Personalize and Preview Messages with Real Leads

You can preview your campaign messages on real leads, choose which profile facts the AI receives, and refine the writing instructions.

Two controls work together:

• Lead context controls which stored facts the AI can use.
• Messaging instructions tell the AI how to use those facts in your message.

For example, enable Work history to make past roles available. Then ask the personalized opener to connect relevant experience to your offer.

This guide covers both controls.

1. Select real leads for your previews

Open your campaign’s Messaging tab. The campaign needs existing leads before you can select real profiles.

1. Click Select campaign leads in the Campaign leads panel.
2. Select up to three leads.
3. Click Preview selected leads.
4. Wait for the previews to finish.

Select existing campaign leads, then generate previews. Creating a preview does not send a message.

Choose leads with different roles or backgrounds. This makes it easier to see whether your instructions adapt to each person.

If the campaign has no leads, return after it has sourced some. There are no real profiles to inspect until then.

2. Choose the profile context

Click Lead context near the top right of the Messaging tab.

The panel controls additional context for this campaign. Name, current role, and company identity are always included.

Opening this panel does not change your settings. Choose additional context only when it supports the message you want to write.

What each option provides

Option	When it is useful	Default version 1 at publication
Headline and About	Connect your offer to stated responsibilities, expertise, or priorities.	On
Company background	Refer to what the business makes, sells, or ships, when stored facts support it.	On
Work history	Use a relevant previous role, employer, or work responsibility.	On
Education	Refer to a school, degree, or relevant study.	Off
Location	Use relevant regional context. A location does not establish a shipping lane.	On
Additional research	Use available research about events such as expansion or business changes.	On
Source links and dates	Make available references and dates accessible to the AI when your instructions need them.	Off

Not every lead has data for every context option. A profile may include work history but no education or company background. These controls select available facts; they do not fetch or fill in missing information.

A LinkedIn URL is a reference. It does not, by itself, establish a prospect’s responsibilities, carrier, or business needs.

Start with the default

The panel shows Following current default version 1 in these screenshots. The current version may change after this guide’s publication.

A campaign without custom settings follows the current published default for new generation. Opening the panel does not create a custom configuration.

Use the default unless your instructions need a different selection. More context adds input text, and unrelated facts can distract from your message.

Example: Enable Education if your message should refer to a relevant degree. Leave it off if education has no connection to your offer.

3. Inspect the actual facts for a selected lead

Expand Inspect selected lead context inside the panel.

The inspector distinguishes available facts, missing data, and options you have excluded.

Read the status for each section:

• Included means the selected option has usable stored context. Review the text beneath it to see what the AI receives.
• No usable stored data means this lead has no usable facts for that section. Selecting the option cannot fill the gap.
• Excluded by settings means the option is off. This status does not tell you whether stored data exists.

The inspector reflects the checkboxes currently selected in the panel. Save your changes before you regenerate message previews.

Check the profile snapshot date when it appears. Stored information can be older than the current profile.

The character-based token estimate indicates the size of the additional lead context. It excludes your template and other instructions.

Example: A profile can include work history but have no company background. Ask for relevant career experience instead of assuming the company’s products or carriers.

4. Save custom context and refresh the previews

1. Select or clear the context options you need.
2. Click Save custom context.
3. Click Regenerate previews in the Messaging tab.
4. Wait for the new previews before you judge the result.

Save the context selection, then regenerate. Existing previews can still reflect the previous settings until you refresh them.

The save button becomes available after you change the selection. If you close the panel without saving, the campaign keeps its saved settings.

Context settings affect new generation and previews. Saving context does not rewrite existing queued messages.

Return to the current default

For a campaign with custom context:

1. Open Lead context.
2. Click Reset to current default.
3. Regenerate the previews.

Resetting removes the custom selection. The campaign follows the current published default again, including later default updates.

Custom selections stay as saved when GTM Bud publishes a new default. Use reset when you want the campaign to follow those defaults again.

5. Tell the personalized opener how to use the context

Context makes facts available. An instruction gives those facts a purpose.

If the campaign uses GTM Bud’s strategy, select Change: Build my own messaging before editing.

In the message editor:

1. Click Edit on the message you want to change.
2. Open the pencil beside the personalized opener prompt.
3. Enter your instruction.
4. Click Save prompt.
5. Click Save on the message, or Save messages for the campaign.

Specify the detail to use and its connection to your offer. Save the prompt, then save the message.

For a freight-pricing offer, you could use this starting instruction:

Write two short sentences for this prospect.

Connect one relevant detail from their work history or company background to reviewing freight pricing.

Use their actual responsibilities instead of repeating their job title. Keep the tone conversational.

Mention products, carriers, or shipping lanes only when the supplied facts support them. Do not invent problems or use generic praise.

If no relevant detail is available, use a straightforward opener without pretending to know more.

Adapt the instruction to your offer. For example, an education-focused offer might need Education enabled instead of extra company detail.

Keep the personalized opener prompt in your message template. Do not replace it with one lead’s generated text if future messages should adapt to each person.

Saving your personalized opener instruction creates a campaign-specific instruction. That instruction no longer receives changes to GTM Bud’s default opener prompt.

This is separate from lead context. You can use your own opener instruction while continuing to follow the default context selection.

6. Choose which messages the edit should affect

For an active campaign, saving messaging changes opens Review messaging changes.

Choose the save scope deliberately. Future leads only preserves existing messages while allowing you to review fresh previews.

Save scope	What changes
Future leads only	Existing messages stay unchanged. Leads added after the save use the new messaging.
Apply to uncontacted leads only	Rewrites messages for leads with no sent touches. People already contacted keep their remaining messages.
Regenerate all unsent messages	Rewrites unsent messages, including remaining follow-ups for people you have already contacted.

Messages already sent and messages edited by hand are not rewritten by these regeneration options.

To keep existing outreach unchanged, select Future leads only. Then click Save messaging.

Save prompt alone does not finish the campaign save. Complete the message save and any save-scope dialog.

7. Compare the refreshed previews

After you save messaging changes, the affected previews regenerate automatically. Wait for writing to finish before you compare the results.

Review the updated message for the selected lead. Then select another lead in the Campaign leads panel.

Select another real lead to compare how the same instruction uses a different profile.

Check these points:

• Does the opener use a fact that appears in the inspected context?
• Does that fact have a clear connection to your offer?
• Does the message avoid unsupported assumptions about products, carriers, or problems?
• Does it sound like something your team would say?
• Does the same instruction produce a useful result for a different profile?

Change one instruction at a time. Save it, then compare the refreshed previews again.

Previews show how your current settings generate messages for the selected leads. They do not promise a particular reply rate or show that queued messages changed.

Frequently asked questions

Why is work history missing even though I selected it?

The option controls whether stored work history is available to the AI. It cannot create data that GTM Bud does not have.

Inspect the selected lead’s context. Try another lead if that profile has no usable work history.

Why does my preview still look the same after a context change?

Save the context selection first. Then click Regenerate previews.

The page warns when previews use an older context configuration. Also check that your writing instruction asks for the newly available detail.

Does generating a preview send a message?

No. Generating or regenerating a preview does not send a message.

Can I test new wording without rewriting existing queued messages?

Yes. Save the messaging edit with Future leads only, then review the refreshed previews on your selected real leads.

The saved instruction can affect leads added afterward. This is a saved campaign change, not a separate sandbox.

Does changing context change every campaign?

No. Saving custom lead context changes the selected campaign. Other campaigns keep their own custom settings or continue to follow the default.