# Setting Up an Email Campaign A complete walkthrough for creating and sending a bulk email campaign from the VINSI CRM. Created May 20, 2026 ## Overview Email Campaigns let you send bulk emails to CRM contacts or imported CSV lists, with built-in email verification and send rate controls to protect deliverability. For a detailed breakdown of each setting, see the [Email Campaigns](https://docs.vinsi.ai/crm/admin/data-automation#crm-da-email-campaigns) section in CRM Admin. **Before you begin:** Email Campaigns require a configured SMTP server to deliver emails. Set this up first under **CRM Admin → Team Settings →** [Email Settings](https://docs.vinsi.ai/crm/admin/team-settings#crm-ts-email-settings). To get started, navigate to **CRM → Admin → Data & Automation → Email Campaigns** and click **New Campaign**. The campaign wizard takes you through 5 steps. ## Step 1 — Recipients Choose who receives the campaign. There are two ways to select recipients: ### CRM Contacts Pull recipients directly from your CRM. Use **\+ Add Filter** to narrow your list. Each filter has: - **Field** — Lead Status, Type, Source, Disposition, Last Work Date, or Created Date. - **Condition** — is, is not, is empty, or is not empty. - **Value** — for Lead Status: New, Open, In Progress, Open Deal, Unqualified, Attempted to Contact, Connected, Bad Timing, or Unassigned. Add multiple filters to further refine your audience, then click **Apply Filters** to load matching contacts. Leave filters empty to include all contacts. ### Upload CSV Upload a CSV file of recipients. The file must contain an `email` column; `firstName` and `lastName` are optional. Click the upload area to select your file, or use **Download Example CSV** to get a correctly formatted template. When ready, click **Next: Compose Email →** to continue. ## Step 2 — Compose Write your email content. - **Subject Line** — enter the email subject. - **Email Body** — write your message using the rich text editor (supports bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, lists, alignment, links, and images). Switch to **HTML** mode for direct HTML editing. Use the **Templates** button to quickly load a saved [email template](https://docs.vinsi.ai/crm/email-templates). - **Personalization tags** — insert dynamic content using `{{firstName}}`, `{{lastName}}`, `{{name}}`, `{{last_name}}`, `{{full_name}}`, `{{email}}`, or `{{company}}` anywhere in the subject or body. Click **Next: Send Settings →** to continue. ## Step 3 — Send Settings Control delivery speed and timing. ### Send Rate Controls Set how fast emails go out to avoid being flagged by your email provider. Configure three limits: - **Per Minute** — default 10 (recommended: 5–15 for shared SMTP) - **Per Hour** — default 200 (recommended: 100–300 for most providers) - **Per Day** — default 1000 (recommended: 500–2000 depending on your plan) An **Estimated Send Time** banner updates in real time based on your recipient count and rate settings. ### Send Schedule Choose **Send Now** to start immediately, or **Schedule for Later** to queue the campaign for a future date and time. When Schedule for Later is selected, two fields appear: a **Date** picker and a **Time** picker (12-hour format). Your detected timezone (e.g. _America/Los\_Angeles_) is shown beneath the time field. Click **Next: Review →** to continue. ## Step 4 — Review Confirm your campaign before sending. A summary shows your **Recipients** count, **Subject**, **Rate Limits**, **Send Via** (your configured SMTP), and **Schedule**. An **Email Preview** renders the full email below. Click **Schedule Campaign** (or **Send Campaign** if sending immediately) to confirm. ## Step 5 — Sending The campaign is queued and emails begin going out according to your rate settings. You can monitor progress from the **Campaign History** page. **Note:** If your SMTP server is not configured in [Email Settings](https://docs.vinsi.ai/crm/admin/team-settings#crm-ts-email-settings), this step will fail and no emails will be delivered.