Instantly Reference Architecture

Overview

Production architecture for cold outreach automation with Instantly. Covers campaign orchestration, lead management pipelines, multi-account warmup strategies, and reply handling with CRM synchronization.

Prerequisites

• Instantly API key (v1 REST)

• Email accounts configured with warmup

• CRM for lead status tracking

• Webhook endpoint for reply/bounce handling

Architecture Diagram

set -euo pipefail ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Lead Sources │ │ Clay │ Apollo │ CSV Import │ CRM Export │ API │ └──────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Instantly Platform │ │ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ │ │ Email │ │ Campaigns │ │ Lead │ │ │ │ Accounts │ │ & Sequences │ │ Lists │ │ │ │ (warmup) │ │ (A/B test) │ │ (import) │ │ │ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └─────┬─────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ▼ ▼ ▼ │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Sending Engine │ │ │ │ Throttling │ Rotation │ Tracking │ Warmup │ │ │ └──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘ │ └─────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────┘ │ ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐ ▼ ▼ ▼ ┌──────────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │ Replies │ │ Opens │ │ Bounces │ │ (webhook) │ │ Clicks │ │ Unsubscribes │ └──────┬───────┘ └────────┘ └──────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌──────────────┐ │ CRM Sync │ │ (HubSpot/SF) │ └──────────────┘

Instructions

Step 1: Campaign Management Service

const INSTANTLY_API = 'https://api.instantly.ai/api/v1';

async function instantlyRequest(endpoint: string, options?: RequestInit) { const url = new URL(${INSTANTLY_API}${endpoint}); url.searchParams.set('api_key', process.env.INSTANTLY_API_KEY!);

const response = await fetch(url.toString(), { ...options, headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', ...options?.headers }, });

if (!response.ok) throw new Error(Instantly API error: ${response.status}); return response.json(); }

async function listCampaigns() { return instantlyRequest('/campaign/list'); }

async function getCampaignStatus(campaignId: string) { return instantlyRequest(/campaign/get?campaign_id=${campaignId}); }

Step 2: Lead Upload Pipeline

interface Lead { email: string; first_name?: string; last_name?: string; company_name?: string; personalization?: string; custom_variables?: Record<string, string>; }

async function uploadLeads(campaignId: string, leads: Lead[]) { const BATCH_SIZE = 100; let totalUploaded = 0;

for (let i = 0; i < leads.length; i += BATCH_SIZE) { const batch = leads.slice(i, i + BATCH_SIZE); await instantlyRequest('/lead/add', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ campaign_id: campaignId, skip_if_in_workspace: true, leads: batch, }), }); totalUploaded += batch.length; await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 200)); // Rate limit # HTTP 200 OK }

return { uploaded: totalUploaded }; }

Step 3: Multi-Sequence Campaign Structure

// Campaign sequence design for cold outreach const CAMPAIGN_SEQUENCE = { name: 'Q1 Outreach - {ICP Segment}', sequences: [ { step: 1, delay: 0, subject: 'Quick question about {{company_name}}', body: 'Hi {{first_name}},\n\n{{personalization}}\n\n...', variant: 'A', }, { step: 1, delay: 0, subject: '{{first_name}} - saw something interesting', body: 'Hi {{first_name}},\n\n...', variant: 'B', // A/B test variant }, { step: 2, delay: 3, // 3 days after step 1 subject: 'Re: Quick question', body: 'Hi {{first_name}},\n\nJust following up...', }, { step: 3, delay: 5, // 5 days after step 2 subject: 'Last try', body: 'Hi {{first_name}},\n\nI know you're busy...', }, ], };

Step 4: Reply Handling Webhook

app.post('/webhooks/instantly', express.json(), async (req, res) => { const { event_type, lead_email, campaign_id, reply_text } = req.body;

switch (event_type) { case 'reply_received': await syncToCRM({ email: lead_email, status: 'replied', note: reply_text }); break; case 'email_bounced': await syncToCRM({ email: lead_email, status: 'bounced' }); break; case 'unsubscribed': await addToSuppressionList(lead_email); break; }

res.json({ processed: true }); });

Error Handling

Issue Cause Solution

Low deliverability Accounts not warmed Run warmup 2+ weeks before campaigns

High bounce rate Bad lead data Verify emails before upload

Duplicate sends Lead in multiple campaigns Use skip_if_in_workspace flag

Rate limit Too many API calls Add 200ms delay between requests

Examples

Campaign Analytics Dashboard

async function getCampaignMetrics() { const campaigns = await listCampaigns(); return Promise.all(campaigns.map(async (c: any) => ({ name: c.name, status: c.status, analytics: await instantlyRequest( /analytics/campaign/summary?campaign_id=${c.id} ), }))); }

Resources

• Instantly API Documentation

• Instantly Campaign Guide

Output

• Configuration files or code changes applied to the project

• Validation report confirming correct implementation

• Summary of changes made and their rationale