# Campaigns
RelayBook Campaigns let you create automated email sequences that send the right message to the right contact at the right time. Build drip campaigns, onboarding sequences, follow-up workflows, and more.
> [!quote] Automate Your Outreach
> Set up once, send forever. Campaigns keep your contacts engaged ==without the manual work==.
## What is a Campaign?
A campaign is a series of **steps** that execute automatically based on a schedule. When you enroll a contact, the campaign takes over - sending emails, triggering other campaigns, and tracking every interaction.
### Step Types
- **Email** - Send an email from a template with personalized merge fields
- **Campaign Trigger** - Automatically enroll the contact in another campaign (chaining)
### Schedule Types
- **Immediately** - Sends as soon as the contact is enrolled
- **X days after enrollment** - Sends after a set delay (e.g. 3 days, 7 days, 30 days)
- **Fixed date** - Sends on a specific calendar date
- **Manual trigger** - Does not send automatically; you trigger it manually from the campaign steps view
### Example: Onboarding Sequence
| Step | Schedule | Action |
|------|----------|--------|
| Welcome Email | Immediately | Send welcome template |
| Getting Started | 3 days after | Send tips template |
| Check-In | 14 days after | Send follow-up template |
| Feature Highlight | 30 days after | Send advanced tips |
## Getting Started
1. **Set up email settings** - Configure your [[Email Settings|sender identity and company address]]
2. **Create a template** - Build your [[Email Templates|email template]] with merge fields
3. **Create a campaign** - Name it and add steps with scheduling
4. **Enroll contacts** - Add contacts individually or by label
5. **Activate** - Set the campaign to Active and it starts running
## Campaign Status
| Status | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| **Draft** | Being built, not sending |
| **Active** | Running - scheduler processes steps every 15 minutes |
| **Paused** | Temporarily stopped, can be resumed |
| **Archived** | Completed or retired |
## Merge Fields
Personalize every email with contact data. Merge fields are replaced with real values when the email is sent.
| Field | Token | Example |
|-------|-------|---------|
| First Name | `{{first_name}}` | John |
| Last Name | `{{last_name}}` | Smith |
| Company | `{{company}}` | Acme Inc |
| Job Title | `{{job_title}}` | Marketing Manager |
| Email | `{{email}}` |
[email protected] |
| Phone | `{{phone}}` | +44 7700 900000 |
| Website | `{{website}}` | acme.com |
| Custom Field | `{{custom.Field Name}}` | Any custom field value |
> [!tip] Primary Email
> Campaigns send to the contact's **primary email** (marked with a star in the contact editor). If no email is marked primary, the first email is used.
## Pricing & Trial
Campaigns is available as a **paid add-on** for any RelayBook plan. Start with a **free trial** - build everything and pay when you're ready to go live.
### Free Trial
Build campaigns, create templates, add steps, enroll contacts, and send test emails - all free. The only thing you need the paid add-on for is **activating** a campaign to start sending.
### Paid Add-On
| Currency | Monthly | Yearly (save 50%) |
|----------|---------|-------------------|
| USD | $9/mo | $4.50/mo ($54/yr) |
| GBP | £8/mo | £4/mo (£48/yr) |
| EUR | €8/mo | €4/mo (€48/yr) |
- **Personal users** - Add campaigns to your account
- **Teams** - Team owner adds the campaign add-on, all team members get access
- Includes your plan's contact limit. Additional contacts available anytime.
> [!note] Your own SendGrid account
> Campaigns sends email through your own SendGrid account. You control your sending domain, deliverability, and limits. See [[Email Settings]] for setup.
## Campaign Triggers
Automatically enroll contacts in campaigns based on changes to their data - no manual enrollment needed.
### Trigger Types
| Trigger | Fires when... |
|---------|--------------|
| **Custom field changes to value** | A contact's custom field is set to a specific value |
| **Label added** | A specific label is added to a contact |
| **Label removed** | A specific label is removed from a contact |
### Setting Up a Trigger
1. Open a campaign and go to the **Triggers** tab
2. Click **Add Trigger**
3. Choose the trigger type and configure the condition
4. Save - the trigger is active immediately
### How It Works
- When a contact's data changes (via the UI, bulk actions, or the public API), RelayBook checks for matching triggers
- If a match is found, the contact is automatically enrolled in the campaign
- Each contact can only be enrolled once per trigger - duplicates are prevented
- Triggers can be enabled/disabled individually without deleting them
### Use Cases
- **Onboarding flow:** When a "Status" field changes to "Active", enroll in a welcome sequence
- **Re-engagement:** When a "Priority" label is added, start a follow-up campaign
- **External integrations:** Update contact data via the [[API Reference|public API]] and let triggers handle the campaign enrollment automatically
> [!tip] Trigger + API = Automation
> Triggers work with the public API. External systems like your CRM can update contact fields or labels via API, and RelayBook will automatically start the right campaigns.
## Contact Campaigns Tab
Every contact has a **Campaigns** tab in their detail view. This gives you a full picture of that contact's campaign history without leaving the contact record.
### What You Can See
- All campaigns the contact is enrolled in (past and present)
- Each step's status: Pending, Done, Skipped, or Failed
- Scheduled date for pending steps
- Date completed for past steps
### Actions from the Campaigns Tab
- **Stop a pending step** - Cancel a specific pending step for this contact. The step is marked as Skipped and will not send.
- **Remove from campaign** - Remove the contact from a campaign entirely. All remaining pending steps are cancelled.
> [!tip] Per-Contact Control
> The Campaigns tab is useful when you need to make an exception for a specific contact without affecting the rest of the campaign.
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## Unsubscribe & Compliance
Every campaign email automatically includes:
- Your **company address** in the footer (CAN-SPAM compliance)
- An **unsubscribe link** for recipients to opt out
- Unsubscribed contacts are automatically skipped by the scheduler
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What happens when I enroll new contacts after a campaign is already running?
Each contact progresses through the campaign independently based on **their own enrollment date**, not when the campaign was created or activated. If you enroll a new contact on day 10, they start from step 1:
- Step 1 (immediate) sends on the next scheduler tick
- Step 2 (e.g. 2 days delay) sends on day 12
- Step 3 (e.g. 5 days delay) sends on day 15
This means you can keep enrolling contacts over time and each one gets the full sequence from the beginning.
### Will a contact receive a step they already completed?
No. The scheduler tracks every step completion per contact. Each step is sent exactly once per contact, guaranteed.
### What if a contact is enrolled in the same campaign twice?
Duplicate enrollment is prevented. If a contact is already enrolled (active, paused, or completed), the second enrollment is ignored.
### How often does the scheduler run?
Every **15 minutes**. You can also trigger immediate processing using:
- **Run Now** - runs all active steps in the campaign immediately
- **Run** (per step) - available on manual steps only; sends that step to all enrolled contacts who haven't received it yet
Both actions show a confirmation dialog before sending.
### What do the step statuses mean?
Each step execution has a status:
| Status | Meaning |
|--------|---------|
| **Pending** | Scheduled but not yet sent - the step is waiting for its scheduled date |
| **Done** | Successfully sent |
| **Skipped** | Not sent (contact unsubscribed, no email address, or step manually stopped) |
| **Failed** | Attempted but encountered a delivery error |
Pending steps show the scheduled date so you know when to expect them to send.
### What happens when I pause a campaign?
The scheduler skips all steps for paused campaigns. When you resume it, contacts pick up where they left off - no steps are skipped or re-sent.
### Can a contact be in multiple campaigns at once?
Yes. Contacts can be enrolled in as many campaigns as you like, and each campaign tracks their progress independently.
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**Next:** Set up your [[Email Settings]] to start sending campaigns.