--- slug: "outbound-strategy" source_type: "skill_md" source_url: "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/gquthier/outbound-strategy@main/SKILL.md" repo: "https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy" source_file: "SKILL.md" branch: "main" --- --- name: outbound-strategy description: >- Build your own in-house cold email / outbound infrastructure instead of renting Smartlead, Instantly or Lemlist. Use when someone wants to set up self-hosted cold outreach: connecting their own SMTP/IMAP inboxes, sourcing and segmenting B2B leads, writing multi-step sequences, sending at scale with deliverability-safe caps and warmup ramps, classifying replies, and running everything autonomously with monitoring. Triggers on: "cold email infrastructure", "self-hosted outreach", "build my own Smartlead", "outbound system", "send cold email sequences", "lead segmentation", "email deliverability", "warmup", "inbox rotation", "reply tracking". --- # Outbound Strategy — Build Your Own Cold Email Infrastructure A complete, opinionated playbook for building a **self-hosted outbound email system** — the same stack agencies pay $300–$2,000/mo for (Smartlead, Instantly, Lemlist), owned end to end for the price of your inboxes. You drive it with an AI agent. No per-seat SaaS, no data lock-in, no sending limits but the ones you choose. > **What you get:** multi-inbox sending with rotation, multi-step A/B sequences, automatic reply classification, > deliverability-safe daily caps + warmup ramp, a monitoring dashboard, and a cron that runs it all 24/7. --- ## When to use this skill - You have (or will buy) cold-email domains + inboxes and want to **own the sending layer**. - You want an **agent-operable backend** (create campaigns, enroll leads, read replies) instead of clicking a SaaS UI. - You care about **deliverability** and want full control over volume, ramp, and rotation. - You're an agency/consultant who wants to **resell** outbound or run it for clients at near-zero marginal cost. If you just need to send 50 newsletters to opted-in subscribers, use a newsletter tool (listmonk, Keila). This is for **cold B2B outreach at scale**. --- ## The mental model ``` DOMAINS (5–10 throwaway .com/.info) └─ INBOXES (3 per domain) ── SMTP (send) + IMAP (read/replies) └─ ENGINE (outbound-tools: MCP server + CLI, IMAP = database) ├─ Campaigns (multi-step sequences, A/B variants, threaded follow-ups) ├─ Audiences (your segmented leads, 1 contact = 1 inbox) └─ Replies (auto-classified: interested / meeting / bounced / unsubscribe) └─ ORCHESTRATOR (cron → run all campaigns, per-inbox daily cap + warmup ramp) └─ MONITORING (run-log + dashboard + daily Telegram report + bounce alerts) ``` **Why IMAP-as-database?** The engine stores campaigns, contacts, and reply statuses as IMAP keywords/drafts inside your own mailboxes. No external DB to host, your data lives where your email lives, and any campaign state survives even if the app is wiped. --- ## The 7 steps (follow in order) Each step links to a deep-dive in `references/`. Templates to copy are in `templates/`. ### Step 0 — Infrastructure & deliverability (do NOT skip) Buy 5–10 secondary domains (never your main domain). Create ~3 inboxes per domain. Configure **SPF, DKIM, DMARC** on every domain. **Warm up** for 2–4 weeks before real sends. Deliverability is 80% of outbound success — see [`references/deliverability.md`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/references/deliverability.md). ### Step 1 — Stand up the engine Clone the open-source **outbound-tools** MCP server (TypeScript, IMAP/SMTP, zero DB). It ships coupled to a paid inbox broker — **decouple it** to use your own raw SMTP/IMAP credentials. The full decoupling (one file) is in [`references/engine-setup.md`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/references/engine-setup.md) and [`templates/scripts/accounts.ts`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/templates/scripts/accounts.ts). ### Step 2 — Connect your inboxes Put your credentials in a local `accounts.json` (see [`templates/accounts.example.json`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/templates/accounts.example.json)). Two gotchas every self-hoster hits — a TLS apex-cert mismatch, and fresh inboxes shipping with no `Sent`/`Drafts` folders — are solved in [`references/engine-setup.md`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/references/engine-setup.md). Verify with the connectivity test script before anything else. ### Step 3 — Source & segment leads Pull B2B leads (Apollo.io export, scrapers, lists). Then **segment hard** to your ICP — country, company size, title, industry. The [`templates/scripts/extract-leads.py`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/templates/scripts/extract-leads.py) parses heterogeneous CSVs by column name (with aliases), filters by your criteria, dedupes, drops role/junk addresses, and flags your priority segment. See [`references/lead-sourcing.md`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/references/lead-sourcing.md). ### Step 4 — Write sequences that get replies 3 steps, A/B on step 1, follow-ups threaded in the same conversation, light personalization. Short > clever. Templates + the copy framework in [`references/sequences.md`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/references/sequences.md) and [`templates/sequence.example.json`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/templates/sequence.example.json). ### Step 5 — Go autonomous Enroll leads across inboxes (1 contact = 1 inbox), create the campaign on each inbox, then let an **orchestrator** run every active campaign under a **per-inbox daily cap + warmup ramp**. Cron calls it hourly; it self-checks the send window. See [`references/orchestration.md`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/references/orchestration.md) and the scripts in `templates/scripts/`. ### Step 6 — Monitor & know it's working A run-log (every send timestamped), a read-only **dashboard**, and a **daily Telegram report** (sent / replies / interested / bounce rate) with an **alert if bounces spike**. See [`references/monitoring.md`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/references/monitoring.md). ### Step 7 — Deploy 24/7 Drop it on a cheap VPS (€5/mo) next to your mail server, add two cron lines, and it runs itself. See [`references/deployment.md`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/references/deployment.md). --- ## Deliverability — the 10 rules that decide everything 1. **Never send from your primary domain.** Use lookalike secondaries. 2. **SPF + DKIM + DMARC on every domain**, before the first send. 3. **Warm up 2–4 weeks.** New domains sending cold = instant spam. 4. **Cap 20–40/inbox/day.** More inboxes for volume, never more per inbox. 5. **Ramp up**, don't jump: start ~8/inbox/day, +a few per week. 6. **Rotate inboxes.** Spread volume; one campaign ≠ one inbox at scale. 7. **No tracking pixels / link tracking on cold.** They tank deliverability and most pros disable them. 8. **Plain text, 1 link max, no images, no attachments** on the first touch. 9. **Honor opt-outs instantly.** Tag `unsubscribed`/`do_not_contact` as terminal — never email again. 10. **Watch the bounce rate.** Above ~3–5% → pause, the list or the inboxes are bad. Full detail: [`references/deliverability.md`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/references/deliverability.md). --- ## Cost reality | | SaaS (Smartlead/Instantly) | This (self-hosted) | |---|---|---| | Sending tool | $39–$300+/mo | $0 (open source) | | Inboxes (15) | included / metered | ~$3/inbox/mo at a provider, or self-host | | Leads | extra | bring your own | | Data ownership | theirs | **yours (in your mailboxes)** | | Agent-operable | limited API | **native (MCP + CLI)** | | Marginal cost / client | per-seat | **~zero** | --- ## How to drive it (once built) The agent operates the system through the CLI or the MCP tools: ``` enroll leads → distribute a segmented CSV across inboxes (1 contact = 1 inbox) create campaign → multi-step sequence on each inbox orchestrator → run all active campaigns under daily cap + ramp (cron) report → daily Telegram summary + bounce alert classify replies → auto-tag interested / meeting / bounced / unsubscribe ``` Concrete commands: [`references/orchestration.md`](https://github.com/gquthier/outbound-strategy/blob/HEAD/references/orchestration.md) and `templates/scripts/`. --- ## Files in this skill - `references/` — deep-dives: architecture, deliverability, engine-setup, lead-sourcing, sequences, orchestration, monitoring, deployment. - `templates/` — copy-paste configs + a generic, runnable version of every script (accounts provider, lead extractor, enroll, create-campaign, orchestrator, report). - `PRESENTATION.md` — a ready-to-record video script explaining the whole build. **Engine credit:** built on the open-source [`outbound-tools`](https://github.com/arnaudjnn/outbound-tools) MCP server. This skill adds the decoupling, lead segmentation, autonomous orchestration, monitoring, and deployment layers.