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How do I personalize my outreach in Clay using Twain’s deep research?

Discover how to integrate Twain with Clay to scale personalized outreach. This step-by-step guide covers setup, campaign mapping, best practices, and A/B testing to maximize results with Twain’s deep research.

Updated this week

1. What You Need

To use Twain’s personalization effectively, you only need:

  • LinkedIn profile URL of the prospect (preferred)

  • Work email (optional; can personalize only at the company level)

You can use Twain for both inbound and outbound campaigns. A free Twain account provides access to your API key, which is necessary to connect with Clay.


2. Setting Up Twain with Clay

Step 1: Add Twain Enrichment in Clay

  • Open Clay, add a new column, and search for “write content with Twain deep research.”

  • You need to connect your API key from Twain to Clay.

Step 2: Find Your API Key

  • In Twain: go to your name → API key → copy key.

  • Back in Clay: paste the API key to enable integration.

Step 3: Map the Right Campaign

  • Create a campaign in Twain first, even with a small set of leads.

  • Test the copy and results with a few leads before mapping a larger dataset in Clay.

  • Once ready, select this campaign in Clay. Clay will automatically map LinkedIn profiles and emails.

Important: Always use LinkedIn profiles if possible for individual-level personalization. Emails work, but only at the company level.


3. What Information to Store Where

  • In Clay: Prospect-specific information (name, LinkedIn, email, triggers, signals).

  • In Twain: Campaign-specific information (offer, value proposition, messaging framework, sequences).

Rule: Only put individualized info in Clay. Campaign-level info should live in Twain.


4. Running Enrichment and Outputs

Once setup is complete:

  1. Run the enrichment in Clay.

  2. Twain generates:

    • Personalized messages (intro + follow-ups)

    • Subject lines

    • Research insights (on the prospect, company, and context)

Extra features:

  • Insights come with references and source links.

  • Data can be exported to a CRM for cold calling, meeting prep, or other outreach.

  • Twain cleans up LinkedIn emojis, logos, and formatting, ensuring correct company names and job titles.


5. Personalization and Multi-Channel Outreach

  • Each follow-up in a sequence retains context of previous messages.

  • Supports multiple channels: emails, LinkedIn messages, connection requests.

  • Twain allows you to adjust language, tone, and style through a chat interface.


6. Best Practices: Where to Spend Your Time

To maximize impact:

  1. Persona: Import documents, content, or context with Twain’s AutoImp import. Review to ensure accuracy.

  2. Campaign Idea: Add thoughtful context, goals, social proof, events, or lead magnets.

  3. Frameworks: Use past successful email examples or follow-up steps to guide AI for consistency.

Pro Tip: Focus on fine-tuning these three areas to improve the quality of personalization.


7. AB Testing

  • Easily duplicate campaigns in Clay for A/B testing.

  • Test variables like:

    • Opener style (observation → question)

    • CTA variations

    • Subject line changes

  • This helps optimize personalization strategies and messaging.


8. Summary

  • Twain + Clay integration simplifies personalized outreach for large prospect lists.

  • Focus on prospect-specific data in Clay and campaign-level data in Twain.

  • Leverage deep research insights, personalized messages, and multi-channel sequences.

  • AB test your campaigns to continuously improve performance.

Bottom line: With a free Twain account and API access, you can start seeing results quickly and scale personalization for thousands of leads with high accuracy.

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