22-Node n8n Workflow for Re-engaging Cold Leads

The Core Problem

Phase 1: Data RetrievalData Retrieval & Setup

const closeData = $input.item.json;

return {
  json: {
    lead_id: closeData.id,
    lead_name: closeData.name,
    company: closeData.company_name,
    email: closeData.email,
    linkedin_url: closeData.custom.LinkedIn_URL || null,
    last_contact: closeData.last_activity_date,
    deal_value: closeData.opportunities[0]?.value || 0,
    previous_emails: closeData.email_thread || []
  }
};        

GET https://api.instantly.ai/api/v2/emails
Headers: Authorization: Bearer {API_KEY}
Query params: search: {{ $json.email }}        

Node 8: Merge into Spreadsheet Object

const closeData = $('JSON Parse Response').item.json;
const instantlyData = $('Get Lead Data From Instantly').item.json;
const formattedThread = $('Format Email Thread into HTML').item.json;

return {
  json: {
    ...closeData,
    instantly_campaign: instantlyData.campaign_name || 'None',
    last_email_sent: instantlyData.last_sent_date || null,
    email_thread_formatted_html: formattedThread.forwarded_html
  }
};        

Phase 2: Intelligence Gathering (Parallel Execution)

Track A: Company Website Scraping

Actor: apify/web-scraper
Input:
  startUrls: [{{ $json.company_website }}]
  maxCrawlDepth: 1
  maxPagesPerCrawl: 3        

Track B: LinkedIn Intelligence

// Get all the data sources
const leadData = $('Append or update row in sheet').first().json;
const templates = $('Get Email Templates').all().map(item => item.json);
const websiteData = $input.all().find(item => item.json?.url)?.json || null;
const linkedinPosts = $input.all().find(item => item.json?.posts)?.json || null;

return [{
  json: {
    lead_data: leadData,
    all_templates: templates,
    website_content: websiteData,
    linkedin_posts: linkedinPosts,
    processing_timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
  }
}];        

{{ $json.linkedin_url }}.includes('linkedin.com/in/')        

Actor: linkedin-profile-posts-scraper
Input:
  username: {{ $json.linkedin_url }}
  limit: 3        

{
  "posts": [
    {
      "text": "Scaling from 20 to 100 engineers...",
      "timestamp": "2025-01-15",
      "engagement": { "likes": 47, "comments": 12 }
    }
  ]
}        

const leadData = $('Append or update row in sheet').first().json;
const websiteData = $('Apify: Scrape site url').first()?.json || null;
const linkedinData = $('Apify: Get last 3 LI posts').first()?.json || null;

return [{
  json: {
    lead_data: leadData,
    website_content: websiteData,
    linkedin_posts: linkedinData,
    processing_timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
  }
}];        

Phase 3: AI Analysis & Generation

Model: openai/gpt-4o
Temperature: 0.7
Max tokens: 1500        

You are analyzing a lead for re-engagement.

CONTEXT:
- Lead name: {{ $json.lead_data.first_name }} {{ $json.lead_data.last_name }}
- Company: {{ $json.lead_data.company }}
- Last contact: {{ $json.lead_data.last_contact }}
- Email history: {{ $json.lead_data.email_thread_formatted_html }}

RECENT ACTIVITY:
- LinkedIn Posts: {{ $json.linkedin_posts }}
- Company Website: {{ $json.website_content.text }}

EMAIL TEMPLATES (for style reference):
{{ $('Get Email Templates').all().map(item => item.json) }}

TASK:
Analyze this information and write personalized follow-up emails.

Generate emails that:
- Reference something specific from their recent activity
- Acknowledge the previous conversation if relevant
- Keep it short (3-4 sentences max)
- Sound natural
- Use the template styles as inspiration but personalize heavily

Return ONLY a valid JSON array:
[{
  "step_number": 1,
  "days_delay": 2,
  "personalized_subject": "...",
  "personalized_body": "..."
}, ...]        

Subject: Congrats on the Series B

Hey [Name],

Saw [Company] just launched—love the "visual answer engine" positioning.

We chatted in March about the podcast but timing wasn't right
(house move, totally get it). Now that you're post-launch, curious
if showcasing [Company]'s approach would be valuable?

15-min to explore?        

const aiOutput = $input.first().json.output;
const jsonMatch = aiOutput.match(/```json\n([\s\S]*?)\n```/);

if (jsonMatch && jsonMatch[1]) {
  const emailArray = JSON.parse(jsonMatch[1]);
  return emailArray.map(email => ({
    json: {
      step_number: email.step_number,
      days_delay: email.days_delay,
      personalized_subject: email.personalized_subject,
      personalized_body: email.personalized_body
    }
  }));
}        

const allEmails = $input.all();
const customVariables = {};

allEmails.forEach(emailItem => {
  const step = emailItem.json.step_number;
  customVariables[`custom_subject_${step}`] = emailItem.json.personalized_subject;
  customVariables[`custom_body_${step}`] = emailItem.json.personalized_body;
});

return [{
  json: {
    lead_email: $('Data Assembly').first().json.lead_data.contact_email,
    variables: customVariables
  }
}];        

Node 22: Add Lead to Instantly Campaign

POST https://api.instantly.ai/api/v2/leads
Headers:
  Authorization: Bearer {API_KEY}
  Content-Type: application/json
Body:
{
  "campaign_id": "xyz123",
  "email": "{{ $json.lead_email }}",
  "custom_variables": {{ JSON.stringify($json.variables) }}
}        

The Results

If You're Building This: No-Brainer Upgrades to Add

let score = 0;

// LinkedIn signals
if (linkedinPosts.some(post => post.text.match(/funding|hiring|scaling/i))) score += 3;
if (linkedinPosts.length >= 2) score += 1;

// Website signals  
if (websiteContent.match(/Series|raised|launched/i)) score += 2;

// Engagement history
if (emailOpenRate > 0.5) score += 1;

return score; // 0-7 scale
        

const lead = $json;

// Skip if:
if (lead.deal_value < 10000) return false; // Deal too small
if (lead.days_since_last_contact > 365) return false; // Too stale  
if (lead.email_bounced) return false; // Bad data
if (lead.explicit_rejection) return false; // They said no clearly

return true; // Worth re-engaging
        

The Honest Truth

Final Thoughts