Cold Email Workflow

Smelt is Stage 3 in the cold email workflow. Here’s how it fits with your other tools.

The 4-Stage Workflow

┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐
│  STAGE 1    │    │  STAGE 2    │    │  STAGE 3    │    │  STAGE 4    │
│  Find Leads │ → │ Enrich Data │ → │   Generate  │ → │ Send Emails │
│             │    │             │    │    Copy     │    │             │
└─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘
     Apollo            Clay              SMELT            Instantly
     ListKit           Clearbit          ← YOU ARE        Lemlist
     ZoomInfo          Apollo             HERE            Smartlead
     LinkedIn          enrichment

Stage-by-Stage

Stage 1: Find Leads

Build your lead list with contact data.Tools: Apollo, ListKit, ZoomInfo, LinkedIn Sales NavigatorOutput: CSV with names, emails, companies, titles

Stage 2: Enrich Data

Add more data points to your leads.Tools: Clay, Clearbit, Apollo enrichmentOutput: CSV with additional fields (industry, revenue, tech stack, funding, etc.)

Stage 3: Generate Copy (Smelt)

Turn your enriched data into personalized copy.Tool: SmeltOutput: CSV with new AI-generated columns (hooks, pain points, CTAs)

Stage 4: Send Emails

Import your personalized CSV and send.Tools: Instantly, Lemlist, Smartlead, Apollo sequencesOutput: Emails in inboxes → Replies → Revenue

Integration Examples

Apollo → Smelt → Instantly
ListKit → Clay → Smelt → Lemlist
ZoomInfo → Smelt → Smartlead

Simple flow without enrichment:

Export leads from Apollo as CSV
Upload to Smelt
Generate personalized hooks and pain points
Export from Smelt
Import to Instantly with personalization columns
Send campaigns

CSV Column Mapping

Your sending tool uses Smelt’s output columns as personalization variables:

Smelt Output Column	In Instantly	In Lemlist	In Smartlead
`Hook`	`{{Hook}}`	`{{Hook}}`	`{{Hook}}`
`Pain_Point`	`{{Pain_Point}}`	`{{Pain_Point}}`	`{{Pain_Point}}`
`CTA`	`{{CTA}}`	`{{CTA}}`	`{{CTA}}`
`First_Line`	`{{First_Line}}`	`{{First_Line}}`	`{{First_Line}}`

Name your output columns clearly—they become the personalization variables in your sending tool!

Why Smelt vs. Built-In AI?

Many sending tools have built-in AI personalization. Here’s why Smelt is different:

Feature	Smelt	Built-in AI (Instantly, Lemlist)
Pricing	BYOK (10-50x cheaper)	Per-credit
Custom prompts	Fully customizable	Limited options
Quality scoring	11 quality flags + auto-fix	Basic or none
Template chaining	✅ Multi-step workflows	❌
Template library	17 pre-built templates	Varies
Batch testing	✅ Before full runs	Limited
Works with any sender	✅ CSV export	Locked into platform
Cost transparency	See exact API costs	Hidden in credits

The Cost Advantage

Example: 50,000 leads/month with 2 templates = 100,000 AI generations

Method	Cost
Clay AI credits	$2,000 -$ 10,000
Instantly AI credits	$500 -$ 2,000
Smelt BYOK	$100 -$ 200

Smelt isn’t replacing your sending tool—it’s giving you better personalization before you send.

What If I Don’t Have Enriched Data?

Smelt works with whatever data you have:

Your Data	What Smelt Can Do
Just name, email, company	Generate basic personalization
+ Job title, industry	Generate role-specific messaging
+ Location, company size	Add regional/scale context
+ Tech stack, funding	Deep personalization with specifics

More data = better personalization. But even basic fields (name, company, title) create significantly better results than generic templates.

Recommended Stacks

Budget-Friendly

Apollo (find + light enrich) → Smelt (generate) → Instantly (send)

High Volume

ListKit (find) → Clay (enrich) → Smelt (generate) → Smartlead (send)

Enterprise

ZoomInfo (find + enrich) → Smelt (generate) → Outreach/Salesloft (send)

Get Started

Account & Billing

Files & Data

Templates

Custom Variables

Jobs

Results

API Keys & Billing

Workflow

Help

The 4-Stage Workflow

Stage-by-Stage

Integration Examples

CSV Column Mapping

Why Smelt vs. Built-In AI?

The Cost Advantage

What If I Don’t Have Enriched Data?

Recommended Stacks

Budget-Friendly

High Volume

Enterprise

​The 4-Stage Workflow

​Stage-by-Stage

​Integration Examples

​CSV Column Mapping

​Why Smelt vs. Built-In AI?

​The Cost Advantage

​What If I Don’t Have Enriched Data?

​Recommended Stacks

​Budget-Friendly

​High Volume

​Enterprise

The 4-Stage Workflow

Stage-by-Stage

Integration Examples

CSV Column Mapping

Why Smelt vs. Built-In AI?

The Cost Advantage

What If I Don’t Have Enriched Data?

Recommended Stacks

Budget-Friendly

High Volume

Enterprise