07: How I Run Outbound Audits to Find the Winning Campaign

You know that feeling when you’re sure the cold email you just queued up will hit?

The list checks out.
The copy feels tight.
You’re confident the strategy’s solid.

And then… silence.

It stings. But it doesn’t always mean your writing was off.
Most of the time, the problem started earlier:

The segment was off
Your domain landed in spam
The follow-ups fizzled out

I’ve been there. So instead of rewriting everything from scratch, I run a full outbound audit every 14 days.

This issue breaks down how I do it, from start to finish.

🔍 Baseline Check

Before you change anything, understand what’s actually happening.

These are some baselines that I track for each campaign. I prefer tracking open rates, too, because that helps me understand the deliverability.

There are a lot more aspects and diagnosis logic to cover, so let’s start with a step-by-step approach.

✍️ Track the following…

I generally use these benchmarks to understand if the system's working or where it's starting to break:

• Open rate - above 50%

• Click-through rate (CTR) - between 3% to 5%

• Reply rate - 2% is a good starting point

• Positive replies - 20% of total replies

• Objections - tagged by theme (e.g., pricing, timeline, internal priorities)

• Time to reply - under 6 hours

Outbound gets easier the more you treat it like a feedback loop.

✍️ Campaign Diagnosis (run every 14 days)

I generally run a campaign for 2 weeks straight before making any tweaks.

I’d start by looking at baseline metrics and follow a top-to-bottom elimination process to see where we land -

Open Rate

Target: 50%+

This is the first thing I check. If the open rate is low, I know it’s either the subject line or deliverability.

I test two subject lines per campaign. If one hits 60% and the other hovers at 40%, I drop the lower performer and keep refining.

If both are low, it’s usually time for a domain or spam audit. It could be technical, could be list quality, could be formatting.

Spam Rate

Goal: Stay under 5%.

Spam is usually triggered by one of a few things:

• Too many invalid or catch-all emails on the list

• Spammy language in the copy (think works like guaranteed, income, 100% ROI)

• The account hasn’t been properly warmed up

To avoid this:

• I use a waterfall method in Clay for list cleaning.

• I check every email copy against spam triggers using tools like MailMeteor or SendCheckIt.

• I rotate domains/accounts if I notice consistent issues.

Click-Through Rate

Healthy range: 3%–5%

If CTR is healthy, the message/copy is resonating. I always embed UTM-tagged links so I can track how many people land on the offer page.

Find the full guide on UTM tag setup here.

I don’t use one-size-fits-all landing pages either. I always match the landing page to the angle and offer used in the copy - same tone, same promise, same benefit. The page should feel like a natural continuation of the conversation that started in the email. Think of your landing page as your business case. It should be all about them, what they’re dealing with, what they care about, and how your offer ties directly into that.

🎁 If you need help in customizing LPs, refer to the
Resource Hub by Tas Bober.

Reply Rate

Target: 1%+

For 3,000 emails/month, I’d look at least 30 replies. Of those, I’m aiming for at least 20% to be positive-booked calls, intros, or warm referrals.

If the open and click rates are solid but replies are low, it usually means:

• The CTA is off

• The copy didn’t create enough urgency or relevance

• I didn’t give them a strong enough reason to reply

I’ll then tighten the positioning or restructure the sequence.

⟳ What to optimize based on data?

Case 1: The List is Off

• Open Rate > 50%

• CTR < 3%

• Reply Rate < 2% (or more, but all of the responses are negatives)

People are opening the emails, but those are not reaching the right people. In a nutshell, the list is not landing.

What I do:

• Re-examine targeting filters

• Check intent signals (are they hiring? just raised? using a competing tool?)

• Use enrichment to validate the title, function, and activity.

• Segment based on industries/personas.

Case 2: The Offer is Off

• Open Rate > 50%

• CTR is decent (3–5%)

• Reply Rate < 2%

This is a sign that the list is good, but the offer is not resonant. They’re opening, they’re clicking, but the problem doesn’t resonate deeply enough for them to reply.

What I tweak:

• Anchor the message in a real problem or moment they’re likely experiencing

• Use their language. I generally interview CS teams to capture this.

• A/B test different offers and lead magnets

• Add proof in the signature

Less about you. More about them. Always.

Case 3: Both Are Off

• Open Rate > 50%

• CTR < 3%

• Reply Rate < 2%

You’ve got curiosity clicks, but no real traction. When this happens, I treat it as a misaligned campaign across the board.

What I do:

• Rebuild the campaign with a new segment and tighter filters

• Confirm actual buying signals before I build the list

• Rewrite the messaging with a fresh hook and repositioned offer

It’s never fun scrapping a sequence, but starting over beats burning a domain.

✉️ Until next time

Most outbound campaigns don’t fail because of one big mistake. They slip because nobody’s checking the right signals soon enough.

There are a few minor tweaks that I run every Friday. It could be trying a different framework, A/B testing memes in the copy, or shortening the sequence, etc. The point isn’t to get it perfect out of the gate. It’s to build a process tight enough that when something’s off, you’ll know exactly where to look and what to adjust.

If you’d like to receive a custom template for this audit for free, just reply to this email. It will also help us keep the deliverability gods happy and ensure this newsletter keeps landing in your inbox (not the Promotions tab).

P.S. With my full-time role at VC and community initiatives at Clay, it’s difficult to keep the newsletter cadence running weekly. Moving forward, you will get an issue on a fortnightly basis. This will also help me to maintain the quality of the content.

See you next week ❤️‍🔥
Siya