Mistakes and Learning with a Lead Generation Workflow
I automated my lead generation workflow. Here's what broke (and what I learned fixing it) š
The goal: Search Google Maps for businesses ā Scrape websites for emails ā Verify them ā Save to Google Sheets. All automated. Sounds simple, right? It wasn't. Reality: Nothing worked the first time. I watched a YouTube video few months earlier and was trying to find a way to find emails of businesses for FREE. What broke (and what I learned): š“ Problem: I tried Apify but the limits were Hit in 2 days. Fix: I built an email pattern generator (info@, contact@, sales@) Lesson: Check API limits BEFORE you build š“ Problem: Getting emails like info@www.domain.com (lol) My pattern generator got emails with www. Fix: One line code fixed "www." Lesson: Test with 1 item first, not 50 š“ Problem: "Too Many Requests" errors everywhere Fix: Added a loop with 1-second delays between requests Lesson: Rate limiting is about workflow structure, not just code š“ Problem: All my data disappeared after API calls Fix: I used set data node to preserve data Lesson: Data doesn't magically stick aroundāyou have to design for it š“ Problem: Paid API's everywhere š The main problem with lead generations is to get verified emails and these are not FREE. Fix: Cut patterns from 15 to 6 per business (still works!) Lesson: Free tiers force you to optimize (not a bad thing) The real takeaway? Not every automation project is a portfolio piece. Sometimes the real value is in what broke and how you fixed it. After all the fixes: I can now generate 100-200 verified leads in 15 days, fully automated. But honestly? The debugging taught me more than the final result. Quick question: How you handle paid APIs costs