TL;DR
Open the Campaign page (next.listkit.io/campaign) and click Create campaign.
Work through 4 steps: Add Campaign Details, Create Sequence, Campaign Setup and Review & Publish. Your changes save when you move between steps.
Add leads by uploading a CSV (an "Email" column is required) or importing one order from Order History.
There's no start date. The campaign starts sending as soon as you publish it, within the sending days and hours you choose.
Only select inboxes that show Ready on the Inboxes page.
When you'd use this
Use this when you launch your first campaign, test a new angle or target a new audience. You can build a campaign while your inboxes are still warming up. Just don't publish it until they show Ready.
Step 1 of 4: Add Campaign Details
Open the Campaign page (next.listkit.io/campaign) from the left sidebar.
Click Create campaign.
Enter a Campaign name. A clear name like "US SaaS founders, October" makes results easier to compare later.
Under Choose lead source (optional), add your leads one of two ways.
Option A: Upload CSV
Use this for leads from anywhere, including other tools.
Click Download CSV sample to see the format.
Make sure your file has an "Email" column.
Click Upload CSV and choose your file.
Option B: Import from order history
Use this for leads you exported from ListKit. You import one order at a time.
Click Import from order history.
In Select an Order, pick the order and click Select.
Confirm the import.
Before you continue
Leave the options to import leads that are unsubscribed or on the global blacklist turned off. Emailing people who opted out creates compliance risk.
If some of these leads may already be in another campaign, turn on the option to exclude leads that are already in another campaign.
Each Bundle stores up to 20,000 contacts in active campaigns. The Campaign page shows how many you use under CONTACTS STORED. Imports over the limit are blocked, so delete finished campaigns to free space.
Click Create Campaign to save, then Next: Create Sequence.
Step 2 of 4: Create Sequence
This is where you write the emails and follow-ups your leads receive.
Option 1: Generate your sequence with AI
Click Generate with AI · 100 credits and describe your offer once. You get a 3-step sequence with 4 variants of the first email and 2 variants of each follow-up. Generating replaces the current sequence. Full guide: How do I use the AI Script Writer to write my sequence?.
Option 2: Write it yourself
Each Email Step has a Subject and Body copy. Follow-ups are sent in the same thread, so they only need a body.
Click Add variant to test different subject lines or angles. Variants are sent at random.
Click Add follow-up to add another step. New follow-ups default to a 3-day delay, and you can change the delay on each step.
Personalize with variables like {{first_name}} and {{company_name}}. See How do I personalize emails with variables?.
Vary your wording with spintax, for example {Hey|Hi}, or click Spintax the sequence · 100 credits. See How do I use spintax, including AI spintax?.
Click Preview Email to check each variant.
You don't need to add a signature to your sequence. Each inbox's signature is added automatically when the email is sent, even though Preview Email doesn't show it. Don't type %signature% or your own sign-off block into your emails. If an older sequence has %signature% in it, remove it so the signature isn't added twice.
When you're done, continue to Campaign Setup.
Step 3 of 4: Campaign Setup
This step controls who sends the campaign and when. The settings are explained one by one in What do the campaign settings mean?.
Who is sending this campaign? Select the inboxes that send it. Pick inboxes that show Ready.
Schedule campaign: choose the time zone, the sending days (Monday to Friday by default) and the start and end time.
Campaign settings: Company-Level Auto-Pause, AI Lead Categorization and the Out of Office options. We recommend turning them all on.
Step 4 of 4: Review & Publish
Check the summary: campaign name, lead source, estimated audience, sequence, inboxes, sending days and time. Each section has an Edit link. The start date shows "Immediately after launch".
When everything looks right, publish the campaign.
Expected outcome
Your campaign shows on the Campaign page with the status Active.
It sends on your sending days, within your sending hours. A new campaign can take up to 24 hours to send its first emails.
Each inbox ramps up before it reaches full volume. Branded inboxes take up to 72 hours to set up, then warm up for 14 days (about 2 to 3 weeks from signup). Pre-warmed inboxes skip warmup. After that, every inbox ramps up: it starts at 1 email a day and adds 4 on each weekday it sends in a live campaign (1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25), so it reaches 25 a day on its 7th sending day, about 9 calendar days.
Replies land in Master Inbox. A reply stops that lead's sequence.
FAQ
What do I need before I can publish?
At least one selected inbox that shows Ready, leads in the campaign, a subject and body in at least one variant of every step, correctly written variables and spintax, and a time zone, sending days and sending hours. If you can't publish after checking all of these, send us a screenshot. Send us a message in the app. Our support team replies Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm ET, usually within 2 hours. Messages sent outside those hours are answered the next business day.
Can I add more leads to a campaign that is already running?
No. Duplicate the campaign, load only the new leads, turn on the option to exclude leads that are already in another campaign, and publish the copy. See How do I add more leads to a campaign?.
Can I edit a campaign after publishing?
Yes. Click the campaign name, or choose Edit from its row menu. The sequence is locked while the campaign is live, so click Pause campaign in the sequence step, make your changes, then resume. The row menu also has Pause, Stop, Duplicate and Delete. See How do I edit, pause, duplicate or delete a campaign?.
Can I set a start date or schedule the launch?
No. A campaign starts sending as soon as you publish it. If you're not ready, don't publish yet. The campaign stays on the Campaign page as a Draft.
Can I send a test email to myself?
Use Preview Email to check how each variant looks. If you send a test to one of your own ListKit inboxes, it won't show up in Master Inbox, because Master Inbox only shows replies from your leads.
Can I upload lists from other sources?
Yes. Upload a CSV with an "Email" column.
Why can't I select inboxes?
Your inboxes must be listed on the Inboxes page. Bundle inboxes appear there after setup. To add your own, see How do I connect my own inboxes to Email Engine?.
Should I send on weekends?
Campaigns send Monday to Friday by default. You can tick Saturday and Sunday in Campaign Setup, but for B2B outreach we recommend leaving weekends off.
Does creating or sending a campaign use credits?
No. Sending never uses credits. Only the AI buttons in the sequence step use credits: 100 each time you generate a sequence or add AI spintax.