Playbooks

Automate Email Scanning & Follow-Ups to Keep Leads From Falling Through the Cracks

Your inbox isn't supposed to be a trap. Yet for most of us, it feels like one—threads piling up, questions slipping through, follow-ups forgotten. What if instead of chasing, you let marketbetter do the heavy lifting? Connect your Gmail or Outlook once, and from then on it scans, spots the conversations that need you, and drafts the replies in your voice.

On this page

Overview

The workflow

Connect Gmail or Outlook
Choose the Template
Create or Select Your Audience
Configure the Workflow
AI Workflow Assistant Kicks In
Email Scan Node
AI Follow-up Agent Node
Customize the Agent (Optional)
Expand with Additional Nodes (Optional)
Test the Workflow
Start the Workflow
Monitor Results

Best Practices

Success Strategies
Email Scanning Setup

Playbook Overview

01. When should you run this playbook?

  • When you're drowning in threads and can't afford to miss another reply
  • When manual triage steals hours you should be spending on customers or deals
  • When a stalled conversation could mean lost revenue
  • When you'd rather spend your energy making decisions, not typing boilerplate

02. Used by following teams

SalesCustomer Success

Time Savings Impact

< 1hr

Setup time

under an hour to set up

95%

Less manual triage

once it's running

100%

Auto-drafted replies

with context from your own threads

The workflow

STEP 1

Connect Gmail or Outlook

First things first: hook up your email. Without it, nothing moves.

Email Connection

Once connected, marketbetter can read your inbox and sent items securely, ready to scan for signals you'd otherwise miss.

This is the foundation - without email connection, the workflow can't function
STEP 2

Choose the Template

Go into Ready-to-Use Templates and pick "Automatic Email Scanning & Responding."

STEP 3

Create or Select Your Audience

Every workflow needs an audience to run against.

📧 Audience Options

Tap an existing audience you've already built
Create fresh audience using categories:
Website Visits, File Upload, Image Upload
HubSpot Contacts, Voice Recordings, Time-Based
Chrome Extension, AI Search
Permissions: open to everyone or admin-only
STEP 4

Configure the Workflow

Give it a name and a quick description.

# Workflow Configuration Example
 
Title: Inbox Follow-Up Assistant
Description: Scans Gmail inbox weekly and drafts professional follow-ups.
 
That's it. Save, and you're through this stage.
STEP 5

AI Workflow Assistant Kicks In

Here's where it gets fun. The moment you land on the builder, marketbetter's AI Workflow Assistant jumps in.

🤖 Auto-Scaffolding

Trigger → Email Scan → AI Agent
Like watching the system assemble itself
Explains what each block does
No manual configuration needed
STEP 6

Email Scan Node

This is where marketbetter digs into your inbox and sent folders to catch threads that need attention.

# Email Scan Settings
 
## Mailbox:
- Select your Gmail or Outlook
 
## Time Range:
- Last 24 hours, last week, etc.
 
## Max Threads:
- Cap it at, say, 50 conversations
 
## Snippets:
- Switched on, so the AI sees the last bit of context
 
Once it's set, the node pulls in conversations worth a follow-up.
STEP 7

AI Follow-up Agent Node

As soon as the scan finds the right threads, they're passed directly into your Email Follow-up Agent.

Agent Defaults

The defaults are already covered: local timezone, short professional style, and enough context to write a clean reply. You don't have to touch a thing.

But if you want? You can open the agent and tweak it—add your own writing examples, adjust the tone, or change the timing rules
STEP 8

Customize the Agent (Optional)

There's room to go deeper if you like.

🎛️ Customization Options

Edit existing agent: adjust name, timing rules, validation checks
Load in sample emails so drafts sound like you
Create new agent: Qualification, Research, Competitor Analysis
Add your own guidance and response style
Most people start by lightly editing the built-in follow-up agent
STEP 9

Expand with Additional Nodes (Optional)

You're not limited to scan + reply. You can extend the workflow with more building blocks.

🔗 Additional Integrations

Slack or Teams Alert → ping your team when big client thread is flagged
Add to CRM → send conversations straight into Salesforce or HubSpot
Google Sheets Worker → log flagged emails for easy tracking
Email Campaign → build multi-step follow-up sequences
HeyGen Video → drop in a quick personalized video
Mailbox Warmup → improve deliverability if ramping up sending
STEP 10

Test the Workflow

Before going live, hit Test Workflow.

Test Mode

It runs on sample data—no emails sent, no records updated. You'll see which threads are flagged and what kind of replies the agent drafts.

Never skip testing: it's the five-minute insurance policy against awkward mistakes
STEP 11

Start the Workflow

Ready? Toggle it ON and press Start Workflow.

STEP 12

Monitor Results

Flip to the Results tab. This is your scoreboard.

📊 Results Dashboard

Completed, in progress, or failed runs
Which threads were flagged
Which replies were drafted
Real-time impact tracking
Review weekly: tweak guidance, refine tone, get sharper results
PRO TIPS

Success Strategies

Start small: scan 10–20 threads first, check the replies, then scale up

Drop in style examples: the AI learns faster when you show it your voice

Use Slack or Teams alerts: it keeps your team aligned without inbox refreshes

Never skip testing: it's the five-minute insurance policy against awkward mistakes

Review weekly: tweak guidance, refine tone, get sharper results every run

LIVE DEMO

Email Scanning Setup

Watch how to set up automated email scanning and follow-up drafting in under 20 minutes.

Ready to take the weight off your inbox?

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