cold-email-outreach

name	cold-email-outreach
description	The final mile of outbound — take leads from any source, design and write email sequences, verify deliverability, then load the campaign into the user's chosen tool (lemlist/instantly) or send one-off (sendgrid/resend) or export a tool-ready CSV, and launch. The launch target for the signal composites and outbound-prospecting-engine once contacts and drafts exist.
metadata	{"version":"1.0.1","category":"outreach","type":"capability"}

Cold Email Outreach

Launch (or stage) a cold-email campaign. The agent normalizes leads and writes the sequence (via email-drafting); the bundled scripts verify deliverability and build/ launch the campaign via the provider REST API (or export a CSV if no send key).

When to use

• "Launch a campaign" / "send outreach" / "email these leads" / "set up cold email."
• The launch target for the signal composites (champion-move / funding / hiring / leadership / news) and outbound-prospecting-engine once contacts + drafts exist.

How it works (agent + scripts)

1. (agent) Intake goal, tool, lead source, sequence config, sending config, exclusions.
2. (agent) Ingest + normalize leads to {email, first_name, last_name, company, title}; apply exclusions; dedup against prior campaigns / a contact cache; cap.
3. Verify deliverability (verify_emails.py) before send.
4. (agent) Write the sequence with email-drafting (frameworks, tiers, char limits) and lint it. Present samples for human review; iterate.
5. Launch (launch_campaign.py) — create campaign, import leads, (for lemlist/instantly) ready the sequence — or export a tool-ready CSV.
6. (agent) Log the run + notify.

How to run

Verify first (MillionVerifier if MILLIONVERIFIER_API_KEY set, else local syntax/dedup only):

python3 ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/verify_emails.py \
  --input ${WORKSPACE}/leads.csv --drop-bad --output ${WORKSPACE}/verified.json

Then launch (sequence is the drafted touches as JSON: [{subject, body, send_day}]):

# Sequenced cold email (requires the provider key)
python3 ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/launch_campaign.py \
  --tool lemlist --campaign-name "Q3 RPA push" \
  --leads ${WORKSPACE}/verified.json --sequence ${WORKSPACE}/seq.json

# Dry run — build the payloads without calling the API
python3 ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/launch_campaign.py --tool instantly --campaign-name X \
  --leads ${WORKSPACE}/verified.json --sequence ${WORKSPACE}/seq.json --dry-run

# No send key — export a tool-ready import CSV (NOTHING is sent)
python3 ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/launch_campaign.py \
  --tool generic_csv --leads ${WORKSPACE}/verified.json \
  --sequence ${WORKSPACE}/seq.json --output ${WORKSPACE}/import.csv

--tool: lemlist | instantly (sequenced) · sendgrid | resend (one-off, touch 1 only; needs *_FROM_EMAIL) · generic_csv (export, no send).

Outputs

• A launched/staged campaign in the chosen tool (created, leads imported, sequence readied) — or a tool-ready import CSV — plus a launch-summary JSON for the log record.

Credentials / env

• env.required: none. The default --tool generic_csv path exports a tool-ready import CSV with no key, so the skill always produces a usable result.
• env.optional (all degrade):
  • Send/sequencing — if a send key is set → launch the sequence/send; else → export a CSV to send manually (--tool generic_csv, the keyless default). LEMLIST_API_KEY or INSTANTLY_API_KEY (sequenced) · SENDGRID_API_KEY (+ SENDGRID_FROM_EMAIL) or RESEND_API_KEY (+ RESEND_FROM_EMAIL) (one-off, touch 1 only). Drafting is the host agent.
  • MILLIONVERIFIER_API_KEY — if set → MillionVerifier; else → local syntax/dedup verification (higher bounce risk).

Notes & edge cases

• Always verify before send to protect domain reputation — the script flags reduced confidence when no verifier key is present.
• sendgrid/resend paths send touch 1 only (no follow-up scheduling) — use lemlist/instantly for true sequencing.
• No sequencing key -> generic_csv mode: produces a CSV + setup instructions and explicitly flags that nothing is sent automatically.
• Dedup against prior campaigns / a contact cache so leads aren't double-emailed.