Hey there, it’s Isaac from Leads to Earnings. Welcome to the newsletter.

(est. 2.5 minute read)

Today I will be going over:

• How to use Clay without burning credits

• Don’t overcomplicate outbound, do this instead

• I will also share a few cold email links and tips.

Hopefully you enjoy it.

Actionable Cold Email Tip

If you’ve used Clay, the lead list building spreadsheet-on-steroids you’ll know their crediting system can become expensive quickly.

The tool is the best in class to find, enrich, and validate highly custom data sets at scale, but knowing how to use it can take a long time.

This is because Clay has a big learning curve that can take months of practice. I know this because I’ve been using it for the last 2 years.

Let me tell you though, the juice is worth the squeeze. I’ve leveraged Clay to help my clients generate results like adding 96k in revenue 30 days or 132k in 90 days.

I want to share some learnings with you to help you get high-quality data while keeping costs low:

1. Build Lists for Free

   • Instead of starting with paid enrichments, use Clay’s "Find Companies" or "Find People" feature to pull a broad dataset without using credits.

   • Filter your results upfront by employee size, industry, and location to refine your list before using any enrichments.

   • Exclude keywords, competitors, or irrelevant industries to avoid paying for unnecessary data.

2. Use Free Profile Data First

   • Once you have your list, opt for the basic profile instead of an enriched one. This gives you names, LinkedIn profiles, and other key identifiers—without consuming credits.

   • If you need deeper insights (e.g., tech stack, funding, job openings), hold off on bulk enrichment until you validate the list quality.

3. Leverage External APIs to Save on Clay Credits

   • Clay adds a small markup to data providers like Findymail, Prospeo, LeadMagic. If you already have subscriptions to these tools, connect them via API to bypass Clay’s credit system.

   • Go to Manage Accounts > Add Connection and input your API keys to use external credits instead of Clay’s.

4. Scrape Custom Data with Webhooks

   • Need data beyond what Clay offers? Set up a webhook integration with tools like Apify.

   • This method pulls in valuable lead information without consuming Clay credits, making it perfect for targeting niche segments.

5. Use AI for Personalization Without Credit Costs

   • Clay charges one credit per row for AI-powered personalization—but if you connect OpenAI, Gemini, or Claude via API, you cut costs significantly.

   • Example: Using OpenAI directly, you can process thousands of rows for pennies, making it a no-brainer for customized outreach at scale.

If you want to see a live walkthrough of these tips, then check out my free 17 minute training. It will show you exactly how to do each step above so you can maximize your Clay usage without maximizing your credits. [LINK]

The list is THE strategy,

Isaac

Useful Bits

• Tweet of the Day: (link)

• Quote of the week: “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” — Henry Ford

• Quick bite-sized pointer: Don't overcomplicate your outbound. First figure out what moves the needle by: Sending 500 messages per angle. Once you have a baseline, remove low performing angles & keep testing.

How I Can Help You

If you like this newsletter and want to work with me, there are a few ways we can do so:

1. I have a ton of free content that will help you get more clients on my YouTube channel. I post insights from operating high converting cold email campaigns for dozens of B2B companies that have added hundreds of thousands in recurring revenue.

2. If you are looking to improve your cold outbound skills but don’t want to hire anyone, I have a free 71-page course that teaches everything you need to know about cold email.

3. If you want a custom cold email campaign specifically designed for your business & ideal target audience, I have a few slots available to show you how it works. Book in here and on the call I will deliver a full 5-angle cold email campaign for you to use to bring on more high paying clients.

4. If you’d like to hear about how I can help you and your company grow, you can book a call with me here. I might be able to help you grow faster, or I might be able to refer you to someone who can.

Share this with 3 people and get a free training showing you how to convert more cold prospects into warm leads with cold email.

I hope you enjoyed this brief email.

Talk later,

Isaac