n8n

How to Automate Google Sheets Email Prospecting?

Stop hunting emails one by one. Start a bulk email search from a simple Google Sheets list and get results delivered to your inbox and the Icypeas app. Built for sales teams and founders who manage prospect lists in spreadsheets.

You click run to start. The Google Sheets node reads last name, first name, and company from your sheet. A code node adds your Icypeas key, secret, and user id, then creates a signature and timestamp. The HTTP Request node sends one bulk job with task set to email search, your user id, and the sheet data. Auth uses a custom Authorization header made from your key and signature, plus an X ROCK TIMESTAMP header. Results are not returned to n8n. You receive a message in the Icypeas app and an email when the file is ready.

Set up a sheet with the three headers before you run it. Add your Icypeas credentials in the code node, then create the header credential in the HTTP Request node using the expression shown in the template. Expect list research time to drop from hours to minutes and let junior reps handle larger lists without extra training. Useful for outbound prospecting, event lead clean up, and quick list validation.

What are the key features?

  • On demand run with a manual trigger for controlled execution
  • Reads last name, first name, and company from Google Sheets
  • Code node injects API key, secret, and user id and builds a signed request with a timestamp
  • HTTP Request submits a bulk job with task set to email search and your sheet data
  • Custom Authorization header uses a key and signature expression
  • Includes X ROCK TIMESTAMP header passed from the code node
  • Results delivered inside Icypeas and by email so no parsing is needed

What are the benefits?

  • Reduce manual research from 2 hours to 5 minutes for a 500 row list
  • Automate 90 percent of repetitive email lookups
  • Handle 10 times more prospects without adding staff
  • Connect Google Sheets and Icypeas in one simple run
  • Improve data consistency by using one bulk job for all rows

How do you set it up?

  1. Import the template into n8n: Create a new workflow in n8n > Click the three dots menu > Select 'Import from File' > Choose the downloaded JSON file.
  2. You'll need accounts with Google Sheets and Icypeas. See the Tools Required section above for links to create accounts with these services.
  3. Prepare your spreadsheet in Google Sheets with three headers in row 1: lastname, firstname, company. Add a few sample rows to test.
  4. Open the Google Sheets node in n8n. In the Credential to connect with dropdown, click Create new credential, then follow the on screen steps to connect your Google account.
  5. In the Google Sheets node, choose your Document ID and Sheet Name so the node reads the correct tab.
  6. Open the code node labeled Authenticates to your Icypeas account. Paste your Icypeas API key, API secret, and User ID into the three constants as instructed in the node comments.
  7. Open the HTTP Request node. In Authentication, select Generic credential. Create a new HTTP Header Auth credential named Authorization. For the value, choose expression and enter {{$json.api.key + ':' + $json.api.signature}}. Save the credential.
  8. In the HTTP Request node, add a header parameter X ROCK TIMESTAMP and set it to the expression {{$json.api.timestamp}}.
  9. Confirm the body fields: task is email-search, user is {{$json.api.userId}}, data is {{$json.data}}, and name is a label you can change.
  10. Click Execute Workflow to run a small test. Check the HTTP Request node response status. Then visit the Icypeas bulk search page in your account and watch for the email from no-reply at Icypeas when the file is ready.
  11. Troubleshooting: ensure your sheet headers match exactly, verify the Authorization header expression, confirm the timestamp header is present, and check that your Icypeas API key, secret, and user id are correct. Make sure your Google account has access to the sheet.
  12. Optional: if you want automatic runs, add a Cron node and connect it before the Google Sheets node to schedule daily or weekly submissions.

Tools Required

$24 / mo or $20 / mo billed annually to use n8n in the cloud. However, the local or self-hosted n8n Community Edition is free.

Google Sheets

Sign up

Free: $0 (Google Sheets API usage has no additional cost; quota limits apply)

Icypeas

Sign up

Basic: $19 / mo (+VAT), 1,000 credits; includes API access and n8n

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