> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.apollospace.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Multichannel outbound

> Email and WhatsApp campaigns run by Marcus — research, composition, optional human approval, delivery + tracking.

A new lead lands in your CRM. Before you'd normally find a moment to write them, [Marcus](/en/agents/marcus) has already pulled up their latest post, drafted a message that opens on it, and queued it for your approval — on email or WhatsApp, whichever they actually answer.

Outbound is the specialist your org's operator hands cold outreach to. The research, the writing, the timing, and the follow-up chase leave your plate; the one thing that stays yours is the call on whether a message is good enough to send.

## The difference between a "blast" and Apollo Space outbound

Most cold outreach tools do a **blast**: take a list, send the same text to everyone, swap in `{first_name}`, and call it "personalization." Recipients see through it immediately — reply rates hit the floor.

Apollo Space works differently. For every lead, [Marcus](/en/agents/marcus) does **public research** (via Scout/Tavily), **composes** a message grounded in a real signal about that lead, and **sends** it on the right channel at the right time.

## Campaign types

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Drip" icon="droplet">
    A sequence of N touches spread over time. Configurable cadence.
    Each touch is a fresh composition — not a reused parameterized
    template.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Oneshot" icon="paper-plane">
    A single touch. Useful for point-in-time sends (launch, event,
    announcement). Ends on reply or after N days.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Follow-up" icon="reply">
    Reactive cadence: sends the next touch **only** if the recipient
    hasn't replied within the defined window. Auto-drops on reply.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Campaign flow

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart TD
    A[Selected lead list] --> B[Per lead: Signal gather via Scout]
    B --> C[Compose draft with org voice]
    C --> D{HITL enabled?}
    D -->|Yes| E[Awaiting human approval]
    D -->|No| H[Auto-approve]
    E --> F{Approved?}
    F -->|Yes| H
    F -->|No| G[Discard draft]
    H --> I[Send via channel: email / WhatsApp]
    I --> J{Reply detected?}
    J -->|Yes| K[Activity on lead + notify owner]
    J -->|No-reply after N days| L[Next touch in cadence]
    J -->|Bounce or opt-out| M[Pause sequence + mark lead]
```

<Steps>
  <Step title="You define the audience and intent">
    Select a set of leads from the CRM (filter, imported list, entire
    pipeline) and describe the campaign goal in plain text
    (e.g., "introduce product X to prospects in sector Y").
  </Step>

  <Step title="Signal gather (per lead)">
    Marcus delegates to [Scout](/en/agents/scout) a public search on
    each lead — website, recent post, new hire, award, job change.
    Output: 3–5 cited snippets that ground the composition.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Compose (per lead)">
    Using the signals, the org's voice, and the recipient's persona,
    Marcus generates the draft. At this point it decides:

    * channel (email vs. WhatsApp based on availability)
    * tone (formal / casual, per the org's `voice_md`)
    * specific CTA (call, link, reply, demo)
  </Step>

  <Step title="HITL — human approval (optional)">
    By default, every draft waits for approval. You review the text,
    see the snippets that informed it, and approve / edit / reject.
    Alternative modes: auto-approve (low-risk campaigns), batch-approve
    (approve an entire run after a spot-check).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Delivery">
    Once approved, Marcus sends via the configured channel (email via Resend /
    Gmail, WhatsApp via Twilio). Idempotent — retries never duplicate
    a message.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tracking + follow-up">
    Marcus watches for:

    * **Reply** detected → routes to the relationship owner's chat
    * **No-reply after N days** → triggers the next touch in the cadence
    * **Bounce / opt-out** → marks lead as invalid + pauses the sequence
  </Step>
</Steps>

## WhatsApp 24-hour window

Meta has a strict rule for WhatsApp Business:

* Once **the customer** messages you, a **24-hour window** opens
* Inside that window: you can send **any free-form text**
* Outside it: the first message must be a **Meta-approved template**

Marcus handles this automatically:

* Detects whether an open window exists with the lead
* Window open → free-form text in the org's voice
* Window closed → an appropriate template from your Twilio Messaging Service

No manual action needed — the rule is followed 100% of the time.

## Metrics

Each campaign and each individual touch exposes:

| Metric                | What it means                                                       |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Delivery rate**     | Delivered / sent (filters out bounces)                              |
| **Open rate**         | Detected opens (email only — WhatsApp has no reliable read receipt) |
| **Reply rate**        | % of leads who replied                                              |
| **Reply-to-CTA rate** | % of replies that accepted the call to action                       |
| **Opt-out rate**      | % of leads who asked to stop                                        |
| **Bounce rate**       | % of emails that weren't delivered                                  |
| **Total cost**        | Stars consumed over the course of the campaign                      |

## When NOT to use automated outbound

This section is here to be honest:

* **Enterprise sales with 6-month+ cycles** — automated outbound helps with the
  **first touch**, but the rest of the cycle is human consultative work.
  Don't try to automate the entire sale.
* **Highly regulated markets** (healthcare, finance) — check local rules on cold
  outreach first. Apollo Space gives you the tools, but legal responsibility is yours.
* **Low-quality purchased lists** — outbound on a bad list is spam even with
  personalization. You burn your domain and phone number.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Marcus" icon="paper-plane" href="/en/agents/marcus">
    The agent that executes outbound, in depth.
  </Card>

  <Card title="WhatsApp setup" icon="comments" href="/en/guides/set-up-whatsapp">
    Connect Twilio and an approved number.
  </Card>

  <Card title="CRM" icon="users" href="/en/features/crm">
    The lead base that outbound campaigns operate on.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Brain" icon="brain" href="/en/features/brain">
    Where org voice and knowledge live.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>