Set up sending: Halo, Instantly, and costs

I use Halo for our client campaigns. It lets us send HTML, images, basic name and company details, and links straight to signup or the calendar. People don't need to reply just to get the link.

If I were doing this on Instantly, I'd keep the same lead process and have Instantly do the sending. Here's what I'd give Claude and what I'd check myself.

Work out how much sending you need

I start with the number of qualified people we can reach and the contact schedule from 4 - Store the leads and refill the queue. At 10,000 people per sending day over 44 sending days in a 60-calendar-day cycle, I need 440,000 eligible people. I keep 140,000 ready for the next fourteen sending days.

For a smaller market, I send less each day. There's no reason to force a bigger number by emailing the same people early.

For this Instantly example, I'm budgeting around 20 cold emails per inbox per day after gradually building up volume. That's 50 inboxes for 1,000/day, or 500 for 10,000/day. Over 22 sending days, that's 22,000 or 220,000 emails. Warm-up emails don't go in those counts.

Choose the sending accounts

Instantly pre-warmed accounts: I'd open Email Accounts → Add or Buy Accounts → Pre-Warmed Accounts and review the available stock. These are Google accounts with the sending setup already done, sold as five accounts per domain. The domains and names come from the available inventory. Instantly keeps domain ownership and admin access, and these accounts stay tied to its platform. See the account options.

I'd start these at five campaign emails per inbox per day, then increase against actual account health. That's initial capacity of 250/day with 50 inboxes, or 2,500/day with 500, before other campaign limits. The 20/day budget above is for the later sending rate. Current starting limits.

InboxKit pre-warmed inventory: this is another accessible option with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 accounts. I'd check available domains, how long they've been warmed, the handover terms, and the live quote. Fresh accounts and pre-warmed accounts are different purchases. See the inventory guide.

If I already had warmed accounts, I'd use those. If I were creating fresh ones, I'd finish their warm-up before launch.

What I'd budget

This uses USD, monthly platform billing, five inboxes per domain, and 20 cold sends per inbox/day once the accounts have built up to that volume. The domain bill is paid annually upfront; the last row spreads it over the year.

Outbound plans · Contact limits · Extra capacity

The two add-ons make room for the 140,000-person ready queue: 100,000 + 25,000 + 25,000 = 150,000 contacts. Old campaign contacts still take up space. I'd have Claude save their history and exclusions in the master list before removing completed records from Instantly.

You could save $174/month with Light Speed alone by keeping fewer than 100,000 contacts inside Instantly at once. Claude would need to keep the full fourteen-day list outside the sender and prepare the next batch each day.

I'd also add Claude, data tools, both email-checking tools, hosting, the person running it, and spare inboxes. Use the small sample to estimate what a usable new contact costs, then multiply by the new contacts needed. Add refresh costs separately. Count each expense once.

My monthly sending and lead budget
Sending platform and inboxes:
Annual domain bill divided by twelve:
Claude:
Finding people and their work emails:
Checking email addresses:
Hosting and spare inboxes:
Time spent running the system:
TOTAL:
Cost per person contacted:
Cost per new paying customer:

Give Claude the campaign brief

I'd give it the approved contact file, the email, the signup or booking link, the sending accounts, the days and timezone, and the daily limit. If a step needs me inside Instantly, I'd ask Claude to walk me through the next click.

Here's what I want it to prepare:

1. 1.The right contacts. Apply the customers, opt-outs, bounced addresses, and other exclusions. Check people aren't already in another active campaign or being contacted too soon.
2. 2.One cold email. Use the offer from 5 - Choose an offer and write the first email and send the person straight to signup or booking. Keep sales follow-up separate from this cold campaign.
3. 3.The finished email. Put the right names into the copy and check that any images, buttons, and links display properly. I want a test with real contact details, not just a blank preview.
4. 4.The right sending limits. Use the selected inboxes, sending days, timezone, and starting volume. Keep within the account and campaign limits.
5. 5.Working stops and tracking. Stop sending to someone who replies or opts out. Record sends, bookings, signups, and new customers so we can see the result.

Help me prepare this Instantly campaign.
Approved contact file: [attach]
Email and offer: [attach]
Signup or booking link: [link]
Sending accounts: [which group]
Sending days and timezone: [details]
Starting daily volume: [number]
Customer and do-not-contact lists: [attach]
Use one cold email per person on our saved contact schedule.
Check exclusions and duplicate contacts before importing anything.
Prepare the file, email, sending accounts, schedule, and daily limits.
If you need me to take a step in Instantly, give me the exact next click.
Don't buy the same email check again if the file already passed
our two checking tools. Show anything that still needs attention.
Prepare a test that checks the person's name, images, links,
unsubscribe, signup or booking, and whether the result appears
against the campaign. Show the settings and costs for my review.
Don't purchase, activate, or send the campaign until I approve it.

Check one real email before launch

I'd put an internal address into the campaign and receive an actual test send. Click the signup or booking link, finish the action, and make sure it appears in the results. Test the unsubscribe and confirm that address stays out of the next list.

Then I'd approve the small first batch. I'd check sends, bounces, replies, bookings, and signups before adding volume. If delivery gets worse, pause the affected traffic and fix the cause.