# Email Campaign Setup — Tools & Playbook Bar prep institutional outreach: 198 ABA-accredited law schools, May 1 – July 21, 2026. --- ## The Stack - **Instantly Growth** ($30/month, annual billing) — sequences, sending, built-in lead tracking - **Fastmail** (existing) — receives all replies at sanoj@shepbarprep.com - **Cal.com** (free) — scheduling link for 15-minute calls That's it. Notion webhooks and CRM automation are not needed at this volume. Use Instantly's built-in lead view to track who replied, who didn't, and who bounced. --- ## Sending Identity **From:** Sanoj Allen `` Use shepbarprep.com, not sheplegal.com. Keeps the primary domain (strategy@sheplegal.com) clean for investor and partner communication. shepbarprep.com is already wired in Fastmail. --- ## Setup Task List (Complete Before May 1) - [ ] Sign up for Instantly Growth at instantly.ai ($30/month, annual billing) - [ ] Generate a Fastmail app password for sanoj@shepbarprep.com - Fastmail → Settings → Privacy & Security → App Passwords → New App Password → name it "Instantly" - Copy the generated password (shown once) - [ ] Connect the inbox in Instantly - SMTP server: `smtp.fastmail.com` - Port: `465` - Encryption: SSL - Username: `sanoj@shepbarprep.com` - Password: the app password from the step above - [ ] Turn on warmup immediately — even 3–4 days before launch helps deliverability - [ ] Import school contact list as CSV (columns: school_name, contact_name, email) - [ ] Build the 3-step sequence using `{{school_name}}` and `{{contact_name}}` variables (copy from Institutional Sales Playbook) - [ ] Set send window: business hours only (9am–5pm), 30–40 emails/day max - [ ] Add Cal.com scheduling link to the Email 1 CTA and Email 2 follow-up --- ## Sequence Structure | Step | Timing | Content | |------|--------|---------| | Email 1 | Day 1 | Introduction — essay practice pilot for {{school_name}} bar takers | | Email 2 (follow-up) | Day 6–8 after Email 1, non-responders only | Shorter, references Email 1, offers discount code as lower-commitment option | | Email 3 (final) | ~June 1+, unconverted pipeline | Urgency — "Your students have 8 weeks left" | Full email copy is in `3. Institutional Sales Playbook.md`. --- ## Lead Tracking (Instantly Built-In) Use Instantly's lead view as the pipeline. No Notion sync needed. States to use inside Instantly: - **No reply** — default - **Replied** — move to this when a response comes in, handle in Fastmail - **Call scheduled** — after Cal.com booking - **Closed (Model A)** — site license deal signed - **Closed (Model B)** — discount code distributed - **Pass** — not interested or unresponsive after all three touches --- ## Pricing Reference | Plan | Monthly (annual) | Active contacts | Emails/month | |------|-----------------|-----------------|--------------| | Instantly Growth | $30 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 198 contacts and ~600 total emails fit the Growth plan with room to spare. Upgrade only if volume expands beyond 800 active contacts. --- ## What Not to Use - **Mailchimp** — opt-in newsletter tool, not cold outreach sequencing - **Superhuman** — does not connect to Fastmail; skip unless migrating to Google Workspace - **Notion webhooks / Make.com / n8n** — not needed at this volume; revisit for February 2027 season if contact list grows past 500 - **Zapier** — expensive for what it does here