How to Scrape Apollo Leads for Free and Automate the Process
Welcome to this guide on how to scrape leads from Apollo.io without paying for expensive subscriptions. We’ll be using Apify (Iify) and N8N to automate the process.
Introduction to Apollo and Iify
Apollo.io is a popular lead database that requires a paid subscription for scraping leads. To avoid these costs, we’ll be using Apify, a website that hosts various scrapers, including the Apollo Scraper.
- Apollo.io charges for lead credits.
- Apify offers a pay-as-you-go model, which can be more cost-effective.
Setting up Iify
1. Sign Up: Create an account at apify.com. New accounts receive $5 of free usage every month.
2. Find the Apollo Scraper: Search for “Apollo scraper” and select the “Apollo Scraper: Scrape up to 50K leads”.
3. Understand the Cost: The scraper costs $1.2 per 1,000 leads, but your free monthly credit covers over 4,000 leads.
Getting the Search URL from Apollo
1. Create an Apollo Account: If you don’t have one already, create an account at Apollo.io.
2. Define Your Search Parameters: Set filters like email status, job titles, location, company size, and niche to target specific leads.
– Example: Verified emails, job titles like Owner, CEO, Founder, etc., location in Austin, Texas, company size between 50-200 employees, and the real estate niche.
3. Copy the Search URL: Once your parameters are set, copy the URL from the Apollo search results page.
Configuring the Apollo Scraper in Iify
1. Paste the URL: Paste the copied Apollo search URL into the “Search URL” field in the Iify Apollo scraper.
2. Set Run Options: Set the “Maximum results” to 10 for testing to conserve your credits.
3. Start the Scrape: Click “Start” to run the scraper.
Exporting Leads from Iify
Once the scrape is complete, you can export the results as a CSV file.
Automating Lead Scraping with N8N
To automate the scraping process, we’ll use N8N, an automation platform.
1. Sign Up for N8N: Create an account at n8n.io.
2. Create a New Workflow: Click on `create your first workflow`.
3. Add a Manual Trigger: Add a “Manual Trigger” node to start the workflow manually.
4. Add an HTTP Request Node: Add an HTTP Request node to fetch data from Iify.
Configuring the HTTP Request Node
1. Get the API URL from Iify: In Iify, go to the Integrations tab in your recent actor run and copy the “Run actor synchronously and get dataset items” API URL. This URL includes your API token.
2. Paste the URL in N8N: In the HTTP Request node, set the method to “GET” and paste the Iify API URL.
3. Set Send Body to Json: Turn on the option `send` and pick `Json`.
4. Get the Input JSON from Iify: In Iify, go to the “Input” tab of your actor run, click on the `Json` button, and copy the JSON code.
5. Paste the JSON in N8N: In the HTTP Request node, paste the copied JSON code.
6. Test the Step: Click “Test Step” to ensure the workflow is fetching data from Iify.
Integrating with Google Sheets
1. Create a Google Sheet: Create a Google Sheet with column headers for the data you want to store (e.g., First Name, Last Name, Email, Company Name, Company Website, LinkedIn URL, Company LinkedIn).
2. Add a Google Sheets Node: In N8N, add a “Google Sheets” node.
3. Select Action: Choose “Append a Row”.
4. Connect Your Google Account: Connect to your Google Sheets account by going to the `console.cloud.google` and set up an app and also enabling Google Sheets and then go ahead and create a new credential and sign in with Google.
5. Select Spreadsheet and Sheet: Choose your Google Sheet and the specific sheet you want to use.
6. Map the Data: Map the data from the HTTP Request node to the corresponding columns in your Google Sheet by dragging and dropping.
7. Test the Step: Click “Test Step” to see the data populated in your Google Sheet.
Conclusion
By using Iify and N8N, you can effectively scrape leads from Apollo.io for free and automate the process, saving time and money. Remember to check the pricing and usage limits, as there may be changes or updates to the services mentioned.
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