Campaigns

Outbound email campaigns with prospect tracking, email sequences, and performance analytics. A lightweight CRM for AI-powered outreach.

Overview

Campaigns let you run outbound email sequences with prospect tracking. Each campaign is a folder containing configuration, prospect list, email templates, and activity logs.

How It Works

Create a campaign folder — Copy _example-campaign/ and rename it
Add your prospects — Import or manually add to prospects.csv
Customize sequences — Edit templates.json with your email copy
Configure settings — Set limits, timing, persona in config.json
Run with AI — "Send next batch for [campaign]" or "Check campaign status"

Folder Structure

~/.config/pontius/knowledge/campaigns/
├── README.md                    # Documentation
├── _example-campaign/           # Copy this to start
│   ├── config.json              # Campaign settings
│   ├── prospects.csv            # Target list
│   ├── templates.json           # Email sequences
│   └── log.json                 # Activity log
└── your-campaign-name/          # Your actual campaigns
    ├── config.json
    ├── prospects.csv
    ├── templates.json
    └── log.json

Campaign Configuration

{
  "id": "q1-outreach",
  "name": "Q1 Sales Outreach",
  "description": "Enterprise prospects from SaaStr",
  "status": "active",
  "account_id": "work-uuid",
  "persona": {
    "name": "Stuart",
    "role": "Founder",
    "company": "Pontius",
    "tone": "casual-professional",
    "signature": "Best,\nStuart"
  },
  "settings": {
    "daily_limit": 25,
    "min_delay_hours": 24,
    "send_window": { "start": "09:00", "end": "17:00", "timezone": "America/New_York" },
    "followup_sequence": ["initial", "followup-1", "followup-2", "breakup"],
    "stop_on_reply": true,
    "pause_on_bounce": true
  }
}

Status values: draft, active, paused, completed

Prospects CSV

email,name,company,role,status,last_contacted,last_response,sequence_position,notes,source
[email protected],Alex Chen,TechCorp,CTO,pending,,,0,Met at SaaStr,linkedin
[email protected],Jordan Lee,Startup.io,Founder,contacted,2026-01-05,,1,Interested in API,referral
[email protected],Sam Rivera,Acme Corp,VP Sales,replied,2026-01-06,2026-01-07,1,Asked for pricing,cold

Prospect Status Values

Status	Meaning
`pending`	Not yet contacted
`contacted`	Email sent, awaiting reply
`replied`	Got a response (handle manually)
`interested`	Positive response, in conversation
`converted`	Goal achieved (meeting booked, sale made)
`not_interested`	Declined, do not contact further
`unsubscribed`	Opted out explicitly
`bounced`	Email failed to deliver

Email Sequences

{
  "sequences": [
    {
      "id": "initial",
      "name": "Initial Outreach",
      "subject": "quick question about {company}",
      "body": "Hi {name},\n\n{personalized_opener}\n\n{value_prop}\n\n{cta}\n\n{signature}",
      "delay_days": 0
    },
    {
      "id": "followup-1",
      "name": "First Follow Up",
      "subject": "Re: {original_subject}",
      "body": "Hi {name},\n\nJust wanted to bump this...\n\n{signature}",
      "delay_days": 3
    },
    {
      "id": "breakup",
      "name": "Breakup Email",
      "subject": "closing the loop",
      "body": "Hi {name},\n\nI haven't heard back, so I'll assume now isn't the right time...\n\n{signature}",
      "delay_days": 14
    }
  ]
}

Activity Log

{
  "entries": [
    {
      "timestamp": "2026-01-05T10:30:00Z",
      "prospect_email": "[email protected]",
      "action": "sent",
      "sequence_id": "initial",
      "subject": "Quick question about TechCorp"
    }
  ],
  "stats": {
    "total_sent": 45,
    "total_replied": 12,
    "total_converted": 3,
    "reply_rate": 0.267,
    "conversion_rate": 0.067
  }
}

Writing Effective Outreach

Subject Lines

What works:

Short (3-7 words)
Personalized with company name or reference
Curiosity or relevance, not clickbait
Lowercase often outperforms Title Case

Examples:

quick question about {company}
{name} - saw your post on {topic}
idea for {company}'s {specific_thing}

Email Body Structure

Hook (1 line) — Why you're reaching out, personalized
Value (2-3 lines) — What's in it for them
Credibility (1 line) — Why they should trust you
CTA (1 line) — Single, clear ask

Keep it short: 50-125 words max. Mobile-friendly.

Follow-up Strategy

Sequence	Timing	Purpose
Initial	Day 0	Introduce, provide value
Follow-up 1	Day 3-4	Gentle bump, add new value
Follow-up 2	Day 7-8	Different angle or social proof
Breakup	Day 14	Final attempt, permission to close loop

Breakup Emails

The breakup email often gets the highest response rate. It signals you won't keep following up, which prompts action.

Benchmarks

Metric	Poor	Average	Good	Excellent
Reply rate	<2%	2-5%	5-10%	>10%
Positive reply rate	<1%	1-3%	3-5%	>5%
Conversion rate	<0.5%	0.5-2%	2-5%	>5%

Sending Limits

Deliverability

Space out your sends or risk email deliverability issues. Sudden spikes trigger spam filters.

Account Age	Daily Limit	Spacing
New (<30 days)	10-15/day	5-10 min between
Established (1-3 months)	20-30/day	3-5 min between
Mature (3+ months)	40-50/day	1-3 min between

AI Workflow

During blitz sessions, tell the AI:

"Send next batch for q1-outreach"
"Check campaign status"
"Show prospects who replied"
"Pause the campaign"

The AI will check daily limits, send windows, personalize emails, and update logs.

File Location

~/.config/pontius/knowledge/campaigns/