Spear gives you several ways to shape how your messages are written before they go out. Knowing when to use each one helps you keep messages personal without spending extra time editing manually.
1. Custom Messaging instructions
Standing instructions that tell the AI how to write in your voice — tone, phrases to avoid, signature style, and other preferences that should apply to every message.
To update them, go to your agent and select Messaging instructions.
Best practice: Be specific instead of vague.
2. Templates
Reusable message templates you can save and apply across campaigns instead of writing the same message from scratch each time.
Best practice: Use templates for messages you send often that vary only slightly, such as a standard follow-up. Refresh them periodically so prospects who've seen Spear outreach before don't get a repeated message.
3. Locked messages
Once you manually edit a message, it becomes locked — the AI won't rewrite or auto-suggest changes to it again.
Best practice: Only lock a message once you're confident in the final wording, since it will stay fixed even if you update your Messaging instructions later.
4. Examples editor
A place to add example messages that reflect your voice, which the AI uses as a reference when generating new suggestions.
Best practice: Add a few real messages that performed well, covering a range of scenarios. The more specific and varied your examples, the more accurately future AI-generated messages will match your style.
5. AI Refine & extra tools
Inside the message editor for each step, a few more tools help you fine-tune outreach: Refine lets you rewrite the draft with one click (Shorten, Elaborate, Professional tone, Convincing tone, or Add a joke), Video and Calendly let you attach a video or booking link, Approval holds a step until you approve it with one click, and Preview shows exactly how placeholders will render for a real prospect.
Best practice: Use Preview before turning on Approval for a step, so you catch any missing or misspelled placeholders before the message goes live.