Lemlist Setup

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name: email-infra-lemlist-setup
description: "Set up and connect sending inboxes in Lemlist (infrastructure side), including its multichannel email + LinkedIn setup. Use for connecting Google, Microsoft, and custom-SMTP inboxes to Lemlist, lemwarm warmup, sending limits, ESP matching, inbox rotation, LinkedIn limits, blocklist/unsubscribe, and vendor-managed versus in-house setup. Triggers on Lemlist setup, lemwarm, Lemlist connect inboxes, Email Provider Matchmaker, Lemlist LinkedIn limits, Deliverability Hub. Do NOT use for writing sequences or copy (use gt-cold-email), buying domains (use the domain-research sub-skill), or another sequencer (use instantly-setup / emailbison-setup / smartlead-setup)."
---

# Lemlist Inbox Setup · [Sales Ops]

> **Reads:** `{SKILL_BASE}/resources/reference.md` §1, §5, §10 · `{SKILL_BASE}/resources/approved-vendors.md` · **Related:** provisioning, warmup-golive, campaign-building.

> 🔒 **Read-only area.** Connecting an inbox to the sequencer is done from the **email infra management system**. Follow this sub-skill for the standard each inbox must meet and to read and verify live state (setup-audit rows 1–7); do not connect, reconnect or swap inboxes by hand.

Set up sending inboxes in **Lemlist** (one of the sequencers Growth Today runs). Lemlist is **multichannel** (email + LinkedIn), so this covers LinkedIn limits too. Infrastructure/inbox side only, sequences and copy live in `gt-cold-email`. Numbers in `{SKILL_BASE}/resources/reference.md` §1, §5.

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## Part 0, Who does the setup

**Rule:** 1 Lemlist user = **5 campaign inboxes + 1 LinkedIn account** minimum.

**Default: a vendor** (e.g. ScaledMail) connects the inboxes to the users, send the vendor a brief ("connect these 5 inboxes for user X; do not remove them from Bison"). **Fallback: in-house** (Parts 1–4). Growth Today always owns QA, warmup, and the GTM handoff.

Also connect the **client's primary inbox** (to receive replies) but **keep its seat OFF**: we don't send from it. Turn the **active seat ON** for each campaign inbox.

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## Part 1, Connecting inboxes + LinkedIn

Settings → Sending settings → **connect email address** → pick provider.
- **Google/Gmail:** OAuth + Gmail API (not SMTP, not app-password), grant all permission boxes. One at a time.
- **Microsoft/Outlook:** OAuth, enter credentials, accept permissions, one at a time. MFA/conditional-access can block it → have the client's IT admin allow Lemlist.
- **Custom SMTP/IMAP:** both required. STARTTLS: SMTP 587 / IMAP 143 (SSL off); or SSL: SMTP 465 / IMAP 993 (SSL on).

**Client LinkedIn:** send the client the connect instructions and follow up, it's a blocker for multichannel. LinkedIn limits per account: **20 invites/day, 30 messages/day, 30 profile visits/day, max 100 actions/day**; new accounts ramp from **2–5 invites/day**; only **3 custom-note invites/month** (standard invites unaffected).

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## Part 2, Warmup (lemwarm)

> **Only use lemwarm if the inboxes are NOT already warmed in another tool.** If warmed elsewhere, skip.

- Lemwarm dashboard → Connect email → start.
- **Ramp:** lemwarm steps up on its own; set the **ceiling** to §1 `google_warmup` / `outlook_warmup` for the provider. Lemwarm emails **don't** count toward the Lemlist daily send limit, but keep **total per mailbox ≤ 60–70/day** (Lemlist + lemwarm + manual replies).
- **Duration:** warm **≥ 21 days / 3 weeks** (GT floor, `reference.md` §5). Lemlist's own deliverability-score gates: <65 pause & fix DNS; 65–90 warmup only; >90 ready for campaigns. That score is Lemlist's scale, not ours — it does not replace §2 `warmup_score_active`, which is what our classifier uses. Both have to clear.
- lemwarm is a **separate Lemlist product/plan**: confirm it's active for the account.

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## Part 3, Sending limits + deliverability

Set on **each inbox and each user**:
- **Google 20/day, Microsoft 5/day** per inbox (align with `{SKILL_BASE}/resources/reference.md` §1).
- **Disable open/link tracking:** Campaign → Settings → Tracking (opens/clicks OFF; replies on). Note: enabling any tracking now **requires a Custom Tracking Domain**.
- **ESP matching (Email Provider Matchmaker):** enable at team level if the account has **both** a Google and a Microsoft mailbox (Settings → Sending settings → Deliverability boost). Use as a lever the dashboard matrix supports (the campaign-building sub-skill), not a blind rule.
- **Inbox rotation:** for multi-sender / higher volume, select multiple senders on the email step (round-robin); force a specific sender only where a named person must send a step.
- **First email plain text**, no links (the warmup-golive sub-skill launch gate).
- **Account signature clean:** no images, logos, or links in the account signature, signatures are handled in sequence steps only, sender names checked across all connected inboxes.
- **Warning notifications ON:** high bounce rate + LinkedIn disconnection.

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## Part 4, Blocklist, CRM, preferences

- **Blocklist/unsubscribe:** turn ON "add unsubscribes to blocklist automatically"; add opt-out keywords (unsubscribe; stop; remove; not interested; …). Upload the client's existing blocklist (customers, active deals) and exclude those domains from Clay tables to save credits. Ask the client to unsubscribe leads as replies come in.
- **CRM (HubSpot):** connect at **team level**; create contacts/companies on reply; map fields, users, activities; check Logs for sync errors.
- **Preferences:** default opportunity value (`{SKILL_BASE}/resources/reference.md` §10) unless the AM confirms a different ACV, correct timezone (EU vs US), AI auto-tag replies ON, AI Inbox Manager OFF, OOO auto-tag ON, lead preferences OFF.
- **Custom tracking domain (only if a client insists):** CNAME **Host = a subdomain you choose** → **Target `custom.lemlist.com`** + a TXT verification record; Cloudflare set to DNS-only. GT default = none.

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## Part 5, Cross-sequencer rule

If an inbox is used in Lemlist, prevent double-sending from another sequencer: set its cold send to **0 in Instantly / 1 in EmailBison** and **tag it "Lemlist."**

**Bi-directional:** the rule runs both ways, regardless of which two sequencers are in play. Whichever sequencer's lead gets a positive or neutral reply first, stop that same lead in the other sequencer(s) so it doesn't keep getting sequenced elsewhere. Check reply status before each send cycle (via the platform's own reply/webhook data where available) and pause or remove the lead in the other tool the same day the reply lands.

Placement/health: check the **Deliverability Hub** (delivery + bounce rate by provider/mailbox/domain, warmup score, manual inbox-placement tests, threshold alerts).

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## ✅ LEMLIST SETUP CHECKLIST (copy-paste)

```
INBOXES & LINKEDIN
[ ] 5 campaign inboxes per user, active seat ON
[ ] Client primary inbox connected, seat OFF (receive-only)
[ ] Google 20/day, Microsoft 5/day set per inbox
[ ] LinkedIn: 20 invites / 30 msgs / 30 visits / max 100 actions/day; new accounts ramp 2-5 invites/day
[ ] Client connected LinkedIn (blocker for multichannel)

WARMUP
[ ] lemwarm ONLY if not warmed elsewhere; ceiling set from §1 `google_warmup` / `outlook_warmup`
[ ] Total per mailbox <= 60-70/day (Lemlist + lemwarm + manual)
[ ] Warmed >= 21 days; Lemlist deliverability score > 90 AND §2 `warmup_score_active` met

DELIVERABILITY
[ ] Open + link tracking OFF; first email plain text
[ ] ESP Matchmaker evaluated (needs a Google + a Microsoft inbox)
[ ] Inbox rotation set for multi-sender/high volume
[ ] Warning notifications ON (bounce, LinkedIn disconnect)
[ ] No custom tracking domain (unless client insists -> dedicated)
[ ] Cross-sequencer: cold 0 in Instantly / 1 in Bison, tag "Lemlist"
[ ] Signature clean (no images/logos/links), sender names correct

CRM & BLOCKLIST
[ ] HubSpot connected at team level; field/user/activity mapping; logs clean
[ ] Blocklist auto-add ON + opt-out keywords; client blocklist uploaded
[ ] Preferences: opportunity value (reference.md §10) unless AM confirms, timezone, AI auto-tag on / Inbox Manager off, lead preferences OFF
[ ] Positive/neutral reply in one sequencer stops the lead in the other(s)
[ ] DNS verified (SPF/DKIM/DMARC) per inbox (the provisioning sub-skill)
[ ] GTM Engineer + AM notified inboxes are ready
```

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> **Internal reference (Growth Today team).** In-house step-by-step SOP (access-gated; do not delete, referenced by this skill): [Lemlist Account Setup SOP](https://app.notion.com/p/growth-today/Lemlist-Account-Setup-SOP-38199b4b261981ce98dedb0d65d391be). This sub-skill is the primary source going forward; verify Lemlist figures in-product, as Lemlist revises these often.

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*Created by [Growth Today](https://www.growthtoday.co), the AI-native GTM engineering firm. Maintained by [Brigitta Ruha](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigittaruha/). More open Claude Skills for go-to-market teams: https://www.growthtoday.co/claude-skills*