AI Acquisition
Cold Email Agent

Choosing a Campaign Method

What You'll Learn

When creating a cold email campaign with AI-generated sequences, you'll choose a campaign method. This decision shapes how your AI SDR frames conversations and approaches prospects.

This guide explains the four available methods and when to use each one.

Where You'll Choose Your Method

You'll select a campaign method during the Sequences step when setting up a new cold email campaign with AI-generated sequences. The selection screen looks like this:

Campaign method selection screen showing four options in a grid layout: Podcast, Interview, AI Business Audit, and Direct, each with an icon and brief description

This step only appears when using AI-generated sequences. If you're building custom sequences, you won't see this screen.

You must select a method before continuing. The Next button remains disabled until you make a selection.

Available Campaign Methods

Podcast

The Podcast method invites prospects to participate in a recorded conversation where they share their experience or insights on your podcast.

Best for:

  • Leading with a conversational, non-sales introduction

  • Positioning outreach as content-driven rather than product-focused

  • Building rapport and authority before discussing your offering

  • Reaching prospects who value thought leadership opportunities

This method is marked as recommended in the interface and works well when you want to create a low-pressure entry point for conversations.

Interview

The Interview method requests a one-to-one interview to feature the prospect's expertise. Unlike the Podcast method, this format is private and doesn't require a public recording.

Best for:

  • Prospects who may prefer private conversations over public appearances

  • Gathering insights or research without publishing content

  • A lighter, research-style introduction that feels less formal

  • Building relationships through personalized attention

After setting up a Podcast or Interview campaign, you can configure whether the AI SDR schedules a pre-chat call or goes straight to the full conversation. Learn more in Choosing Call Types for Podcast and Interview Methods.

AI Business Audit

The AI Business Audit method offers prospects a free analysis focused on identifying opportunities or improvements within their business.

Best for:

  • Leading with a value-first offer before any pitch

  • Outreach centered on diagnostics, recommendations, or assessments

  • Framing conversations around opportunity identification

  • Demonstrating expertise through actionable insights

This approach positions you as a consultant first and creates a natural pathway to discussing how your services address identified gaps.

Direct

The Direct method uses a straightforward outreach message focused on your product, service, or offer.

Best for:

  • Clear, no-frills introductions to your offering

  • Campaigns centered on a specific product, feature, or resource

  • Audiences that prefer traditional sales-style outreach

  • Time-sensitive offers or announcements

This method skips the rapport-building phase and gets directly to what you're offering and why it matters.

How to Choose the Right Method

There's no single "best" method for every situation. Your choice depends on your outreach goals and audience preferences.

Ask yourself:

  • How do I want this conversation to start? Authority-building, value-first, or direct pitch?

  • What type of engagement fits my audience? Are they more likely to respond to thought leadership opportunities or direct offers?

  • What's my ultimate goal? Relationship-building, gathering insights, or immediate product conversations?

Once you select a method, the AI SDR uses it to generate email sequences and guide how it responds to replies. All methods work toward the same goal: booking qualified meetings.

What Happens After Selection

After choosing a method and clicking Next, the platform generates your AI-powered email sequences. This typically takes 1-2 minutes.

If you haven't already provided targeting details (like your prospect niche or job roles), you'll be prompted to enter that information first. The AI uses these details along with your chosen method to personalize your outreach.

Once sequences are generated, you'll continue to the final setup steps: connecting email accounts and launching your campaign.

You'll need at least one active, warmed email account connected before you can launch. Make sure your email provider is configured before reaching this step.

Testing and Adjusting

The best way to determine which method works for your audience is to test. Consider running separate campaigns with different methods to compare response rates and meeting quality.

You can always create new campaigns with different methods as you learn what resonates with your prospects.

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