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Short answer
Save the list as a CSV with a header row and one lead per row. The email column is required and every other column becomes a variable: name the headers first_name, company and so on, and write them in the steps as {{first_name}} and {{company}}. Verify the addresses and remove duplicates before import, and plan one mailbox per about 180 new leads a month on a 3-step sequence.
Prepare the CSV
- Export from your source. Export the list from your CRM, spreadsheet or data tool as CSV (comma-separated, UTF-8). From Excel or Google Sheets use File > Download or Save As > CSV
- One header row. The first row holds the column names; every other row is one lead. Remove merged cells, notes and empty rows
- One email per row. Keep a single email column. If the source has a second or personal email, leave it out or put it in a separately named column you don't map to email
- Split large lists. From an AI assistant the MCP server imports up to 10,000 rows per call; split a bigger list into several files
Columns and how they map
Columns in the file and what each one becomes in Outreach2day. Rename the headers before the import (or pick the field if the import asks you to map columns); a column you keep under its own name becomes a variable with that name.
| Your column | In Outreach2day |
|---|---|
Email, Work Email, E-mail | Rename to email (required) |
First Name | Rename to first_name: {{first_name}} |
Last Name | Rename to last_name: {{last_name}} |
Company, Company Name, Organization | Rename to company: {{company}} |
Title, Job Title, Position | Rename to job_title: {{job_title}} |
Website, LinkedIn, City, Country | website, linkedin_url, city, country |
Your own line (opener, pain point) | Any name, for example opener: {{opener}} |
Clean the list before import
- CSV means one record per line and a header line first, with values that contain commas wrapped in double quotes (rfc-editor.org)
- Verify the list with an email verifier before import; Outreach2day does not verify addresses for you
- Drop invalid addresses, and drop catch-all and unknown ones when your bounce rate is already high
- Remove duplicates and anyone who asked not to be contacted, from every list you send
- Keep only the columns you use in the emails: email, names, company, title and one or two personal lines
Bounces hurt the mailboxes that send them. If a campaign starts bouncing, stop it and read why a cold email bounce rate gets too high; for the verification step itself, see how to pick an email verification program.
Import into an Outreach2day campaign
- Create a campaign. In Outreach2day open Campaigns and create a campaign. It stays a draft, and nothing is sent until you launch it
- Write the steps. Add the emails of the sequence. Use the columns of your file as variables, for example {{first_name}} and {{company}}
- Import the CSV. Open the campaign's Leads tab and import the file. It needs a header row and an email column; the other columns become variables
- Attach mailboxes. Attach mailboxes that are ready to send. The preflight check shows what is missing: steps, contacts, mailboxes or warm-up
- Launch. Launch the campaign, then follow sent, replies and bounces in its stats and the replies in the inbox
| Column | What it becomes |
|---|---|
email | Required. One address per row |
first_name, last_name | Variables {{first_name}}, {{last_name}} |
company | Variable {{company}} |
job_title, website, linkedin_url | Variables with the same names |
Any other column | A variable named after the column |
From an AI assistant, the Outreach2day MCP server runs the same flow: create_campaign, import_campaign_contacts (CSV text, up to 10,000 rows per call), attach_campaign_mailboxes, preflight_campaign and launch_campaign after you confirm.
How many mailboxes for your list
Each mailbox sends up to 25 cold emails a day, about 550 a month on weekdays. With a 3-step sequence every lead takes up to 3 of those sends, so the number of new leads a month is the monthly sends divided by 3:
| Mailboxes | Cold emails a day | Cold emails a month | New leads a month (3 steps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 300 | 6,600 | 2,200 |
| 25 | 625 | 13,750 | 4,583 |
| 50 | 1,250 | 27,500 | 9,166 |
| 100 | 2,500 | 55,000 | 18,333 |
| 200 | 5,000 | 110,000 | 36,666 |
A list of 5,000 verified leads on a 3-step sequence needs about 28 mailboxes for one month, or 14 for two. New mailboxes send cold email from day 14 of warm-up, so order them two weeks before the list is ready. The capacity calculator works it out for other volumes.
FAQ
What columns does the Outreach2day import need?
Only an email column and a header row. Every other column becomes a variable named after its header, so short lowercase headers such as first_name and company are the easiest to use in the steps.
How do I use the columns in the emails?
Write them as variables in double curly braces, for example {{first_name}} or {{company}}. A custom column called opener is used as {{opener}}.
Does Outreach2day verify the emails in my CSV?
No. Run the list through an email verifier before import and drop invalid addresses.
How many leads can one mailbox handle?
About 550 cold emails a month at 25 a day on weekdays. On a 3-step sequence that is about 180 new leads a month per mailbox, so a 5,000-lead month needs about 28 mailboxes.
Sources
Read on 2026-10-09.
- RFC 4180: Common format for CSV files: rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4180
