How to Create Your AI Twin: Automated Personalized Follow-ups with Brevo
What if you had an AI twin that followed up with every lead for you? Imagine sending personalized sales emails and text messages automatically - all with videos that look and sound exactly like you. This guide connects Brevo, HeyGen, and Make.com so a new contact can receive a video that uses their name, without recording each message individually.
Why Personalization Matters
Let's face it - manual follow-ups are exhausting. Most businesses drop the ball by:
Taking too long to respond
Sending generic, canned emails that do more harm than good
Missing the critical window when a lead is most engaged
Whether it's a new lead, a first purchase, or a warm subscriber, failing to make an impact with that first touchpoint means missed revenue opportunities.
That's exactly why I built this automation - to help you send personalized emails and SMS messages at the right time, at scale. In this guide, I'll walk you through everything step-by-step, even giving you a free blueprint you can instantly import. The blueprint gives you a starting point; allow time to create your avatar, connect the accounts, and test delivery.
The Tools You'll Need
To create your AI twin automation, we'll be using three tools:
Brevo- To send and manage contacts
HeyGen - To create your AI avatar
Make.com - To connect everything together and orchestrate the process
The best part? You can get started with Brevo for free! And because they're sponsoring this post, the current partner offer is 50% off Starter or Standard for the first three months with code SOLO50. Brevo has a Free plan, but check that your account includes the automation and webhook actions required here. HeyGen API usage, Make credits, and optional SMS are separate costs.
Setting Up Brevo for Your Automation
First, let's understand how this automation works:
Every business has a different sales process and different sales stages, but this automation is incredibly flexible and can plug into virtually any sales situation. The system triggers your automated avatar email and text message when your customer or lead performs a certain action - such as:
When a new lead is created
When someone purchases a product
When a subscriber joins your newsletter
When someone books a demo
...or any other trigger you configure
The one core requirement is getting that contact into Brevo to send them an email. Let's set this up:
Step 1: Create a List in Brevo
Log into your Brevo account
Go to Contacts → Lists
Click "Create List"
Name it (e.g., "AI Sales List")
Create a folder if you'd like to organize multiple lists
Step 2: Create a Form to Capture Leads
The easiest way to get contacts into Brevo is using their built-in forms:
Go to Forms
Click "Create Sign-up Form"
Choose between:
Full page form (gives you a direct link)
Embedded form (to add to your existing website)
Popup form (appears on your website)
Name your form (e.g., "AI Sales Form" or whatever makes sense for your specific use case)
Design your form:
Customize text and fields by clicking on them
Add additional fields by dragging them in
Keep it simple - fewer fields typically means higher conversion rates
💡 Pro Tip: You can add custom fields like multiple choice questions to tailor your follow-up messages. For example, if you're a fitness coach, you might ask "What's your goal?" with options like "Lose weight," "Gain muscle," or "Recomp." Your AI avatar could then address their specific goal in the personalized message!
Click Next
Select your list (the one you just created)
Choose the signup confirmation settings appropriate for your form; the personalized video is a separate follow-up message
Customize the success message
Get your form code to use on your website or get the full page link
If you don't have a website, Brevo also offers landing pages (a paid feature) with dozens of pre-built templates for any use case.
Step 3: Set Up the Automation in Brevo
Now let's create the automation that will trigger when someone joins your list:
Click on Automations
Go to "Create an Automation"
Click "Build with new editor"
Look for the trigger "Contact added to list"
Choose the list you just created (e.g., "AI Sales List")
Click Save
Drag in a webhook
Enter a temporary URL: https://example.com (we'll update this later)
Save the automation as "AI Avatar" (don't activate it yet)
Creating Your AI Avatar with HeyGen
Next, we'll create your AI avatar using HeyGen:
Sign up for a HeyGen account
Check that your HeyGen account supports the avatar you want to use, and set up API billing separately
Go to Avatars and click "Create New Avatar"
Choose "Hyperrealistic Avatar"
Upload at least 2 minutes of footage with these tips:
You can use your computer's webcam (actually preferred as it looks more authentic)
Ensure decent lighting
Look at the screen when speaking
Use a decent microphone (built-in is fine)
Don't worry about professional quality - you're trying to make this look like a real person sending a video!
Check the confirmation boxes
Submit your footage
Wait for your avatar to finish processing before testing the automation
⚡ Important Note: The first time you create an avatar, you'll need to record a consent video where you read a message on camera, confirming that you're actually the person in the footage.
Setting Up Make.com to Connect Everything
While your avatar is being created, let's set up Make.com to orchestrate the automation:
Create a free Make.com account
Click "Create New Scenario"
Import the free blueprint (you can get this from the link in my description)
Create a webhook:
Click Add
Name your webhook (e.g., "AI Avatar Sales Make")
Click Save
Copy the webhook address to clipboard
Return to Brevo:
Open your automation
Click on the webhook you added
Replace the example URL with the one from Make.com
Make sure the "Contact added to list" trigger is activated
Click Save and then Activate Automation
Get your Brevo API key:
In Brevo, go to SMTP & API
Go to API Keys
Generate a new API key (if you don't already have one)
Copy your API key for later use
Configure your Make.com scenario:
Select the webhook you created
Click Save
Setting Up the Avatar Video Creation
Now, let's set up the video creation in Make.com:
Set up the HeyGen connection:
Get your API key from HeyGen:
Go to your account
Go to Settings → API
Copy your API key and check your API balance; do not assume a recurring free allowance
Paste your API key into Make.com
Configure the video settings:
Select your avatar
Leave avatar scale at 1 (if you shot landscape video)
Choose your voice (the default one created with your avatar is fine)
Write your script with personalization:
Hey {{1.first_name}}, Welcome to the Solopreneur community! I'm excited to have you on board. If you ever need anything, feel free to reach out. Enjoy the journey!
The rest of the settings can remain as they are in the blueprint
Click Save
HeyGen’s API billing is separate from its web-app subscription. Budget for the videos this workflow generates, and check each video has finished rendering before sending its link.
Setting Up Email and SMS Delivery
Now let's configure how the personalized messages will be sent:
In the Brevo module in Make.com:
Add your Brevo connection using the API key you copied earlier
Configure the email:
Recipient: Use the dynamic field for email address
Subject: Something like "{{1.first_name}}, a video to welcome you personally!"
Content: The blueprint already includes HTML code that will:
Insert a GIF from your AI video (auto-plays in most email clients)
Add a link to the full video
Include your personalized message
For SMS (optional):
Configure the SMS settings:
Recipient: The contact's phone number
Content: Something like "I made a video just for you, {{1.first_name}}! Check it out here: {{link to video}}"
💡 Note on SMS: SMS credits are sold separately. Cost depends on destination and message length, so check Brevo’s current SMS rates and sender setup requirements before enabling this optional step.
Testing Your Automation
Now it's time to test everything:
Create a test contact in Brevo:
Go to Contacts
Click "Create Contact"
Enter test information (name, email, phone if testing SMS)
Add the contact to your AI Sales List:
Find your contact
Click "Add to list"
Select your AI Sales List
The automation should trigger automatically:
Make.com will receive the webhook
It will extract the contact's information
Send it to HeyGen to create the personalized video
Wait for the video to process (a few minutes)
Send the email (and SMS if configured) with the personalized video
What the Result Looks Like
When everything is working, your lead will receive an email with:
A personalized subject line
An auto-playing GIF of your AI avatar saying their name
A link to watch the full video
Your customized message
If you've set up SMS, they'll also get a text message with a link to their personalized video.
Customizing for Your Business
This automation is incredibly flexible and can be adapted to various scenarios:
E-commerce: Send personalized thank-you videos after purchases
Service businesses: Welcome new clients with custom onboarding videos
SaaS: Guide new users through your product with personalized tutorials
Real estate: Follow up with property inquiries using personalized property recommendations
Consulting: Send custom proposal follow-ups addressing specific client needs
The key is identifying the critical touchpoints in your customer journey where personal connection matters most, then automating that connection without losing the human touch.
Final Thoughts
By combining Brevo's contact management capabilities with HeyGen's AI avatar technology and Make.com's automation power, you've created a system that:
Starts follow-up when a new lead triggers the workflow
Delivers hyper-personalized content at scale
Creates a memorable experience that stands out from generic emails
Saves you countless hours of manual follow-up work
Best of all, this system runs 24/7, provided the connections, credits, and workflow remain healthy. The personal touch of seeing and hearing "you" speak directly to them creates an immediate connection that generic emails simply can't match.
Remember, personalization is how you succeed with email marketing in today's crowded landscape. With this AI avatar automation, you're not just personalizing a name in a subject line - you're delivering a complete personalized experience that feels genuinely human.
Ready to create your AI twin? Get started with Brevo, HeyGen, and Make.com today! 🤖
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