead list and import it into your email-sending platform (like Instantly,= SmartLead, Apollo, Reply.io, Outreach, SalesLoft, etc.)

M= ore Examples of AI Personalized Emails

To grow our SaasRise community membership, we reach ou= t to CEOs and Founders of SaaS firms to invite them to join.

Below are exampl= es of AI-generated subject lines, opening lines, and P.S. line, all generat= ed by Claude Sonnet 3.5 based on the lead=E2=80=99s LinkedIn profile (Headl= ine, summary, and education) using Clay and then sent with Instantly.

These types of mess= ages, as you=E2=80=99ll see below, are currently getting us 5x the results = of our non-AI personalized campaigns.

AI Generated Subject Line=

= AI Generated Openers

AI Generate= d P.S. Lines

amsterdam data ceo meetup

Hey Leonard,

Your deca= de-long journey transforming Crobox from a data analytics startup into a fu= ll-scale product discovery powerhouse caught my eye - you'd fit right i= n with our tight-knit group of SaaS CEOs.

P.S. Love how you leveraged your data sci= ence background to disrupt e-commerce in Amsterdam's tech ecosystem - q= uite a few of our members made similar bold moves.

mapping the future sinc= e 1991

H= ey Harold,

From GPS devices to autonomous driving - what a journ= ey TomTom's been on. Bet you'd have some killer stories to share wi= th our group of SaaS CEOs who are all scaling like crazy.

P.S. Love how y= ou're making Amsterdam's roads smarter. Next time you're in tow= n, let's grab a stroopwafel and talk tech.

construction speed breakth= rough

H= ey Daniel - seeing how your TVD system is disrupting traditional constructi= on workflows, I think you'd gel well with our community of 300+ SaaS CE= Os who are equally obsessed with efficiency.

P.S. Love how you're shaking thing= s up in both construction tech and Dalmatian real estate - that entrepreneu= rial spirit is exactly what we're about.

The first emai= l looks like the following inside Instantly.=C2=A0

3D""

What the email looks lik= e before the mail merge variables are filled in from the table

These fields get mailed-merged when sent out, which turns into this fina= l opening email=E2=80=A6

This prospect responded very favorably to the reac= h out

We=E2=80=99re currently sending out invitations to 35,= 000 new leads per month (125,000 total emails due to there being 4 emails, = 3 days apart, in our sequence) and the overall email strategy is generating= 2/3rds of our new members.

The AI Prompt We Us= e to Get Great Results

When using AI (whether via Clay, Instantly= , or directly on ChatGPT or Claude) you need to put in a prompt explaining = what you want to get a good output.

Here=E2=80=99s the prompt we use. You can= modify it for your target market and call to action. Play around with vari= ous options before you run it on all your leads.=C2=A0

<= pre style=3D"background:#282828;border-radius:10px;color:#FFFFFF;line-heigh= t:1.5;overflow-wrap:break-word;padding:16px;white-space:pre-wrap;word-break= :break-word;">#CONTEXT# Act as a great cold email copywriter designed= to get these Software-as-a-Service CEOs to join our next weekly mastermind= call. I am a peer to them, not a salesperson. I sold my SaaS business for = $169M. I am a successful SaaS CEO and founder like them who is inviting the= m to join my private mastermind group focused on helping them grow their bu= siness faster and have an even more successful exit (sale) of their company= . We already have 500 members in our community and based on their backgroun= d they have qualified to join our community as well. #OBJECTIVE# Write a compelling yet brief two sentence email opener for = 3;{First Name}}, who is the {{Job Title}}= ; at {{Company Name}}, demonstrating that you've done s= ubstantial research on them, reviewing their {{Headline} = 5;, {{Summary}}, and {{Company Domain}&#= 125;. Use specific facts or knowledge about {{First Name gained f= rom their {{Headline}}, {{Summary}}= , and {{Company Domain}}. Choose quirky or lesser known= facts to highlight that you've done real research and so that your message= is memorable and stands out. Be sure to invite them to join next week's gr= owth mastermind call in the second sentence while building credibility by m= entioning that I am also a SaaS CEO who exited my company for $169M and now= I'm building a community of peers. Keep the email intro to a maximum of tw= o sentences and 30 words. #INSTRUCTIONS# 1. Research First Name's LinkedIn profile, focusing on their= {{Headline}}, {{Summary}}, and = 23;{Company Domain}} to gather unique insights. 2. Create an= engaging and personalized email opener. 3. Use a tone that is entrepreneur= ial and casual, avoiding corporate jargon like leverage. #EXAMPLES# Example Input: First Name: John, Job Title: CEO, Company Name: T= ech Innovations, Headline: "Revolutionizing cloud storage," Summary: "Exper= ienced leader with a passion for cutting-edge solutions.", Company Domain:"= techinnovations.com" Example Output: "John, loved how Tech Innovations is d= emocratizing cloud storage. I'm a fellow SaaS CEO and sold my last business= for $169M--I'd love to have you join one of our upcoming SaasRise growth m= asterminds!"

The Results We Got After S= witching to AI-Personalized Cold Email

The proof is in the pudding= =E2=80=A6

What results did we see after making the upgrade to AI-personalized= cold email?

We saw clickthrough rates (CTRs) on our outbound prospecting ema= il reach outs increase by 465% from a baseline of 2.0% without AI-personali= zation to 11.3% with AI personalization. Here are the actual results from w= ithin our Instantly account.

Our actual CTR on Instantly, before and after= AI-personalization of the messages

After the initial emails= go out, we send a short follow-up every 3 days for a total of 4 emails ove= r 9 days (day 0, 3, 6, and 9).

If the prospect unsubscribes we don=E2=80=99t = contact them again, but if they engage (click), we put them on a longer 15 = email sequence (with long-form article content like this) designed to provi= de a LOT of free value to help demonstrate the value of joining the SaasRis= e growth mastermind community.

There are 450,000 SaaS CEOs and Founders globa= lly (we know, we built a list of all of them) and so if we can reach 35,000= new leads per month, it will take us one year for us to reach out to all o= f them using personalized AI. We are working on ramping up our infrastructu= re so we can go faster.

Of the 35,191 cold SaaS CEO and founder leads we=E2= =80=99ve reached out to over the last month, 3,976 CLICKED on at least one = email (11.3% of the leads), resulting in 150 additional qualified applicati= ons to join our community per month and 30 additional paying SaasRise membe= rs (resulting in $336k in New ARR in just the last 30 d= ays).

This means that in a 12 month period if we keep seeing the s= ame results, this strategy will yield $4.03M in additional annual recurring= revenue for our business.

So yes, this is working.=C2=A0

Strategy = Sidenote: We go for clicks as we have a = low initial price point ($197/mo) with a free 14 day trial and our goal is = to get folks to apply. Other firms with a higher ACV and/or demo-led sales = process sometimes will optimize for reply rate instead of click rate.

Combining Cold Email Wit= h Digital Ads for B2B Brand Omnipresence

We recently passed 500 pa= ying SaasRise members and people ask me how we=E2=80=99ve grown so quickly = (we started the community just 18 months ago).

The answer: AI-personalized o= utbound + content + ads =E2=86=92 all targeting the same ABM lead list.

AI co= ld email alone is helpful =E2=80=93 but it=E2=80=99s cold email COMBINED wi= th putting out GREAT CONTENT WEEKLY, and making your brand omnipresent thro= ugh matched audience ads, retargeting ads, lookalike ads, and thought leade= rship ads THAT REALLY MOVES the needle.

  1. Use AI-personalized cold email= . Target sending to about 30k-60k new cold leads per month depending on the= size of your ABM lead list.

  2. = Show these same people ads everywhere they go on the internet.

    3. Put out great content (like this) once pe= r week.

We=E2=80=99ve bootstrapped from $0 to $3.9M in ARR = in 18 months using this content-led, invitation led strategy combined with = retargeting ads, matched audience ads, and lookalike ads on Meta, LinkedIn,= Google, and Adroll (plus some Thought Leadership boosted post ads on Linke= dIn which work like jam on hotcakes).

3D""

Our ARR has gone from $0 to $3.9M in = 18 months using this strategy

Outbound C= ampaign Costs=C2=A0

We are spending about $5k per month on our cold= email strategy. This breaks down as:

3D""

Expected costs to send out 125,000 cold= AI-personalized emails per month

Here=E2=80=99s an Outbound Email Calculator you can copy and use that will estimate your costs and ROI depending on y= our volume.

3D""<= /td>

Here is our Outb= ound Email Calculator you can copy and use that will estimate yo= ur costs and ROI depending on your volume.

=

Setting Up Instantly for High-Deliverability Email Sending

= Why Use Instantly?

AI-personalized openers are= half the battle=E2=80=94the other half is <= span style=3D"">getting your emails delivered. Instantly allo= ws you to send at scale while keeping delive= rability high.

Step-by-Step Guide to Email Send= ing with Instantly

1. Setting Up Domain= s and Inboxes

Using your main domain for cold email? Big mistake. You need alternative domains to prevent em= ail blacklisting.

  1. Sign up for Instantly and select =E2=80=9CDone-for= -You Email Setup=E2=80=9D

  2. P= urchase multiple sending domains =E2=80=93 Example: getsaasrise.co, joinsaasrise.co, meetsa= asrise.co

  3. Create 5 inbo= xes per domain (Instantly=E2=80=99s limit per domain)

  4. Set up domain forwarding

=

2. Enable Emai= l Warm-Up

Before sending real emails, inboxes need to warm up (fake emails se= nt/received in a closed network to boost credibility).

  1. Turn on email w= arm-up for each inbox

  2. Run war= m-up for 7-14 days before sending real emails

  3. Monitor inbox placement =E2=80=93 Ensure 70%+ land in the = primary inbox (otherwise tweak settings).

3. Struct= uring a Winning Cold Email Sequence

A well-designed sequence maximizes respon= ses:

  • Email= 1 (AI-Personalized Opener) =E2=80=93 The hook

  • Email 2 (Value-Driven Content) =E2=80=93 Share a free rep= ort or webinar

  • Email 3 (Short= , Reply-Oriented Message) =E2=80=93 Example: "Hey = [Name], I=E2=80=99ve got a SaaS M&A report with 1,000+ data points. Want a = copy?"

  • Email 4= (Long-Form Thought Leadership) =E2=80=93 Industry insights or case study <= /p>

  • Email 5 (Final Call to Action)= =E2=80=93 A soft check-in with a clear ask

<= tr>

4. Trac= king Performance & Optimization

Inside Instantly, monitor these key metrics: =

  • Click-thro= ugh rate (CTR) =E2=80=93 Aim for 6-10%

  • Reply rate =E2=80=93 1-5% is solid

  • Bounce rate =E2=80=93 Keep below 3%

Our Marketing ROI

Our total cost to generate ~$4M in additio= nal ARR per year?=C2=A0

Well we spend $34k in Sales & Marketing costs per m= onth currently (of which we spend $5k on this cold email strategy and the r= est on ads + sales team + software). So we=E2=80=99re turning $34k in S&M c= osts into about $336k in New ARR per month, a 10:1 ratio of ARR to S&M cost= s.

= Anytime you=E2=80=99re generating $10 in ARR for every $1 on S&M spend, yo= u=E2=80=99re onto something. Some firms are happy with $1 in ARR for $1 in = S&M spend.

I like to look at the ROI in terms of the entire S&M strategy =E2= =80=93 as while cold email might generate the lead, it usually takes months= of ads + warm email + SDR reach outs to actually get them over the finish = line.=C2=A0

Remember it=E2=80=99s multi-touch that closes the customer =E2=80= =93 not one particular channel.=C2=A0

Final Thoughts

=

Cold e= mail is not dead=E2=80=94but lazy, generic cold email i= s. AI personalization, combined with automat= ed, high-deliverability sending, is the key to scaling outreach = that actually gets responses.

<= tr>

Use Clay + Instantly to transform your outbound strategy, <= span style=3D"">get more replies, close more deals, and grow your busine= ss faster.

=F0=9F=9A=80=C2=A0Start implementing= today and watch your results skyrocket!

&n= bsp;

I hope this guide helped! Let me know your thoughts, and = I=E2=80=99ll see you next time with another deep dive.

Rya= n

P.S. - If you want the full SaaS Growth Cours= e, it=E2=80=99s free inside the SaasRise community. Apply to join here and start your two-week free trial today.

Join Our Community of SaaS CEOs & Founders

<= tr>

Thanks for readin= g. We hope this SaaS M&A Report 2025 has been helpful to you. Please take a= moment to learn more about SaasRise, our community for SaaS CEOs and Founders. We welcome all CEOs an= d Founders with $1M-$100M in ARR to join us. We hold three masterminds each= week for our members and provide an in-depth library of SaaS growth, fundr= aising, and exit resources. You can ap= ply here.

3D""

We=E2= =80=99re now up to 500 members in SaasRise, representing over $3B in ARR

Apply to Join SaasRise Here

Se= e you next week with more killer SaaS scaling content!

 

Join Our Community for S= aaS CEOs at $1M+ in ARR

If you like this type of content, please a= pply to join SaasRise our c= ommunity for SaaS CEOs with $1M-$100M in ARR here. It=E2=80=99s a mastermin= d community of growth-focused SaaS CEOs. Membership is $197 per month =E2= =80=93 but might just be the difference between your firm making it across = the chasm and getting to a successful nine figure outcome from a PE firm or= strategic acquirer.

 

Thanks for re= ading! If you liked this article, join the SaasRise community at www.saasrise.com for even more help= ful growth content and weekly SaaS CEO masterminds.

About The A= uthor

3D""

Ry= an Allis is the founder of SaasRis= e, the mastermind community for growth-focused SaaS CEOs with= $1M-$100M in ARR. He is a three time INC 500 CEO. He was previously CEO of= iContact and grew the firm as founder/CEO to 70,000 customers, 1 million u= sers, 300 employees, $50M per year in sales, and an exit for $169M to Vocus= (NASDAQ:VOCS).

Since t= he sale of iContact, Ryan has been the CEO coach to high-growth SaaS firms = including Instantly, Tatango, Seamless.ai, Pipeline, Datalyse, Green Packet= , Revenue Accelerator, Galleon, Clearstream, YouCanBookMe, Retreaver, and E= ventMobi. Ryan has been part of the EO and Summit Series communities.

He holds an MBA from Harvard = Business School, where he was Co-President of the Social Enterprise Club an= d a member of the Harvard Graduate School Leadership Institute. He=E2=80=99= s passionate about helping recurring revenue software companies grow and ex= it.

We=E2=80=99ll see you next time = with more great SaaS growth and scaling content!

<= /td>
 

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