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Hiveku’s outbound email tooling handles the full cycle: import leads, connect a sending account, build a multi-step sequence, and triage replies in a shared inbox.

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Overview

Cold email works best as a sequence: an initial message, a follow-up a few days later, and a final nudge. Hiveku automates the sending schedule while you focus on copy and list quality.
1

Import your leads

Go to Marketing > Outbound > Leads. You’ve got three ways to load leads:
  • CSV upload — download the template, fill in name, email, company, and any custom fields, then upload
  • Manual add — click Add Lead and enter details by hand
  • Sync from CRM — pull contacts from your Hiveku CRM with a filter (e.g., tag = prospect)
  • Load a lead list — use a saved list as the campaign audience
Keep list sizes reasonable — 50-200 per sequence works better than 2,000. Quality beats volume.
2

Connect a sending email account

Go to Settings > Email Accounts and connect the inbox you’ll send from. Gmail, Outlook, and IMAP are supported — see /how-tos/connect-gmail and /how-tos/connect-outlook for details.
Use a dedicated sending address on a warmed-up domain. Sending cold email from your main company inbox can damage your primary domain’s deliverability.
3

Create a sequence

Go to Marketing > Outbound > Sequences and click New Sequence. Add steps:
  • Day 1 — initial outreach
  • Day 3 — follow-up (“wanted to bump this up”)
  • Day 7 — final nudge (“closing the loop”)
Each step has its own subject, body, and delay from the previous step.
4

Personalize with variables

Drop in variables so each email feels individual:
Hi {{first_name}},

Noticed that {{company}} is hiring — looks like a busy quarter.
Any column in your lead list can be used as a variable. Missing values fall back to a default you specify.
5

Launch the campaign

Assign the sending account, pick a send window (e.g., 9 AM - 5 PM business days), and click Launch. The sequence fires automatically based on your delays and send windows.

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The Unified Inbox

Go to Marketing > Outbound > Inbox for a single view of every reply across every sequence and account.
  • Draft responses inline with AI suggestions
  • Thread history — see every message sent to this lead
  • Live updates — new replies appear in real time
  • Filter by status — unread, replied, snoozed, closed

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Pipeline Stages

Drag leads through stages like Contacted, Replied, Meeting Booked, Closed. Customize stages under Marketing > Outbound > Pipeline Settings.

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Segmentation

Use tags to group leads (verticals, source, seniority) and build campaigns targeted to each segment. Combine with the CRM’s smart lists to keep audiences fresh.

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Blocklist

Go to Marketing > Outbound > Blocklist to suppress specific emails or entire domains. Anyone on the blocklist is skipped — use it for competitors, current customers, and unsubscribes.

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Sending Limits

Each account has a daily sending limit that resets at midnight UTC. Start conservative on a new domain (20-30/day) and ramp up as your reputation builds. Hiveku warns you if you’re about to blow through a limit.

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Verifying It Works

Before launching, add yourself as a one-row lead list and run the sequence against that list. Step through each follow-up to confirm personalization, timing, and formatting all look right.

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Troubleshooting

Usually one of three things:
  • Subject line isn’t pulling opens — A/B test short, specific subjects
  • Personalization feels fake — write like a human, reference something specific about the lead
  • List quality — are these actually the right people? Tighten targeting before volume
Soft bounces (inbox full) are fine. Hard bounces (address doesn’t exist) should be under 2% — higher means your list needs hygiene. Use an email verifier before uploading, and warm up your domain if it’s new.
Gmail and Outlook tokens expire periodically. Go to Settings > Email Accounts and re-authorize. In-flight sequences pause until the account is back, then resume automatically.
Inbox sync polls every few minutes. If a reply is missing after 10 minutes, click Refresh on the account or check that IMAP/OAuth scopes include read access.

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What’s Next?

Outbound Reference

Full reference for sequences, inbox, and deliverability

CRM Contacts

Sync leads with your CRM for longer-term relationship management