Example Full Apollo.io Setup Tutorial for Linens N Love
This tutorial walks through a complete Apollo.io setup for Linens N Love - a nonprofit that repurposes hotel linens for charitable organizations serving homeless shelters and low-income households. It’s a real example of how every piece of Apollo.io fits together.
Step 1 - Targeting and Messaging Foundation
Before touching Apollo.io, we defined the fundamentals:
- Target accounts: Hotels globally
- Keywords: Sustainability, CSR, waste reduction, linen recycling
- Key personas: General Managers, Marketing Directors, Operations Directors, Sustainability Managers
- Pain points: Different for each role (waste costs vs. brand reputation vs. operational efficiency)
Step 2 - Building Account Lists
We filtered Apollo.io’s database to find approximately 10,000 hospitality accounts using industry and keyword criteria. Fine-tuning keyword filters was necessary to capture companies like Marriott that don’t always show up under standard hotel industry codes.
Step 3 - Intent Data Layering
Using Bombora intent signals, we identified 110 high-priority accounts actively researching sustainability, ESG reporting, and waste reduction topics. This narrowed the initial 10,000 to a focused list of accounts showing real buying signals.
Step 4 - Website Visitor Tracking
We installed Apollo.io’s tracking script on the Linens N Love website to identify company-level visits as an additional intent signal.
Step 5 - Persona Development
Created contact-level filters for each persona (Sustainability Managers, Operations Directors, General Managers) using job title, seniority, and department filters.
Step 6 - Mailbox Configuration
Set up email domains, verified DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), enabled the warmup tool, and started a gradual sending ramp-up with open tracking disabled for deliverability.
Step 7 - Custom Account Scoring
Built a weighted scoring model that assigned points for intent level, relevant keywords, employee count, and other company characteristics to rank prospects automatically.
Step 8 - Sequence Building
Created automated email sequences with personalization tokens, multi-step follow-ups, and A/B testing on subject lines and messaging angles.
Step 9 - Automation with Plays
Set up weekly automated Plays that continuously pull new contacts matching persona criteria and enroll them in sequences - no manual intervention needed.
Step 10 - Performance Monitoring
Used Apollo.io’s built-in dashboards to track email deliverability, activity outcomes, and reply rates in one place.
Key Takeaway
This setup works for nonprofits and B2B companies alike. Apollo.io’s 275 million contact database and sequencing capabilities are just as effective for fundraising outreach as they are for sales prospecting.