---
title: Campaigns
description: A campaign is a batch of email messages sent to your subscribers. Common examples include product launch announcements, weekly newsletters, promotional offers,
---

# Campaigns

## What is a Campaign?

A campaign is a batch of email messages sent to your subscribers. Common examples include product launch announcements, weekly newsletters, promotional offers, or transactional notifications. Each campaign uses a template and targeting rules to deliver consistent, personalized messages at scale.

## Before You Start

You'll need three things set up before creating your first campaign:

1. **An email service** — Configure at least one email provider (e.g., SendGrid, Mailgun) in your email services settings. This is where your emails will actually be sent from.
2. **A subscriber list** — Add the people you want to email to your subscribers database.
3. **An email template** (recommended) — Create a reusable template with your branding, layout, and content structure. While optional, templates make campaigns much faster and more consistent.

> **Tip:** Start with a simple template if you're new to campaigns. You can always create more sophisticated templates later.

---

## Creating a Campaign

### Step 1: Navigate to Campaigns

Click **Campaigns** in the sidebar to view your campaign list, then click the **New Campaign** button.

### Step 2: Fill Out Campaign Details

#### Campaign Name
A descriptive name for your internal reference only (not seen by subscribers). Examples: "Newsletter - December 2024" or "Holiday Sale Announcement". Choose something that makes it easy to find and identify the campaign later.

#### Subject Line
The subject line recipients see in their inbox. Keep it clear, compelling, and concise — this often determines whether emails get opened.

You can personalize the subject line using placeholders:
- `\{\\{first_name\}\\}` — recipient's first name
- `\{\\{last_name\}\\}` — recipient's last name
- `\{\\{email\}\\}` — recipient's email address

*Example:* "Hi \{\\{first_name\}\\}, check out our new products!" becomes "Hi Sarah, check out our new products!"

For more advanced placeholder options, see the [Templates documentation](/docs/features/template).

#### From Name
The sender name that appears in recipients' inboxes (e.g., "Sarah from Acme Co." or "The Acme Team"). This builds trust and recognition.

#### From Email
The sender email address. This address must:
- Be one you own or control
- Match the email service configuration for the account you've selected
- Be verified by your email service provider

#### Email Service
Select which email provider will send this campaign. Make sure you've already configured the service in your email settings.

#### Template (Optional but Recommended)
Choose a pre-built template to use for this campaign's body content. Using templates ensures consistency and saves time, especially for recurring campaigns.

#### Tracking Options

**Track Opens** — Record whether each recipient opened the email. Requires webhooks to be configured for your email service.

**Track Clicks** — Record which links each recipient clicked. Also requires webhooks. Useful for understanding engagement and click-through rates.

*Note:* Enable tracking only if you've set up webhooks; otherwise, tracking won't work.

#### Content (Email Body)
Write the main email message that subscribers will receive. This can be plain text or HTML.

The content supports the same placeholders as the subject line (first_name, last_name, email) plus any custom subscriber attributes you've defined.

*Pro tip:* Keep your message scannable with short paragraphs, headers, and a clear call-to-action.

---

## Reviewing Your Campaign

Once you've completed the form, click **Save and Continue**. Your campaign status becomes **Draft**, and you can review it on the preview page before sending.

### Send a Test Email

Before sending to your full subscriber list, always test your campaign:

1. Enter an email address in the **Recipient** field (use your own email)
2. Click **Send Test Email**
3. Review how the email renders, check for typos, verify links work, and confirm placeholders are populated correctly

This catches mistakes and ensures your campaign looks professional to recipients.

---

## Sending Your Campaign

### Choose Your Recipients

Select who receives this campaign:
- **All subscribers** — Send to your entire subscriber database
- **By tags** — Send only to subscribers with specific tags (e.g., "Premium Members", "Inactive Users")

Using tags lets you segment your audience and send targeted campaigns.

### Schedule Delivery

Choose when the campaign sends:
- **Send immediately** — Emails go out right away
- **Schedule for later** — Pick a specific date and time for delivery

Scheduling is useful for coordinating campaigns or sending when your audience is most active.

### Choose Your Sending Behavior

Select how messages are generated and dispatched:

**Queue Draft**
- Generates each email as a draft (one per subscriber)
- Requires you to manually dispatch each email from the Messages section
- **Best for:** Small subscriber lists, complex templates, or campaigns where you want to review each personalized message before sending
- **Not recommended for:** Large subscriber lists (too time-consuming)

**Send Automatically**
- Generates and sends all emails automatically in the background
- **Best for:** Most campaigns, especially large subscriber lists or time-sensitive announcements
- **Requires:** Scheduled tasks and queue workers to be configured (see Configuration documentation)

> **Troubleshooting:** If campaigns don't send, verify that scheduled tasks and queue workers are running on your server. See the [Configuration documentation](/docs/general/configuration) for setup details.

---

## After Your Campaign Sends

### View Campaign Analytics

Once a campaign has been sent, view performance metrics on the campaign analytics page:

![Campaign Analytics Dashboard](/img/campaign-analytics.png)

Track metrics like:
- **Open rate** — Percentage of recipients who opened the email (if tracking enabled)
- **Click rate** — Percentage of recipients who clicked links (if tracking enabled)
- **Sent count** — Total emails successfully delivered
- **Bounce rate** — Emails that failed to deliver

Use these insights to improve future campaigns.

---

## Quick Reference: Campaign Checklist

- [ ] Email service is configured and verified
- [ ] Subscribers are added to your database
- [ ] Template is created (optional but recommended)
- [ ] Campaign name is descriptive
- [ ] Subject line is clear and compelling
- [ ] From name and email are correct
- [ ] Content is proofread and links are tested
- [ ] Recipients are correctly targeted (all or by tags)
- [ ] Schedule is set correctly
- [ ] Test email sent and reviewed
- [ ] Sending behavior selected (Queue Draft or Send Automatically)

---

## Next Steps

- Learn how to [manage subscribers](/docs/features/subscribers)
- Explore [template creation](/docs/features/template) for advanced personalization
- Set up [email service webhooks](/docs/features/email-services) for tracking
- Configure [scheduled tasks and queue workers](/docs/general/configuration) for reliable campaign delivery