Overview
SendGrid allows you to send a higher volume of emails that can bypass the regular sending limits that major email providers have in place. Your ability to send more emails increases when you set up and integrate a SendGrid account with Apollo.
Refer to the sections below for more on how to integrate your SendGrid account with Apollo.
Please note, you need to be an admin in Apollo to connect your SendGrid account and configure the settings in Apollo. You also need to be on an Apollo basic, professional, or custom plan to integrate SendGrid with Apollo. If you are on a free plan or a free trial and want to upgrade, check out our pricing page or reach out to the Apollo Sales Team for more information.
Connect Your SendGrid Account to Apollo
Once you configure your SendGrid account, you can connect it to Apollo.
Please note, the Apollo integration works with all SendGrid plans, so the world is your oyster! You can connect your SendGrid account with Apollo whether you are on an Email API plan or a Marketing Campaigns plan. This includes free or paid plans. However, please note that SendGrid limits the number of emails you can send per day and month if you are on one of their free plans. For more information about SendGrid pricing, sneak a peek at the SendGrid pricing page.
Click the Integrations icon.
Scroll to SendGrid and click Connect.
Fill in your SendGrid API Key and click Link SendGrid.
For more information about how to access your SendGrid API Key, please read the "Set Up, Configure, and Troubleshoot Your SendGrid Account" article.
Any time you update your API key, copy the new key into the SendGrid API key field. Then, click Update API key.
Wondering how often you should update your API key? Apollo recommends you delete or update your API keys every 90 days to uphold security best practices and keep them safe. For more information on how to replace your SendGrid API keys, refer to this section of the API Keys article in the SendGrid Knowledge Base.
Enable SendGrid As Default for All Users
Click the Integrations icon.
Scroll to SendGrid and click View.
Click the Use Sendgrid as default for entire team toggle.
Then, click Make SendGrid default.
You have now enabled SendGrid as default for all users in your team.
Team members can still decide whether or not they use SendGrid for each of their email accounts. To disable SendGrid for a particular email address, click Settings and then click the Mailboxes tab.
Click the Additional options (...) button next to an email address. Then, click Stop sending emails from SendGrid.
To disable SendGrid as default for all users, click the default toggle again and then click Stop using SendGrid as Default.
Configure the Event Webhook Settings
To ensure accurate email event tracking when you integrate Apollo with SendGrid, you must configure the event webhook settings in Apollo.
Scroll to Event webhook settings and click Fix settings.
Apollo populates the HTTP Post URL field, configures the necessary event types and tracking options, and enables the webhook authentication toggle for you.
Please note, you must not disable the webhook authentication toggle. This provides an additional layer of security and allows Apollo to track your SendGrid events. If you turn the toggle off, Apollo cannot track your email events.
Apollo automatically saves the changes after you click the Fix settings button. If you want to enable any additional engagement events, click the checkboxes and then click Save.
Please note, when you configure the event webhook settings in Apollo, your SendGrid statistics sync with Apollo moving forward. The sync is not retroactive and previous statistics need to be reviewed directly on SendGrid.
Enable SendGrid for a Mailbox
Click Settings. Then, click the Mailboxes tab in your Personal Profile.
Click the Additional Options (...) button for the mailbox you want to enable with SendGrid. Then, click Send emails from SendGrid.
Please keep in mind that when you send emails via SendGrid, the emails do not appear in your mailbox sent folder. For more information and a possible workaround, refer to this SendGrid troubleshooting article.
Confirm You're Set Up
Add a contact to a sequence to confirm you've integrated SendGrid correctly.
For full instructions on how to add a contact to a sequence, please read the Add Contacts to a Sequence article.
When you add a contact to a sequence and choose Send Emails From:, you will see (Sendgrid) next to an email address. This confirms SendGrid is set up correctly.
Maximize Your Daily and Hourly Send Rates
Click Settings. Then, click manage sending limits under each linked Mailbox.
Click the mailbox for which you want to adjust the sending limits.
From here, you can adjust the Daily Sending Limit and the Maximum # of Emails to Send Per Hour.
Please note, the email sending limits with the Sendgrid integration are 6000 per day and 500 per hour. If you need more, add additional mailboxes to increase sending limits. For more information on sending limits in Apollo, please read the Email Sending Limits Overview article.
SendGrid and SPAM Filters
SendGrid replaces the tracking URLs and directs them to SendGrid servers to resolve deliverability issues. If you connect your Apollo account to SendGrid, you do not need to configure a Tracking Subdomain because SendGrid manages your tracking links on their end. For additional information, please see the "SendGrid Integration Overview" article.
Please note, if your emails are flagged as SPAM while your Apollo account is connected to SendGrid, you may need to replace the tracking link in the emails within your SendGrid account itself. SendGrid includes a feature called Link Branding that functions the same as Apollo's Tracking Subdomain. This Link Branding feature provides the URL that you must replace to reset the deliverability on your account. In this scenario, contact SendGrid Technical Support so that they can help you update this configuration and provide any additional information about deliverability within your account.
For more information about SPAM filters, please read the "Avoid SPAM Filters" article.