Knowledge Base

Outreach & Mailing 101

influData's outreach mailing system lets you send personalized bulk emails to creators directly from your collections, manage threaded conversations in a built-in inbox, and track delivery and engagement across campaigns. This guide walks you through every step — from verifying your sender email to reviewing campaign performance.

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Setup

Verify your own email address as a sender, configure your signature, and set a default sender for your organization.

Templates

Build reusable email templates with dynamic placeholders, rich-text or HTML editing, and file attachments.

Campaigns

Create outreach campaigns from collections, review recipient data, preview personalized emails, and send in bulk.

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Inbox

Manage replies in a Gmail-style inbox with threaded conversations, folders, labels, and starring.

Sender Setup

Before you can send outreach emails, you need to verify at least one sender email address. Every team member who wants to send emails needs their own verified sender.

1) Add a new sender

Go to the Outreach settings and click "Add Sender." Enter your full name (this appears in the "From" line) and the email address you want to send from.

2) Verify your email

After adding a sender, SendGrid sends a verification email to that address. Open it and click the verification link. Your sender status will change from "Pending" to "Verified."

3) Set up your signature

Each sender can configure a rich-text or HTML email signature. This signature is automatically appended to every outreach email you send.

4) Set a default sender

If your organization has multiple verified senders, you can choose one as the default. The default sender is pre-selected when creating new outreach campaigns.

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1) Add a new sender

Go to the Outreach settings and click "Add Sender." Enter your full name (this appears in the "From" line) and the email address you want to send from.

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2) Verify your email

After adding a sender, SendGrid sends a verification email to that address. Open it and click the verification link. Your sender status will change from "Pending" to "Verified."

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3) Set up your signature

Each sender can configure a rich-text or HTML email signature. This signature is automatically appended to every outreach email you send.

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4) Set a default sender

If your organization has multiple verified senders, you can choose one as the default. The default sender is pre-selected when creating new outreach campaigns.

How sending works under the hood

Emails are sent FROM your verified email address so recipients see your name and email. The Reply-To header is set to an internal influData address, which routes replies back into the influData inbox for tracking and conversation management.

Templates

Templates let you write reusable outreach emails that are automatically personalized for each recipient using dynamic placeholders.

Creating a template

Navigate to the Templates section and click "Create Template." Give it a descriptive name, add a subject line, and compose the body.

Subject line

The subject line supports the same placeholders as the body. A personalized subject line (e.g. "Hi {{firstName|there}}, quick question") significantly improves open rates.

Placeholders

Placeholders are dynamic tokens that get replaced with each recipient's data when the email is sent. They use double-curly-brace syntax.

{{firstName|there}}

Inserts the creator's first name. If missing, falls back to "there" (e.g. "Hi there").

{{firstName|}}

Inserts the first name. If missing, falls back to an empty string (nothing is inserted).

{{username}}

Inserts the username. No fallback — if the value is missing, the raw placeholder remains visible.

Template → Resolved Email

Template
Subject: Hi {{firstName|there}}, quick question

Hi {{firstName|there}},
I love your content on @{{username}}!
Resolved
Subject: Hi Sarah, quick question

Hi Sarah,
I love your content on @sarahcreates!
Available Placeholders
{{firstName}}Creator's first name
{{username}}Creator's social media handle
{{displayName}}Creator's display / profile name
{{email_address}}Creator's email address
{{sender_name}}Your name (the sender)
{{org_name}}Your organization's name
{{Custom fields}}Any custom fields defined in your collections

HTML mode

By default the editor uses a rich-text (WYSIWYG) view. You can toggle to raw HTML mode for full control over formatting, tables, and custom layouts. Both modes support placeholders.

Attachments

You can attach files to your template. Attachments are included with every email sent from that template. Keep file sizes reasonable to avoid deliverability issues.

Creating a New Outreach

An outreach campaign sends a personalized email to every creator in one or more collections. The creation flow has three steps.

Step 1: Campaign setup

Configure the basics of your outreach campaign.

Campaign name

A descriptive name for internal tracking (not visible to recipients).

Sender

Select a verified sender from the dropdown.

Collection(s)

Choose one or more collections. All creators with email addresses in those collections become recipients.

Template

Pick the template to use for this campaign.

Skip existing conversations

When checked, creators who already have an open conversation thread are excluded from this outreach.

Review Recipient Data

Step 2 shows a data table of all recipients with their placeholder values. This is your chance to verify and correct data before sending.

Inline editing

Click any cell in the table to edit a recipient's data directly. Changes are saved in real time.

Missing data highlighting

Cells with missing values are highlighted so you can spot gaps immediately. Missing values will use the fallback defined in the placeholder (e.g. "there" for {{firstName|there}}) or remain empty.

Fallback behavior

The table shows a preview of how fallbacks will render. If a placeholder has no fallback and no data, the raw placeholder text will appear in the sent email — review carefully.

Preview & Send

Step 3 lets you preview every personalized email before confirming the send.

Email preview carousel

Browse through a carousel of all personalized emails. Each preview shows exactly what that recipient will receive, including subject line, body with resolved placeholders, signature, and attachments.

Email deliverability validation

Before sending, each recipient's email address is validated via the Abstract Email Reputation API. This pre-send check evaluates whether the address is deliverable, reducing bounces and protecting your sender reputation.

What happens if validation fails

If an email address fails the deliverability check, the email is NOT sent. Instead, a conversation is created with a "Test Failed" status. You can review these in the campaign dashboard and decide whether to retry with a corrected address.

Confirm and send

Once you've reviewed all previews, click "Send" to dispatch the campaign. Emails are queued and sent in bulk. You'll be redirected to the campaign tracking view.

Campaign Tracking

After sending, each outreach campaign appears in the sidebar. The campaign dashboard gives you a real-time view of delivery and engagement.

247
Sent
Total emails dispatched from the campaign.
231
Delivered
Emails that were successfully delivered to the recipient's mailbox.
189
Opened
Emails that were opened by the recipient (tracked via pixel).
42
Replied
Recipients who sent a reply (captured in your influData inbox).
8
Bounced
Emails that could not be delivered (invalid address, full mailbox, etc.).
3
Test Failed
Emails that were not sent because the pre-send deliverability check failed.
Per-email status

Drill into any campaign to see the status of each individual email. Filter by status to quickly find bounces, opens, or replies.

Inbox & Conversations

The influData inbox collects all replies and lets you manage ongoing conversations with creators — much like a dedicated email client.

Folders

Organize conversations using built-in folders.

Inbox

All conversations with unread or recent replies.

All Mail

Every conversation, regardless of status.

Sent

Conversations initiated by you (outreach emails).

Starred

Conversations you've marked as important.

Trash

Deleted conversations (recoverable).

Thread view

Conversations are displayed in a Gmail-style thread with the oldest message at the top and the newest at the bottom. Middle messages in long threads are collapsed by default — click to expand.

Custom labels

Create your own labels with custom colors to categorize conversations (e.g. "Interested," "Follow Up," "Negotiating"). Labels can be applied to any conversation and used as filters.

InterestedFollow UpNegotiating

Replying

Reply, Reply All, or Forward messages directly from the thread view. Quoted content from the previous message is included automatically. You can also view and download inline attachments.

Best Practices

  • Protect your sender reputation

    Start with smaller batches (50–100 emails) and gradually increase volume. A sudden spike in sending from a new address can trigger spam filters. Monitor your bounce rate — keep it below 2%.

  • Personalize beyond the first name

    Use placeholders like {{username}} to reference the creator's handle, or mention specific content you liked. Generic emails get ignored; relevant emails get replies.

  • Keep templates concise

    Aim for 3–5 short paragraphs. State who you are, why you're reaching out, and what the next step is. Avoid walls of text, excessive formatting, or too many links (which can trigger spam filters).

  • Use the "Skip existing conversations" option

    When sending follow-up campaigns to the same collection, always check "Skip existing conversations" to avoid emailing creators you're already talking to.

  • Review the data table carefully

    Step 2 exists for a reason. Missing first names, incorrect handles, or wrong email addresses will make your outreach look sloppy. Take the time to fix gaps before sending.

  • Time your follow-ups

    Wait at least 3–5 business days before sending a follow-up. Create a separate template for follow-ups that references your first email. Use campaign tracking to identify who hasn't replied.

  • Organize with labels

    As replies come in, label conversations by status (e.g. "Interested," "Declined," "Negotiating"). This makes it easy to track pipeline progress and hand off conversations to team members.

FAQ

How does placeholder fallback syntax work?

Use {{placeholder|fallback}} to define a fallback value. For example, {{firstName|there}} inserts the first name or "there" if missing. {{firstName|}} falls back to an empty string. {{firstName}} with no pipe has no fallback — if the value is missing, the raw placeholder text remains in the email.

Why is my sender still showing as "Pending"?

You need to click the verification link in the email sent by SendGrid to your address. Check your spam/junk folder if you don't see it. You can also resend the verification email from the sender settings. Verification links expire after 24 hours.

What happens when an email bounces?

A bounced email means the recipient's mail server rejected delivery. Common causes include invalid email addresses, full mailboxes, or server issues. Bounced emails are marked in the campaign dashboard. Repeated bounces to the same address can harm your sender reputation, so review and remove bad addresses.

Is there a sending limit?

Sending limits depend on your plan and sender reputation. New senders should start with smaller volumes and ramp up gradually. If you hit a limit, the system will notify you. Contact support if you need higher sending volumes for large campaigns.

Can I send outreach to creators without email addresses?

No. Only creators with a valid email address in your collection will be included as recipients. Creators without email addresses are automatically excluded from the outreach.

What does "Test Failed" status mean?

Before sending, each email address is checked via the Abstract Email Reputation API. If the check determines the address is undeliverable or risky, the email is not sent and a conversation with "Test Failed" status is created. You can review these, update the email address, and retry.

Can I edit an email after sending?

No. Once an outreach campaign is sent, the emails are dispatched and cannot be recalled or edited. Always use the Step 3 preview carousel to double-check every email before confirming.

How do I handle replies from creators?

All replies are automatically routed to your influData inbox. You can reply directly from the thread view, use Reply All or Forward, apply labels for organization, and star important conversations. The inbox works like a dedicated email client built into influData.