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CRM Setup Guide

A guide for setting up Airtable as your CRM for managing outreach across different member types and channels.

Last Updated: January 26, 2026

Table of Contents​

Why Airtable​

Airtable is the go-to CRM for this system because:

  • Flexible: Manage different outreach channels (LinkedIn, Twitter, Email) across various member types (applied AI practitioners, business owners, tool developers)
  • Affordable: Free tier works for getting started; paid plans are reasonable
  • Extensions: Easy deduping, data cleaning, and more built-in
  • Collaboration: Multiple team members can work on the same base
  • API Access: Integrates with automations and external tools

Pricing​

PlanCostRecords per BaseBest For
Free$01,000Trial and basic setup
Team$24/user/month50,000Big databases, automations, extensions

What requires a paid plan:

  • More than 1,000 records per base
  • Automations (auto-emailing with conditions)
  • Extensions (comfortable deduping, data enrichment)

Note: Only users with editor-level access count toward seat costs. Viewers are free.

Setup​

Create Your Account​

  1. Go to airtable.com
  2. Sign up with email or Google/SSO
  3. Verify your email

Create Your Base​

  1. Click the three stripes (☰) at the top left to expand the sidebar
  2. Click the Create button at the bottom left corner
  3. You'll see two options:
    • Build an app with Omni: Airtable's AI assistant
    • Build an app on your own

Recommendation: Click "Build an app on your own". Omni usually creates some unnecessary tables/interfaces you'll likely need to customize or delete later.

A new base will be created with default fields.

Required Fields​

Set up these core fields first.

Tip: Use camelCase for field names (e.g., firstName not First Name), it may be useful for automations later on.

Rename the default "Name" field:

FieldTypeNotes
firstNameSingle line textPrimary field. Rename from default "Name" so you can use it as variable in outreach automations.

Create these additional fields:

FieldTypeNotes
lastNameSingle line text
emailEmail
citySingle line text
stateSingle line text
countrySingle line text
memberTypeSingle selectOptions: Tool Developer, Applied AI Practitioner, Business Owner, Other

For manual outreach tracking:

FieldTypeNotes
OutreachCheckboxMark when you've manually DM'd someone

Import Data​

  1. Click the Add button (with magic wand icon) at the bottom left of the database
  2. A pop-up opens. Choose the Data section.
  3. Select your import method:
    • CSV: Upload a .csv file
    • Google Sheets: Connect directly
    • Excel: Upload .xlsx file
    • Paste table data: Copy/paste from any spreadsheet
  4. Map columns to your fields
  5. Click Import

Outreach Options​

Manual Outreach:

Simply use a checkbox field called Outreach and mark it when you've messaged someone.

Automated Outreach:

Set up automations to reach out to contacts from Airtable via PhantomBuster. Each guide below specifies additional fields you'll need to create (profile URLs, status tracking, etc.) and how to set up filtered views.

See Also​