Automating LinkedIn Profile Scraping with Make.com and AppFive
Scraping LinkedIn profiles can provide valuable data for lead generation and outreach campaigns. Using automation tools like Make.com and AppFive, you can create efficient workflows to extract profile information and even generate personalized outreach messages.
Getting Started with AppFive for LinkedIn Scraping
AppFive is a powerful tool for scraping websites and automating data collection projects. To begin scraping LinkedIn profiles:
- Create an account on AppFive
- Navigate to the AppFive store
- Search for “LinkedIn profile scraper”
- Select a suitable tool from the results
The LinkedIn profile scraper allows you to input a LinkedIn profile URL and extract valuable information such as:
- About section
- Profile image
- Certifications
- Location
- Number of connections
- Company name
- Education details
- Name
- LinkedIn URL
Creating an Automation in Make.com
To automate the LinkedIn profile scraping process:
Step 1: Connect AppFive to Make.com
Add the AppFive module in Make.com and create a connection between your AppFive account and Make.com:
- Search for AppFive in Make.com
- Add a “Run an Action” module
- Create a connection by clicking “Add” for the connection type
- Name your connection and save
- Choose the account you want to connect
Step 2: Configure the LinkedIn Profile Scraper
After connecting AppFive:
- Choose your LinkedIn profile scraper tool
- Select “Run synchronously”
- Input the JSON from your AppFive tool
- Format the JSON properly using a JSON formatter tool
- Save and rename the module to “LinkedIn profile scraper”
Step 3: Retrieve Scraped Data
Add a “Get Data Set Item” module:
- Add your data set ID
- Adjust the limit based on the number of profiles you’re scraping
- Save and rename the module to “Get scraped data”
Storing Data in Google Sheets
To store the LinkedIn profile data in a spreadsheet:
Step 1: Create a Spreadsheet
Create a Google Sheet with columns for:
- Name
- Company name
- About section
- Personalized first line (for outreach)
- LinkedIn URL
Step 2: Connect to Google Sheets in Make.com
Add a Google Sheets module in Make.com:
- Choose “Add a Row” module
- Find your spreadsheet
- Select the sheet name
- Map the data from AppFive to the appropriate columns
- Save and rename the module to “LinkedIn profile data”
Automating Profile Selection
Instead of hard-coding LinkedIn URLs, you can create a system to select profiles from a sheet:
Step 1: Create a URL Sheet
Create another sheet in your Google Sheet named “LinkedIn URL” to store the URLs of profiles you want to scrape.
Step 2: Set Up a Trigger in Make.com
Add a Google Sheets “Watch Rows” module:
- Select your spreadsheet
- Choose the “LinkedIn URL” sheet
- Set the limit to 1
- Configure where to start (can be manual or automatic)
This allows you to select which profile to scrape by adding URLs to your sheet.
Generating Personalized Outreach Messages with AI
To create personalized first lines for outreach messages:
Step 1: Add an AI Module
Add a Gemini module (or other AI tool) to your workflow:
- Create a connection to your Gemini account
- Choose a suitable model (e.g., Gemini 2.0 Pro)
- Configure the model role and user role
Step 2: Write an Effective Prompt
Create a prompt that instructs the AI to generate a personalized first line based on the LinkedIn profile data:
- Specify that the output should be engaging and relevant
- Include the profile’s about section and URL in the prompt
- Add rules for the AI to follow (output only the first line, no suggestions or placeholders, etc.)
Step 3: Update Your Spreadsheet
Add another Google Sheets module to update your spreadsheet with the generated first line.
Running the Complete Automation
When the automation runs successfully, it will:
- Get a LinkedIn URL from your sheet
- Scrape the profile using AppFive
- Extract the profile data
- Add the data to your spreadsheet
- Generate a personalized first line using AI
- Update your spreadsheet with the generated first line
This end-to-end automation streamlines the process of collecting LinkedIn profile data and preparing personalized outreach messages, saving you significant time and effort in your lead generation workflows.