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Creating a Campaign

The campaign wizard takes four steps: an overview, the basics, the audience, and the message template. This page walks through the wizard as a whole. The audience and template steps have enough to them that each has its own page.

Creating a campaign does not send anything

Saving a campaign creates its definition only. No messages exist and nothing is sent until a campaign run is created, either by hand or automatically from a Repeat schedule.

Who Can Create Campaigns​

Campaigns are available to every role that can see Outreach: Campaigner, Campaign Manager, Admin and Org Admin. See Roles and Permissions for what each role can reach beyond campaigns.

At least one delivery channel has to be configured before a campaign can be created. Channel configuration is an Org Admin task, covered in Settings.

Opening the Wizard​

  1. Open Campaigns.
  2. Select Create Campaign.

The wizard opens on the overview step. A breadcrumb at the top of the wizard tracks progress, and the Previous and Next buttons move between steps.

Step 1: Overview​

The overview step is a checklist of what to have ready before continuing: the contacts or contact file you intend to send to, the message content, the compliance text each channel requires, and the sender details for email. Review it, then select Next.

Step 2: Basics​

The basics step sets the campaign's identity and schedule.

  1. Campaign Name: a descriptive name, for example "April Payment Reminders".
  2. Description (optional): context about what the campaign is for. It appears in an info tooltip beside the campaign name.
  3. Delivery Channel: SMS or Email.
  4. Schedule: Manual or Repeat.

Delivery Channel Availability​

The channels offered depend on what has been configured in Settings. A channel that has not been set up appears disabled with an explanation, and only an Org Admin can enable it.

warning

The delivery channel cannot be changed after the campaign is created. To send on the other channel, create a new campaign.

Schedule​

  • Manual: runs are created and started by you. Nothing sends automatically.
  • Repeat: runs are created and started automatically on a cadence, with a timezone, an optional end date, and a calendar preview. Runs can still be created and started by hand on top of the cadence.

The calendar preview opens in the campaign's timezone and resets to it each time it is closed and reopened, so the cadence you check is the one that will be used. See Scheduling for the repeat rules and how to skip an occurrence.

Step 3: Choose Your Audience​

The audience step decides who the campaign sends to. Three sources are offered: All Contacts, a Segment, or a File uploaded here in the wizard. The choice can be changed at any point while the campaign is being created.

For All Contacts and Segment, a summary shows how many contacts are in scope and how many can be reached on the campaign's channel. For a file, the columns in the file are mapped and every row is evaluated before the campaign is saved.

The source picked here is shown as the campaign's contact source on the campaigns page and in the campaign summary modal.

Step 4: Add Your Message Template​

The template step decides what recipients receive. Either apply a saved template from the Templates library, which is read only inside the campaign, or build your own template in the campaign.

Which editor opens, and which variables are available, follows from the campaign's channel and audience. See Adding a Template.

Finishing the Campaign​

Selecting Finish saves the campaign definition. No messages are created. The campaign starts in Ready to Run with no runs, and records you as its creator. A Repeat schedule then creates and starts runs at each occurrence; a Manual schedule waits for you.

SMS​

The campaign saves immediately and moves to Ready to Run.

Email​

A checklist is evaluated before saving:

CheckRequired?What happens if incomplete
From Email setYesThe wizard is blocked until a From Email is set
Reply-to Email setYesThe wizard is blocked until a Reply-to Email is set
Unsubscribe link presentYesThe wizard is blocked until an unsubscribe link is added
Subject setNoA warning is shown and you can continue
Test email sentNoA warning is shown and you can continue

A saved template cannot be edited from inside the campaign, so anything a required check flags has to be corrected in the Templates library. Campaigners cannot open the library and should ask a Campaign Manager or an administrator to make the change, or build a template in the campaign instead.

Once the required checks pass, the campaign is saved with a Ready to Run status.

Next Steps​