Lemlist: Automating B2B Email Prospecting

What is Lemlist?

Lemlist is a B2B prospecting platform that lets you send automated, personalized email sequences. It is one of the most popular cold emailing tools in Europe.

Key features

• Multi-channel sequences: email, LinkedIn, calls
• Advanced personalization: dynamic variables, personalized images
• Email warm-up: automatic domain warm-up to improve deliverability
• Enrichment: built-in database for finding emails
• Analytics: real-time open rates, clicks, and replies

Initial setup

1. Prepare your sending domain

Rule #1: never prospect using your company's primary domain.

Primary domain: mycompany.com         → DO NOT use
Prospecting domain: get-mycompany.com → Use this one

2. Configure DNS records

Three essential DNS records for deliverability:

3. Warm up the domain

Before sending campaigns, you need to warm up your email address for 2 to 4 weeks:

graph LR
    A[Week 1<br/>5 emails/day] --> B[Week 2<br/>15 emails/day]
    B --> C[Week 3<br/>30 emails/day]
    C --> D[Week 4<br/>50+ emails/day]

Lemlist includes a built-in automatic warm-up tool called lemwarm:

• Activates warm-up as soon as the account is created
• Simulates natural conversations with other users
• Gradually improves your sender reputation

Importing your prospects

From a CSV file

Expected format for Lemlist:

email,firstName,lastName,companyName,phone,customField1
john.doe@company.com,John,Doe,Company Inc,+15551234567,Italian restaurant
jane.smith@startup.io,Jane,Smith,Startup IO,+15559876543,Web agency

Recommended columns

List cleaning

Before importing, verify your emails with a validation tool:

• ZeroBounce: checks email validity
• NeverBounce: detects invalid emails
• Lemlist built-in: basic verification on import

A bounce rate above 5% seriously harms your deliverability. Aim for less than 2%.

Creating an effective email sequence

Structure of a typical sequence

graph TD
    A[Email 1: First contact<br/>Day 0] -->|+3 days| B[Email 2: Value follow-up<br/>Day 3]
    B -->|+4 days| C[Email 3: Social proof<br/>Day 7]
    C -->|+5 days| D[Email 4: Last attempt<br/>Day 12]
    D -->|No reply| E[End of sequence]
    A -->|Reply| F[Manual conversation]
    B -->|Reply| F
    C -->|Reply| F
    D -->|Reply| F

Email 1: First contact

Subject: {{companyName}} + [your offer]

Hi {{firstName}},

I'm reaching out because I noticed that {{companyName}} 
{{icebreaker}}.

At [your company], we help [type of business] 
like {{companyName}} to [main benefit].

[Quick proof: key figure or similar client]

Would you be available for a 15-minute call this week?

Best regards,
[Your first name]

Email 1 rules:

• Short subject line (< 50 characters)
• Personalization from the very first sentence
• A single clear CTA (call-to-action)
• No attachments
• Under 150 words

Email 2: Value-added follow-up

Subject: Re: {{companyName}} + [your offer]

Hi {{firstName}},

I'm following up on my previous message.

I've put together [a guide / a case study / an analysis] 
on [topic relevant to the prospect] that I think 
might interest you.

[Link to the resource]

Do you have 10 minutes to discuss it?

Have a great week, {{firstName}}!
[Your first name]

Email 3: Social proof

Subject: How [similar client] achieved [result]

{{firstName}},

[Similar client] faced the same challenge as {{companyName}}: 
[common problem].

In [time period], they managed to:
• [Quantified result 1]
• [Quantified result 2]

I'd love to show you how in just 15 minutes.

[Your first name]

Email 4: Last attempt (break-up email)

Subject: Last attempt

{{firstName}},

I don't want to bother you, so this will be my 
last message.

If [your offer] isn't a priority right now, 
I completely understand.

If you change your mind, feel free to reply to this email.

All the best,
[Your first name]

Lemlist personalization variables

Optimizing deliverability

Golden rules

1. Gradual volume: start with 20-30 emails/day, increase progressively
2. Personalization: every email must be unique (avoid identical templates)
3. Unsubscribe: always include a way to opt out
4. List hygiene: remove bounces and unsubscribes immediately
5. Send times: Tuesday to Thursday, 8-10 AM or 2-4 PM
6. Text ratio: no complex HTML, no heavy images

Benchmark metrics (B2B cold email)

Integration with Google Places API

Complete workflow connecting scraping to prospecting:

graph LR
    A[Google Places API<br/>Business scraping] --> B[Enrichment<br/>Emails + decision-makers]
    B --> C[Cleaning<br/>Email verification]
    C --> D[Lemlist Import<br/>Formatted CSV]
    D --> E[Email sequence<br/>Automation]
    E --> F[Replies<br/>CRM]

1. Scrape businesses with Google Places API (previous chapter)
2. Enrich with emails extracted from websites
3. Verify emails with ZeroBounce or NeverBounce
4. Format into a Lemlist-compatible CSV
5. Import and launch the sequence