Creating your first campaign: A step-by-step guide

This guide walks you through the process of creating and launching your first email outreach campaign in Reachkit.

Prerequisites

Before creating a campaign, ensure you have:

• At least one email account connected to Reachkit
• Your inbox(es) properly warmed up (recommended minimum: 3 weeks)
• A list of leads ready to import or manually add

Step 1: Create a New Campaign

1. Navigate to the Campaigns section from the sidebar
2. Click the Add Campaign button
3. Enter a name for your campaign (choose something descriptive that helps you identify its purpose)
4. Click Create to generate your new campaign

Step 2: Add Your Leads

After creating your campaign, you’ll be directed to the Leads tab:

1. To import leads in bulk:

   • Click the Import CSV button
   • Upload your CSV file with lead information
   • Map the columns to the appropriate fields
   • Confirm the import

2. To add leads manually:

   • Use the manual entry form
   • Enter the required information for each lead
   • Click Add to save the lead to your campaign

Tip: Make sure your lead data includes any fields you plan to use for personalization in your emails (e.g., first name, company name, etc.).

Step 3: Create Your Email Sequence

Navigate to the Sequences tab to build your email series:

1. Your campaign will start with Step 1 by default
2. Add a compelling subject line for your first email
3. Craft your email body using the rich text editor
4. Use personalization variables with double curly braces: {{first_name}}, {{company_name}}, etc.
5. To add A/B variants:
   • Click Add Variant
   • Create alternative subject lines and message content
   • Reachkit will automatically test which performs better
6. To add follow-up steps:
   • Click Add Step
   • Set the delay period (how many days to wait before sending)
   • Create the subject and body for your follow-up
   • Add variants if desired

Note: The subject line is required for the first step but optional for follow-ups (which will use “RE: [original subject]” by default).

Step 4: Configure Your Sending Schedule

Navigate to the Schedule tab to set when your emails will be sent:

1. Select your campaign timezone (matching your audience’s timezone is recommended)
2. Set your default sending hours (standard business hours work well)
3. Choose which days of the week to send emails (typically Monday-Friday)
4. For advanced scheduling:
   • Expand each day to set custom sending windows
   • This is useful if you want different hours for different days

Step 5: Set Campaign Options

Go to the Options tab to configure final settings:

1. Sending Inboxes: Select which of your connected email accounts to use
2. Daily Limit: Set maximum emails to send per day (default: 30)
3. Stop on Reply: Toggle whether to stop sequences when a lead replies
4. Text-only Emails: Choose whether to send plain text emails without HTML
5. Unsubscribe Header: Add a compliant unsubscribe link to email headers
6. Stop Company on Reply: Pause outreach to all contacts at a company when one replies
7. Provider Matching: Match sending inboxes to the lead’s email provider when possible
8. Click Save Changes when finished

Step 6: Launch Your Campaign

Once all settings are configured:

1. Return to any tab within your campaign
2. Review that everything is set up correctly
3. Click the Launch Campaign button in the campaign header
4. Your campaign status will change from “Draft” to “Active”

What Happens Next?

• Reachkit will begin sending emails according to your schedule
• You can monitor performance in the Analytics tab
• Replies will appear in your Unibox for follow-up
• You can pause the campaign at any time if needed

Common Launch Issues

If you can’t launch your campaign, check for these common issues:

• No inboxes selected in the Options tab
• Missing subject line on the first sequence step
• All variants are disabled in a sequence step
• No leads have been added to the campaign

Congratulations! Your campaign is now set up and ready to go.