Tracking cold email engagement metrics using Smartlead and Google Sheets

Workflow: Track Email Campaign Engagement Analytics with Smartlead and Google Sheets

Automatically fetch lead-level email engagement analytics (opens, clicks, replies, unsubscribes, bounces) from Smartlead and update them in Google Sheets.
Use this to keep a single, always-fresh source of truth for campaign performance and sequence effectiveness.

Summary

Pull Smartlead campaign analytics on a schedule and write them to a Google Sheet (append or update).
Works with pagination, avoids duplicates via a stable key, and is ready for dashboards, pivots, or BI tools.

What This Workflow Does

• Collects campaign stats from Smartlead (per-lead, per-sequence).
• Handles pagination safely (offset/limit).
• Writes to Google Sheets using appendOrUpdate with a matching column to prevent duplicates.
• Can run on a schedule for near real-time analytics.

Node Structure Overview

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Prerequisites

   • Smartlead account + API key with access to campaign statistics.
   • Google account + Google Sheets OAuth connected in n8n.

2. Create the Google Sheet

   • Spreadsheet name: Email Analytics (can be anything).
   • Tab name: EngagedLeads.
   • Add these exact headers (first row):

     lead_name, lead_email, lead_category,
     sequence_number, stats_id,
     email_subject, sent_time, open_time, click_time, reply_time,
     open_count, click_count, is_unsubscribed, is_bounced
     

3. Configure the Schedule Trigger

   • Choose a frequency (e.g., every 2 hours).
   • If you’re testing, set a single run or a short cadence.

4. Configure the Code Node (Pagination)

   • Emit N items like:

     { "offset": 0, "limit": 100 }
     { "offset": 100, "limit": 100 }
     ...
     

   • 100 is a good default limit. For up to 10,000 records, generate 100 offsets.

5. Configure the Smartlead API Node

   • Method: GET
   • URL:

     https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/campaigns/{campaign_id}/statistics
     

   • Query parameters:
     • api_key = <YOUR_SMARTLEAD_API_KEY>
     • offset = {{ $json.offset }}
     • limit = {{ $json.limit }}
   • Map response to JSON.

6. Split Out the Response

   • Use a Split Out (or similar) to iterate over data[] so each lead record is one item.

7. Google Sheets Node (Append or Update)

   • Operation: appendOrUpdate.
   • Document: Your Email Analytics sheet.
   • Sheet/Tab: EngagedLeads.
   • Matching Column: stats_id.
   • Map fields from Smartlead response to sheet columns:
     • lead_name ← lead name (or composed from first/last if provided)
     • lead_email ← email
     • lead_category ← category/type if available
     • sequence_number ← sequence step number
     • stats_id ← stable identifier (e.g., Smartlead stats_id or message id)
     • email_subject ← subject
     • sent_time, open_time, click_time, reply_time ← timestamps
     • open_count, click_count ← integers
     • is_unsubscribed, is_bounced ← booleans
   • If the same stats_id arrives again, the row is updated, not appended.

8. Test and Activate

   • Run once manually to verify API and sheet mapping.
   • Check the sheet for new/updated rows.
   • Activate the workflow to run automatically.

Smartlead API Reference (Used by This Workflow)

• Endpoint GET https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/campaigns/{campaign_id}/statistics
• Required query parameters
• api_key (string)
• offset (number)
• limit (number)
• Typical response (trimmed example)

{
  "data": [
    {
      "lead_name": "Jane Doe",
      "lead_email": "[email protected]",
      "sequence_number": 2,
      "stats_id": "15b6ff3a-...-b2b9f343c2e1",
      "email_subject": "Quick intro",
      "sent_time": "2025-10-08T10:18:55.496Z",
      "open_time": "2025-10-08T10:20:10.000Z",
      "click_time": null,
      "reply_time": null,
      "open_count": 1,
      "click_count": 0,
      "is_unsubscribed": false,
      "is_bounced": false
    }
  ],
  "total": 1234
}

Google Sheets Structure (Recommended)

Spreadsheet: Email Analytics

Tab: EngagedLeads

Columns:lead_name, lead_email, lead_category, sequence_number, stats_id, email_subject, sent_time, open_time, click_time, reply_time, open_count, click_count, is_unsubscribed, is_bounced

Matching Column: stats_id (prevents duplicates and allows updates)

Customization Tips

• Multiple Campaigns
  Duplicate the workflow and set a different {campaign_id} and/or write results to a separate tab in your Google Sheet.

• Batch Size
  Increase or decrease the limit value (e.g., 200) in your Code node if you want fewer or more API calls.

• Filtering
  Add a Code or IF node to skip rows where is_bounced = true or is_unsubscribed = true.

• Dashboards
  Create a new tab named Dashboard in Google Sheets and visualize your data using built-in charts or connect it to Looker Studio for advanced visualization.

• Enrichment
  Join this dataset with your CRM data (e.g., HubSpot or Salesforce) using lead_email as a key to gain deeper customer insights.

Security and Publishing Notes

• Do not hardcode your Smartlead API key in the workflow export.
  Use n8n credentials or environment variables instead.

• When sharing the template publicly, replace sensitive values with placeholders like:
  <YOUR_SMARTLEAD_API_KEY> and <YOUR_GOOGLE_SHEET_ID>.

• Keep your Google Sheet private unless you intentionally want to share it publicly.

Troubleshooting

• No rows in Sheets
  Verify that the API response includes data[], confirm that the Split Out node is configured correctly, and check field mappings.

• Duplicates
  Ensure the Google Sheets node has its matching column set to stats_id.

• Rate Limits
  Increase the schedule interval, add a short Wait node between batches, or reduce the limit size.

• Mapping Errors
  Ensure that column names in Sheets exactly match your field mappings — they are case-sensitive.

• Timezone Differences
  Smartlead timestamps are in UTC. Convert them downstream if your local timezone is different.

Example Use Case

Run this workflow hourly to maintain a live, company-wide Email Engagement Sheet.

• Sales teams can monitor replies and active leads.
• Marketing teams can track open and click rates by sequence.
• Operations can export monthly summaries — no Smartlead login required.

Tags

Smartlead EmailMarketing Automation GoogleSheets Analytics CRM MarketingOps