Workflow

Send Personalized Cold Outreach to LinkedIn Connections

Download your LinkedIn connections, research each person with AI, qualify leads, and send personalized cold outreach emails at scale using their profile and company data.

Needle Team

Last updated

November 15, 2025

Connectors used

Google Sheets
hunter
LinkedIn
Google Mail

Tags

Cold EmailLinkedIn OutreachSales AutomationEmail Personalization

Key Takeaways

  • AI researches each person before writing - not just mail merge, but actual web search and profile analysis
  • Email finding and verification - uses Hunter.io to find and verify email addresses automatically
  • Lead scoring built in - AI rates each connection 1-10 so you focus on the best fits first
  • Customizable email template - adjust the tone, offer, and signature to match your style

What This Workflow Does

This workflow loads your LinkedIn connections from Google Sheets, researches each person with AI, finds their email via Hunter.io, looks up their company through LinkedIn API, scores them as a lead, generates a personalized email, and sends it via Gmail.

Use cases:

  • Turn LinkedIn connections into a qualified outreach pipeline
  • Send personalized cold emails based on actual profile and company data
  • Prioritize which connections to reach out to first using lead scores

How It Works

StepWhat Happens
1. Manual triggerYou start the workflow
2. Load connectionsReads your LinkedIn connection data from Google Sheets
3. Parse dataCode node structures each row (name, company, position, connected date)
4. AI research + email findWeb search per person + Hunter.io to find and verify their email address
5. Company researchLinkedIn API looks up employee count and industry
6. Lead qualificationAI scores each lead 1-10 based on role fit, company size, buying signals
7. Personalized emailAI writes a custom email referencing their profile and company
8. Send via GmailDelivers the email

How to Get Your LinkedIn Connections

  1. Go to linkedin.com/mypreferences/d/download-my-data
  2. Select "Connections" from the data export options
  3. Request the export (LinkedIn will email you when ready, usually within 10 minutes)
  4. Download the Connections.csv file
  5. Upload to Google Sheets

Expected columns: First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Company, Position, Connected On


Setup Instructions

  1. Click "Use template" on this page
  2. Export your LinkedIn connections and upload them to Google Sheets
  3. Connect integrations: Google Sheets, Gmail, Hunter.io, LinkedIn API
  4. Update the Google Sheets URL in the workflow to point to your sheet
  5. Customize the email template in the final AI node (sender name, signature, Calendly link)
  6. Test with 1-2 connections before running at scale

Customization

What You Can ChangeHow
Email tone and offerEdit the system prompt in the final AI node
Lead scoring criteriaEdit the system prompt in the qualification AI node
Google Sheets sourceUpdate the URL in the Google Sheets node
Email signatureUpdate sender name, title, and links in the Gmail instructions

FAQ

Q: Do I need LinkedIn Premium? A: No. The workflow uses LinkedIn's public API for company research, which doesn't require Premium.

Q: What if Hunter.io can't find an email? A: The workflow will still attempt to use any email from your LinkedIn export. You can add a filter node to skip contacts without verified emails.

Q: How many emails can I send per day? A: Gmail limits vary (500/day for Google Workspace, 500/day for personal accounts). Start with 20-50/day to maintain good sender reputation.

Q: Can I use a different email provider? A: The template uses Gmail, but you can swap the Gmail node for another email integration.

Q: Can I send in batches? A: Yes. Add a filter node after the Google Sheets input to process a subset of rows at a time.

Want to showcase your own workflows?

Become a Needle workflow partner and turn your expertise into recurring revenue.

Try Needle today

Streamline AI productivity at your company today

Join thousands of people who have transformed their workflows.

Agentic workflowsAutomations, meet AI agents
AI SearchAll your data, searchable
Chat widgetsDrop-in widget for your website
Developer APIMake your app talk to Needle
    Needle LogoNeedle
    Like many websites, we use cookies to enhance your experience, analyze site traffic and deliver personalized content while you are here. By clicking "Accept", you are giving us your consent to use cookies in this way. Read our more on our cookie policy .