How to Migrate From Snov.io to lemlist: Steps, Risks, Best Practices

Why teams switch from Snov.io to lemlist

Snov.io focuses on lead database and email automation, while lemlist adds LinkedIn, calls, and hyper-personalization. That difference is what typically triggers a migration. Teams that start with Snov.io’s email drip campaigns eventually hit a ceiling when their pipeline demands more than one channel.

lemlist provides advanced personalization, multichannel outreach, and enhanced deliverability features, supporting campaigns via email, LinkedIn, and other platforms, which broadens reach and improves response rates. If your team already runs (or wants to run) LinkedIn, cold calls, SMS, or WhatsApp alongside email, consolidating into one platform eliminates the tool-switching that slows reps down.

Here’s a side-by-side look at where the two platforms differ:

lemlist is a strong fit for teams that care about customization, and it makes sense if your team uses phone or WhatsApp outreach daily. On the other hand, if Snov.io’s built-in CRM is something you rely on, plan to connect lemlist with your external CRM before making the switch.

What you can (and can’t) export from Snov.io

Before touching anything in lemlist, get clear on what travels with you and what stays behind. Surprises mid-migration are the kind nobody enjoys.

Lead lists and contact fields

To download a list from the Leads page, click the three-dot menu in the top toolbar and select Export prospect list. You can then select the checkboxes for the columns (data fields) you want to include in the export file, grouped into personal and company information, including default fields and any custom fields you’ve created.

Keep in mind that Snov.io’s custom field names won’t automatically match lemlist’s default variable names (like {{firstName}} or {{companyName}}). You’ll remap them during import, but knowing this upfront prevents confusion later.

Campaign recipient data and engagement reports

You can download the recipient list or export the activity report as a CSV file for any active or completed campaign. However, the activity report includes only data from the past 30 days. Export these reports before canceling your Snov.io account so you have a performance benchmark to compare against once lemlist is live.

What stays behind in Snov.io

Not everything transfers cleanly. Here’s what you’ll lose or recreate:

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  Email verification status: Snov.io’s verification results don’t carry over. Re-verify in lemlist during import.

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  Drip campaign logic: Sequence structure, delays, and conditional branching all live inside Snov.io’s campaign builder. You’ll rebuild these manually.

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  Warm-up progress: Your domain reputation is tied to DNS and provider, not the platform, but warm-up history resets when you switch tools.

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  Integration configurations: Zapier zaps, CRM field mappings, and webhook setups connecting to Snov.io will break and need to be rebuilt for lemlist.

Pre-migration checklist

Migrations go wrong when people rush into exporting and importing without preparing their data or infrastructure first. Run through these four steps before you export a single CSV.

1. Audit and clean your Snov.io data

Remove duplicates, outdated contacts, and hard bounces inside Snov.io before exporting. You can add custom tags or labels to leads, making it easy to filter, move between lists, or export them. Use tags to segment what’s worth migrating and what’s dead weight. Migrating dirty data wastes enrichment credits and risks your sender reputation from day one.

2. Export suppression and unsubscribe lists

A suppression list contains contacts who opted out, hard-bounced, or told you to stop emailing. Export these separately. Importing leads into lemlist without honoring your suppression list violates GDPR and CAN-SPAM, and inbox providers punish senders who re-email unsubscribed contacts with spam placement.

3. Document your active sequences and CRM integrations

Screenshot or write down your current Snov.io drip campaigns: step order, delay timing, email copy, conditional logic. Also note which CRM fields sync and in which direction. This document becomes your rebuild blueprint inside lemlist.

4. Set up your lemlist account and sending infrastructure

Create your lemlist account, connect (or purchase) sending domains, and configure DNS authentication before importing leads. lemlist’s Deliverability Hub walks you through authentication setup and flags misconfigurations before you send a single email.

Step-by-step migration from Snov.io to lemlist

With your data cleaned and infrastructure ready, here’s the actual migration sequence.

1. Export your lead lists from Snov.io as CSV

At the bottom of the export window, select the format for your export file. You can choose between CSV, XLSX (Excel), or Google Sheets. Choose CSV for the cleanest import into lemlist. Export all relevant lists, not just active campaign recipients. Leads in your prospecting pipeline still have value.

2. Clean and reformat your CSV for lemlist variables

lemlist auto-maps standard variables like email, firstname, lastname, companyName, companyDomain, linkedinUrl, phone, picture, and icebreaker (see lemlist’s CSV import guide). Open your exported CSV and rename column headers to match these variable names exactly. Remove columns with empty or irrelevant data, and make sure your first row contains column names (not actual lead data). If your first row contains an actual email address, lemlist treats it as a column name and skips that lead.

3. Import leads into lemlist and map custom fields

During the “Set up imported custom variables” step, assign each CSV column to the correct lemlist variable type. This is what makes lemlist recognize fields like {{email}} and {{linkedinUrl}} in your campaign steps. If you’re unsure which option to pick, see lemlist’s guide on choosing the right CSV import type.

For any non-standard fields (like “painPoint” or “industry”), lemlist lets you create custom variables on the spot. You can upload up to 40,000 leads total via CSV, split into batches of 10,000 leads per campaign (see lemlist’s import limits guide). If your list is larger, break it into multiple campaigns by segment.

4. Rebuild your sending schedule and upgrade to multichannel

Use the documentation from Step 3 of your pre-migration checklist to reconstruct your sequences. Here’s the opportunity most teams miss: instead of copying email-only drips from Snov.io, add LinkedIn profile visits, connection requests, or call steps between your emails. In lemlist, you build your workflow with steps such as emails, LinkedIn messages, calls, tasks, and delays, and add conditions to create logic (for example, “if lead clicks, send Step 5”). See lemlist’s guide to creating a lemlist campaign for the full walkthrough.

5. Warm up your mailboxes with lemwarm

Even if your mailboxes were sending actively in Snov.io, switching platforms changes your sending patterns. Inbox providers (Gmail, Outlook) notice those changes and may treat you as a new sender. Activate lemwarm on every connected mailbox and let it run for about one month (2–3 weeks of ramp-up, then 2 weeks of stabilization) before sending outreach at full volume. The Email Starter plan includes the lemwarm warm-up network, which has been operating since 2019 and remains one of the oldest in the industry.

6. Launch a test campaign before going full volume

Send to a small segment first (50–100 leads). Monitor open rates, bounce rates, and spam placement in lemlist’s Deliverability Hub. Only scale once you’ve confirmed healthy inbox placement across Gmail and Outlook.

Migration risks that can hurt your reply rates

Platform migrations are operational, not glamorous. Skip a step and you pay for it in bounced emails, broken personalization, or stalled pipeline.

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  Deliverability damage from skipping warm-up: Sending at full volume on day one from a new platform is the fastest way to land in spam. Inbox providers flag sudden pattern changes.

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  Data loss from unmapped custom fields: If you skip field mapping during CSV import, personalization variables break. Leads receive emails with blank merge tags or raw {{variable}} names. Nothing kills credibility faster.

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  Pipeline gaps from poor transition timing: If you pause Snov.io campaigns before lemlist is fully set up, active deals go cold during the dead zone. Warm leads don’t wait.

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  CRM sync breaks between platforms: If your HubSpot or Salesforce fields were mapped to Snov.io, those connections stop working the moment you switch. Rebuild CRM sync in lemlist first.

Best practices to protect deliverability and pipeline during the switch

Run Snov.io and lemlist in parallel for two weeks

Keep existing Snov.io campaigns active while you set up and test in lemlist. Migrate lists in batches, starting with lower-priority segments. Only deactivate Snov.io once lemlist campaigns are confirmed landing in primary inboxes.

Start with your highest-performing sequence

Rebuild your best-converting Snov.io sequence first. This gives you a reliable benchmark. If the migrated sequence matches or beats prior performance, proceed with the rest confidently.

Use the Deliverability Hub to monitor inbox placement

lemlist’s Deliverability Hub shows where emails actually land (primary inbox, promotions, spam) per mailbox and provider. Run inbox placement tests during the first week of sending. If placement drops, adjust volume or rewrite subject lines before scaling.

How to rebuild Snov.io sequences as multichannel campaigns

Migration is the right moment to upgrade your outreach, not just replicate it.

Turn email-only drips into email plus LinkedIn workflows

Insert a LinkedIn profile visit before your first email. Add a connection request after an unopened second email. Follow with a LinkedIn message if the connection is accepted. lemlist automates all of these with human-like delays that protect your LinkedIn account, and LinkedIn automation is included natively rather than as a paid add-on.

Add call and SMS steps for high-priority leads

For leads with phone numbers (or leads you enrich using lemlist’s waterfall phone finder), add a call step after your second or third email. A short SMS before a scheduled call warms the conversation. lemlist’s in-app dialer handles calling directly from the platform, and calls can be recorded, transcribed, and synced to your CRM.

Migration timeline and what to expect in the first 30 days

By the end of week four, your entire outbound operation is running from one platform with full multichannel coverage.

Your Snov.io to lemlist migration starts here

The move from Snov.io to lemlist is manageable when you follow the checklist: clean your data, warm up your mailboxes, run both platforms in parallel, and scale gradually. The payoff is a single platform where email, LinkedIn, calls, SMS, and WhatsApp work from the same campaign with shared reporting and a unified inbox.