Email new leads from Google Sheets via Outlook on a schedule

Send a templated outreach email to new leads in a Google Sheet on a daily schedule, then mark each lead as contacted so they won’t be emailed twice. Built with: Schedule Trigger → Google Sheets → Filter → Outlook Send Email → Google Sheets (append/update).

Who’s it for Teams that collect leads in Sheets and want automatic, once-per-lead outreach
Solo founders/consultants running simple top-of-funnel follow-ups
Anyone prototyping CRM-lite flows in n8n

How it works / What it does Schedule Trigger runs daily (e.g., 09:00). Get rows (Google Sheets) pulls leads from your sheet. Filter keeps only rows where Contacted is empty. Outlook – Send a message emails each remaining lead (to = {{$json.Email}}). Google Sheets (appendOrUpdate) writes back Contacted = Yes (match on Email) to prevent re-sending.

How to set up

1. Google Sheets (OAuth2) In n8n → Credentials → New → Google Sheets (OAuth2), sign in and grant access.
   In Get rows: select your Lead Source sheet (e.g., “New Leads”).
   In Append/Update: select the sheet you want to mark as contacted (can be the same sheet or a CRM sheet).
   Make sure your sheet has at least: Email, Contacted (blank for new).

2. Outlook (Microsoft Graph) OAuth2 n8n Cloud (quick connect):**
   In Credentials → New → Microsoft Outlook OAuth2, choose Connect, sign in with your Microsoft account, and accept permissions. Self-hosted (Azure App Registration):**

3. Azure Portal → App registrations → New registration.

4. Add redirect URL: https://YOUR_N8N_URL/rest/oauth2-credential/callback.

5. API permissions (Delegated): offline_access, Mail.Send, User.Read. Grant admin consent if required.

6. Create a Client secret; copy Application (client) ID and Directory (tenant) ID.

7. In n8n, create Microsoft Outlook OAuth2 credential with those values and scopes: offline_access Mail.Send openid email profile.
   In the Send a message node, select that credential and keep To mapped to {{$json.Email}}.
   Customize Subject and Body to your brand (default provided).

Requirements A Google Sheet of leads with an Email column (and an optional Contacted column).
A Microsoft account with permission to send mail via Microsoft Graph (Outlook).

How to customize the workflow Email content:** Edit subject/body (add variables like {{$json.FirstName}}).
Send window:** Change Schedule Trigger time/interval.
Idempotency:** Use the same sheet for read+write (match on Email) or separate source/CRM sheets.
Logging:** Add a Sheet or Notion append step after send for an audit trail.

Security & best practices No hardcoded secrets:* Always use OAuth2 credentials* (Sheets & Outlook).
Sanitize PII:* If publishing, remove real spreadsheet IDs/URLs* and personal emails/phone numbers.
Sticky notes are mandatory:* Add a yellow sticky note* in the workflow with this description and a short setup checklist. Use neutral sticky notes for per-node tips.

Troubleshooting No emails sent:** Ensure Contacted is blank for new rows and the Filter checks “is empty.”
Auth errors (Outlook):** Reconnect credential; confirm Graph scopes and tenant consent.
Sheets errors:** Re-select spreadsheet/tab; verify headers (Email, Contacted).
Duplicates:* Confirm Append/Update uses matching column = Email*.

Tags & category Category: Sales & CRM
Tags: outreach, follow-up, google-sheets, outlook, schedule, dedupe, cold-email

Changelog v1.0.0 — Initial release: scheduled outreach, Outlook email, de-dupe via Contacted = Yes.

Contact Need help customizing (personalization, rate-limits, CRM sync, bounce checks)?

📧 rbreen@ynteractive.com
🔗 Robert Breen — https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-breen-29429625/
🌐 ynteractive.com — https://ynteractive.com