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Get the most out of Smelt with these proven tips.

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Data Preparation

  • Remove empty rows
  • Trim whitespace from cells
  • Fix obvious typos in company names
  • Standardize job titles where possible
Keep column names consistent across files if you reuse templates. Company and Company Name are different variables.
While Smelt detects duplicates, removing them beforehand saves processing and usage.
The more context you provide, the better the personalization:
  • Job title + seniority level
  • Industry + sub-industry
  • Company size + growth stage
  • Location (city, not just country)
  • Recent news or funding info
When exporting from Excel or Google Sheets, always choose UTF-8 for best compatibility.

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Template Writing

Tell the AI exactly what you want:❌ “Write a hook”✅ “Write a 1-sentence opening hook under 150 characters. Start with their pain point, not a compliment.”
Show the AI what good output looks like:
Example outputs:
- "Scaling a SaaS team in Austin's competitive market takes serious capital—"
- "Construction projects don't wait for slow bank approvals—"
Use forbidden words and explicit instructions:
Do NOT include:
- Generic phrases like "hope this finds you well"
- Questions in the opening line
- The word "excited"
  • Hooks: 100-200 characters
  • Pain points: 150-300 characters
  • Full emails: 500-1000 characters
  • CTAs: 50-100 characters
Reference your data in the prompt:
Write a hook for {{First Name}}, a {{Job Title}} at {{Company}} 
in {{City}}, {{Industry}} industry.
Always test on 5-10 rows before running thousands. It’s worth the small usage cost to catch prompt issues early.

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Cost Optimization

If processing 10,000+ rows/month, BYOK saves significant money. You pay ~0.001−0.002perrowvs0.001-0.002 per row vs 0.02-0.10 on per-credit platforms.
When creating a new job, start with 10-50 rows to verify output quality. Then scale up.
Build a library of tested templates. Reuse them rather than recreating from scratch each time.
Check Settings → Billing to track your usage against limits. Avoid surprises.
Each template in a chain multiplies usage:
  • 1,000 rows × 1 template = 1,000 usage
  • 1,000 rows × 3 templates = 3,000 usage
Only chain when you need the output dependency.
If running multiple campaigns with the same template, combine into one job when possible.

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Quality Optimization

Filter results by “has flags” and review those first. They’re most likely to need edits.
Add words that don’t fit your brand:
  • Competitor names
  • Overused phrases (“synergy”, “leverage”)
  • Words that trigger spam filters
If outputs are consistently off, revise the prompt:
  1. Run small test batch
  2. Review outputs
  3. Identify patterns in bad outputs
  4. Adjust prompt
  5. Repeat
Help the AI understand your product/offer:
Context: We provide fast business funding ($10K-$500K) 
with approval in 24 hours. Our target is small businesses 
that need capital quickly.

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Workflow Tips

Start Simple

Begin with 1 template (hook or first line). Add more templates after you’ve validated quality.

Document Your Templates

Use clear names: “SaaS Hook v2 - Pain Focus” not “Template 1”

Version Your Templates

When iterating, duplicate and rename: “Hook v1” → “Hook v2” rather than editing in place.

Export Regularly

Download results after each job completes. Don’t rely on Smelt as long-term storage.