Campaigns FAQ

This FAQ answers common questions about creating, configuring, launching, and managing campaigns in ContactOut.

Getting Started

1. What is ContactOut Campaigns?

ContactOut Campaigns lets you organize outreach into a sequence of steps, add recipients, and manage outreach activities from one place. You can combine email, SMS, LinkedIn tasks, calls, and custom tasks in a campaign.

2. How do I create a campaign?

Open Campaigns from the main navigation and begin creating a campaign. Configure your campaign steps, add recipients, review the setup, and start the campaign when you're ready.

3. What is the recommended workflow for creating a campaign?

The recommended workflow is:

1. Create and configure your campaign steps.
2. Add recipients.
3. Review your sequence, recipients, and settings.
4. Start the campaign.

4. Can I create a campaign without adding recipients?

You should add recipients before launching the campaign. Review the Recipients tab to confirm that the intended contacts are included.

Campaign Steps and Channels

5. What types of steps can I add to a campaign?

The Add step dialog provides these options:

• Send email
• Send SMS
• Make call
• LinkedIn task
• Other task

6. Can I combine different channels in one campaign?

Yes. You can combine different step types in the same campaign sequence.

Important: Every campaign must contain at least one Send email step before it can be started.

7. Can I start a campaign that only contains SMS or manual tasks?

No. A campaign must contain at least one email step before it can be started.

8. What is the difference between LinkedIn task and Other task?

LinkedIn task lets you choose from predefined LinkedIn activities, such as sending a connection request, sending a message, viewing a profile, following a profile, liking a post, or commenting on a post.

Other task lets you create a custom activity by entering a task name and description.

Both are manual tasks that require you to perform the activity yourself.

9. Are calls automated campaign steps?

Calls are activities that require manual action. The Make call option is available in the Add step dialog, and calling activity requires calling credits.

10. Do I need to complete manual tasks myself?

Yes. You must perform the activity and select Mark complete for each recipient. A recipient cannot progress past a manual task until it has been marked complete for them.

Adding Recipients

11. How can I add recipients to a campaign?

From the campaign's Recipients tab, you can choose from:

• Import from CSV
• Import from saved lists
• Import from saved profiles
• Enter manually

You can also add recipients to campaigns from other parts of ContactOut, including the LinkedIn extension, Search portal, and Lists.

12. Is there a specific CSV format I need to use?

Yes. Use the ContactOut CSV template when importing recipients from a CSV file.

13. Can I add recipients who don't have email addresses?

Yes. Recipients without email addresses can be included in a campaign. However, they won't be able to receive email messages. Remember that the campaign itself must still contain at least one email step to start.

Email and SMS

14. Do I need to connect my mailbox before setting up email steps?

You should connect your mailbox in ContactOut settings so you can select the sending account in the email-step editor.

15. What can I configure in an email step?

The email-step editor includes options for the follow-up timing, sending mailbox, subject, and message body. It also provides tools such as Insert placeholder, AI Email Writer, Use template, Preview & test, and Add CC/BCC.

16. Can I personalize emails?

Yes. Use Insert placeholder to add available personalization fields to your email.

17. How many characters can an SMS contain?

The SMS message field allows up to 300 characters. The editor displays a character counter beneath the message field.

18. Are there restrictions on SMS recipient phone numbers?

Yes. The SMS editor indicates that the recipient's phone number must have the same country code as the sender's phone number.

19. Do SMS steps require credits?

Yes. SMS activity requires calling credits.

Scheduling and Time Zones

20. What is the default campaign sending speed?

The default is Balanced, which is listed as 80 emails per hour for each connected mailbox.

21. What sending-speed options are available?

The Email scheduling settings provide five options:

• Conservative: 60 emails per hour per connected mailbox.
• Balanced: 80 emails per hour per connected mailbox.
• Fast: 120 emails per hour per connected mailbox.
• Aggressive: 240 emails per hour per connected mailbox.
• Instant send: Sends emails using the daily limit and is described in the interface as the highest-risk option.

22. Which sending days are selected by default?

All seven days of the week are selected by default.

23. What are the default sending hours?

The default Start from and To values are both 12:00 AM, representing any hour of the day in the interface.

24. How does automatic recipient time zone detection work?

Under Settings → Email scheduling, enable Auto-detect timezone from recipient location to automatically detect the time zone for new recipients based on their location.

The interface notes that manually set time zone values still apply and that automatic detection only affects new recipients.

25. Can I configure the schedule for an individual step?

Yes. The campaign Overview displays each step's schedule. Supported step editors also include follow-up timing fields, such as Follow up and if no reply at.

Launching and Managing Campaigns

26. How do I start a campaign?

Open the campaign, review the Overview and Recipients tabs, confirm that the campaign contains at least one email step, and select Start Campaign.

27. Can I pause a running campaign?

Yes. You can pause a campaign from inside the campaign using Pause Campaign, or from the main Campaigns list using its status toggle.

28. How do I resume a paused campaign?

You can resume it from the campaign details page or from the main Campaigns list using the available campaign status control.

29. Where can I find manual tasks that need my attention?

You can find tasks in the Tasks tab inside an individual campaign or from Tasks in the main navigation.

The main Tasks page includes Today, Upcoming, Overdue, and Completed summaries.

Analytics and Monitoring

30. Where can I see campaign performance?

The main Campaigns list displays open rate and reply rate. Within a campaign, individual email steps provide additional performance metrics.

31. What metrics are available for email steps?

Email steps can display:

• Open rate.
• Reply rate.
• Click-through rate.
• Delivered count.

32. What metrics are available for SMS and manual task steps?

SMS and manual task steps display completed and skipped counts.

33. Is there a separate campaign analytics dashboard?

Campaign monitoring is available through the Campaigns list, individual campaign steps, recipient information, and task views. There is currently no broader campaign analytics dashboard.

Troubleshooting

34. Why can't I start my campaign?

Check that recipients have been added and that your campaign contains at least one Send email step. Also review your campaign configuration before trying again.

35. Why hasn't a recipient progressed past a manual task?

The task may not have been marked complete for that recipient. Perform the activity and select Mark complete in ContactOut.

36. Why isn't an SMS step working as expected?

Check the sender phone number, confirm that the recipient's number has the same country code, verify your available calling credits, and make sure the message is within the 300-character limit.

37. Why is a step scheduled for a different time than I expected?

Review the step's schedule, campaign sending days and hours, and recipient time zone settings. Also check whether the recipient has a manually set time zone value.

38. What should I do if a campaign still isn't working as expected?

Review the campaign's Overview, Recipients, and Tasks views, along with the relevant channel settings. If the issue persists, contact ContactOut support with the campaign name, affected step, a description of the issue, and any visible error message.

Summary

ContactOut Campaigns supports multichannel outreach through email, SMS, calls, LinkedIn tasks, and custom tasks. To run a campaign successfully, configure your steps, add recipients, review scheduling settings, and ensure that at least one email step is included before launch.

Use the campaign's Overview, Recipients, and Tasks views to monitor progress and manage activities as your campaign runs.