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Send tracked cold email variants from Google Sheets with Gmail

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Send tracked cold email variants from Google Sheets with Gmail preview
Open on n8n.io

1. Workflow Overview

How it works Every weekday morning, the workflow reads your prospect list from Google Sheets and cross checks it against a send log — anyone already emailed is automatically skipped Each new contac...

Best for

  • Lead Generation automation workflows
  • advanced n8n builders looking for reusable templates

Tools used

n8n-nodes-base.stickynote, n8n-nodes-base.splitinbatches, n8n-nodes-base.set, n8n-nodes-base.if, n8n-nodes-base.wait, n8n-nodes-base.googlesheets, n8n-nodes-base.gmail, n8n-nodes-base.scheduletrigger

Source and attribution

This workflow is cataloged by N8N Workflows and links back to its original n8n.io source page by Afeez.

Original n8n.io source

1.1 Workflow description

Title
Send tracked cold email variants from Google Sheets with Gmail
Workflow name
Send tracked cold email variants from Google Sheets with Gmail

How it works

  • Every weekday morning, the workflow reads your prospect list from Google Sheets and cross-checks it against a send log — anyone already emailed is automatically skipped
  • Each new contact is assigned one of three cold email variants, distributed evenly across the list, with a unique tracking ID embedded in each email
  • Contacts are sent one at a time with a randomised 60–120 second delay between each send to protect deliverability
  • After each send, a row is written to the log sheet recording the contact, variant used, timestamp, and tracking ID
  • Open tracking is handled via a 1×1 pixel — when a prospect opens the email, the hit is recorded against their tracking ID for follow-up prioritisation

Set up steps

  1. Connect your Gmail account to all three Send Variant nodes and the error alert node — takes about 2 minutes via OAuth
  2. Connect your Google Sheets account to the Get Contacts, Get Log Sends, and Log to Sheet nodes
  3. In Get Contacts, point the node to your prospect spreadsheet and confirm the tab is Sheet1 — columns needed: email, firstName, and optionally companyName
  4. In Get Log Sends and Log to Sheet, confirm both are pointing to the Log Sends tab of the same spreadsheet — this is what prevents duplicate sends
  5. In each of the three Send Variant nodes, update the sender name and sign-off in the email body to match your own details
  6. (Optional) Replace the tracking pixel URL in each Send Variant node with your own open-tracking webhook endpoint if you're not using the one already in place
  7. Activate the workflow — it will run automatically each weekday at 9 AM, or trigger manually from the canvas to test with a small batch first

1.2 Logical Blocks

This catalog entry is organized from the workflow JSON. The node-level section below shows the executable blocks available for review before importing the template.

2. Block-by-Block Analysis

Block 1 - 📬 Renovation Cold Email — Main

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 2 - ⚠️ Critical Setup

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 3 - Section — Contact Qualification & Dedup

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 4 - Section — Variant Routing & Personalization

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 5 - Section — Email Delivery & Logging

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 6 - Loop

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.splitInBatches - splitInBatches
Config choices
Version 1

Block 7 - Set Variant

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices
Version 1

Block 8 - Route: Variant 0?

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.if - if
Config choices
Version 1

Block 9 - Route: Variant 1?

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.if - if
Config choices
Version 1

Block 10 - Wait

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.wait - wait
Config choices
Version 1

Block 11 - Format Log

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices
Version 1

Block 12 - Get Contacts

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets - googleSheets
Config choices
Version 4.7

Block 13 - Log to Sheet

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets - googleSheets
Config choices
Version 4.7

Block 14 - Send Variant 1

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.gmail - gmail
Config choices
Version 2.2

Block 15 - Send Variant 2

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.gmail - gmail
Config choices
Version 2.2

Block 16 - Send Variant 0

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.gmail - gmail
Config choices
Version 2.2

Block 17 - Schedule Trigger

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger - scheduleTrigger
Config choices
Version 1.3

Block 18 - Get Log Sends

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets - googleSheets
Config choices
Version 4.7

Block 19 - Dedup: Skip Already Sent

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.merge - merge
Config choices
Version 3

Block 20 - Assign Variants

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.code - code
Config choices
Version 2

Block 21 - Add Tracking ID

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.code - code
Config choices
Version 2

3. Summary Table

Workflow Send tracked cold email variants from Google Sheets with Gmail
Complexity advanced
Nodes 21
Categories Lead Generation
Author Afeez
Published 08 May 2026

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

  1. 1. Download the workflow JSON

    Use the JSON export at /data/workflows/15554/15554.json as the source template for this automation.

  2. 2. Import the template into n8n

    Open n8n, import the downloaded JSON, and review each node before activating the workflow.

  3. 3. Configure credentials and variables

    Replace placeholder credentials, API keys, webhook URLs, account IDs, and environment-specific values with your own settings.

  4. 4. Test with sample data

    Run the workflow manually or in a staging workspace, inspect node output, and confirm downstream systems receive the expected data.

  5. 5. Activate and monitor

    Enable the workflow only after testing, then monitor executions, errors, and rate limits during the first production runs.

5. General Notes & Resources

Review imported nodes carefully before activation. This catalog entry is intended to help you inspect the workflow structure, understand required services, and find related templates faster.

Node names, credentials, schedules, webhook paths, and external service limits may need adjustment for your workspace.

Frequently asked questions

What does Send tracked cold email variants from Google Sheets with Gmail do?

How it works Every weekday morning, the workflow reads your prospect list from Google Sheets and cross checks it against a send log — anyone already emailed is automatically skipped Each new contac...

What do I need before importing this workflow?

Review the workflow JSON, configure any required credentials in n8n, and test the automation in a safe workspace before using it in production.

Can I customize this workflow?

Yes. Use the block-by-block analysis and the downloadable JSON to inspect each node, then adjust credentials, prompts, schedules, filters, or destinations for your Lead Generation use case.