Part A: Environment Setup

Table of contents

1. Part A: Environment Setup
   1. Prerequisites Checklist
      1. Required Setup
   2. Create Tracking Spreadsheet
      1. Step 1: Create New Spreadsheet
      2. Step 2: Add Column Headers
      3. Step 3: Get Your Spreadsheet ID
      4. Step 4: Verify Access
   3. Ready to Build

---

Prerequisites Checklist

Before starting this exercise, ensure you’ve completed these from the Common Prerequisites:

Required Setup

• n8n Platform - Setup guide
• Gmail & Google Sheets - Connect via n8n
• Perplexity API - Setup guide
• Google Gemini API - Setup guide

Haven’t completed prerequisites? Follow the links above to set up each service before continuing.

Time for this setup: 5-10 minutes

---

Create Tracking Spreadsheet

The only exercise-specific setup is creating a Google Sheet to log outreach activity and results.

Step 1: Create New Spreadsheet

1. Go to Google Sheets
2. Click ”+ Blank” to create a new spreadsheet
3. Rename it: “Cold Email Tracking”

Step 2: Add Column Headers

In row 1, add these column headers (copy and paste into cells A1-L1):

timestamp | prospect_name | prospect_email | company | research_summary | email_subject | email_hook | email_body | email_cta | sent_status | workflow_id | notes

Quick Setup: Select cell A1, paste the entire line above, and the headers will spread across columns A-L automatically.

Step 3: Get Your Spreadsheet ID

1. Look at your spreadsheet URL in the browser:

   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/[SPREADSHEET_ID]/edit
   

2. Copy the SPREADSHEET_ID portion (the long string between /d/ and /edit)

3. Save this ID somewhere - you’ll need it when building the workflow in Part B

Example ID: 1BxiMVs0XRA5nFMdKvBdBZjgmUUqptlbs74OgvE2upms

Step 4: Verify Access

Make sure the Google account used for your Google Sheets OAuth credential in n8n has access to this spreadsheet.

Setup Complete! Your tracking spreadsheet is ready to log all cold email activity.

---

Ready to Build

You now have:

• ✅ All common prerequisites configured
• ✅ Tracking spreadsheet created with proper headers
• ✅ Spreadsheet ID ready for the workflow

Continue to Part B: Build the Workflow →