--- title: "Create a Proactive Email Campaign" slug: "create-a-proactive-email-campaign" description: "Create a Proactive Email Campaign to proactively communicate with Customers through email. Visit Gladly Help Docs to learn more." updated: 2026-05-29T15:45:38Z published: 2026-05-29T15:45:38Z --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.gladly.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create a Proactive Email Campaign | **REQUIRED USER ROLE** Administrator | **PERMISSION OVERVIEW** [View permissions by role](https://help.gladly.com/docs/managing-users-and-roles#roles-and-responsibilities) | | --- | --- | Create a Proactive Email Campaign to communicate with Customers through email proactively. ## **Before you start** Before you configure and create a Proactive Email Campaign, we recommend that you first review the following: - Review [Proactive Conversations](https://help.gladly.com/docs/get-started-with-proactive-conversations) use cases. - Understand the [requirements](https://help.gladly.com/docs/prepare-to-use-proactive-email) to use Proactive Email. Remember that you’ll need to create an Email Answer to host your email message for the Campaign. - Get to know Proactive Conversation [concepts](/docs/proactive-campaign-outreach-and-recipients-definitions) (Campaign, Recipients, Outreach). - Review the [Proactive Email Campaign Best Practices](https://help.gladly.com/docs/proactive-email-best-practices) guide for additional guidance. ## **Create a Proactive Email Campaign** Remember to have the [Email Answer](https://help.gladly.com/docs/create-and-edit-answers) ready before creating the Email Campaign. 1. Click ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/7047b671-c4f2-4df0-bb0a-b9b511fd2452/Images/Documentation/hamburger-menu-icon(2).svg) on the top left corner of the screen. 2. Click **Settings**. 3. Under the **Proactive Conversations** category, click **Proactive Email**. 4. The Proactive Email page lists Email Campaign(s) that have been created. 5. From the Proactive Email page, click **Create Campaign**. 6. Enter the following information about the Campaign - **Campaign Name –** Enter a name that helps you identify what the Campaign is for. - **Description –** Provide a brief description of what the Campaign is for. - **Email Address –**Select the email address the Campaign will use to send emails for the Campaign. - **Note –** Replies to an Email Campaign route to the Inbox linked to the email address. - **Language –** Select the language the Email Answer is created under. - **Answer –** Lists Email Answers created based on the language chosen. Select the appropriate Email Answer you created for this Campaign. - **Campaign Schedule –**Configure the time frame when Email Campaign messages are allowed to go out. - **Note –**If the Email Campaign’s start date/time (configured in the Add Recipients page) falls outside the Campaign’s schedule, then outreach begins on the next email send window. Emails are sent based on the recipient’s prescribed timezone on the CSV. - **Closed checkbox –** Check the **Closed** box if you don't want emails sent on a particular day. The **Closed** is checked by default, so uncheck the **Closed** box to allow emails to be sent on a particular day. ![Monday hours listed from 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM, currently closed.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/7047b671-c4f2-4df0-bb0a-b9b511fd2452/Images/Documentation/close-day-proactive-communications.png) - Click **Create Campaign**. Once your Email Campaign is created, next, you'll need to add the recipients that will be contacted as part of the outreach for the Campaign. ### Add Recipients > [!NOTE] > **3,500 contacts per CSV** > > You can have up to 3,500 email contacts per CSV. 1. To the right of the Campaign you created, click![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/7047b671-c4f2-4df0-bb0a-b9b511fd2452/Images/Documentation/kebab-icon-vertical.svg), then select **Edit Recipients**. ![Overview of email campaigns with options to edit recipients and campaigns.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/7047b671-c4f2-4df0-bb0a-b9b511fd2452/Images/Documentation/edit-recipients-email-campaign.png) 2. From the Campaign’s outreach status page, click **Add Recipients**. ![Overview of the Retale Email Campaign with an option to add recipients.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/7047b671-c4f2-4df0-bb0a-b9b511fd2452/Images/Documentation/add-recipients-email-campaign.png) **Enter the following information:** - **Campaign Details –** This section shows the meta details of the Email Campaign. - **Recipients –** Click *CSV Template*to download a CSV template to upload your recipient list. The template is pre-populated with rows with sample timezones and email addresses in the correct format. - **Edit the CSV template:** - Enter the recipient’s **timezone*** in column A based on their primary location. - Enter the recipient's **email address** in column B. - Enter the recipient's **name**in column C. - For column A/timezones, use the TZ database name found [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones). - For column C/name, the name used here replaces the *Customer’s First Name* variable in the Email Answer greeting. - **Tip –**The CSV does not require names, but you must keep **name** as a header - Save the CSV as **Comma Separated Values.csv** or **CSV UTF-8** only, and use a name that allows you to identify the recipient list easily. 3. Once your CSV is saved, click **Upload CSV** to upload your recipient list (CSV). 4. **Outreach Date/Time –**Select a date/time when you want your Proactive Email Campaign to begin. For example, If you are setting up your Campaign on the 3rd of the month but want to start the automated emails to go out on the 15th of the month, select the 15th as the start date. You can choose a time and any month in the future. - **Should outreach end on a certain date/time? checkbox** – Check this box If you want the Email Campaign to end on a specific date/time, and you can specify the end date/time. Without an end date/time, a Campaign will be marked as **"Completed"** once it goes through the entire recipient list. - **Note –** If the outreach date and time fall outside the Email Campaign's schedule (on the Email Campaign’s details page), outreach will begin on the next email send window. - **Note –** Some recipients may not be contacted if the outreach end/date time is reached before everyone is contacted. See [email send limits](https://help.gladly.com/docs/proactive-email-best-practices-1#take-note-of-email-send-limits) for more information. 5. Click **Save**. The outreach will begin on the outreach date/time you selected. > [!CAUTION] > Specify the correct timezone on the CSV > > When entering the timezone on the CSV, use the *TZ database name* found [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones). The default timezone used to email Customers is set by your organization's time. Because the Customers you email may be in different time zones, you must specify a timezone for each recipient on your list. Know where your Customers are so they receive emails at the most opportune times. For example, if your organization's timezone is *America/New_York (EST)* and your Email Campaign start time is *9 AM,* if you have Customers on your recipient list that lives in Los Angeles (America/Los_Angeles) and you don't enter their timezone as *America/Los_Angeles,*you'll be contacting them at 6 AM. > [!NOTE] > **Return to the Email Campaign list** > > Click **< Proactive Email**on the top left area of the Campaign Status page to return to the Email Campaign list. Add multiple recipients An Email Campaign can contain one or multiple recipient lists/CSV, and each CSV can contain up to 3,500 contacts. Every recipient list uploaded can have a different outreach date/time. ![List of scheduled CSV files with their creation date and status information.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/7047b671-c4f2-4df0-bb0a-b9b511fd2452/Images/Documentation/multiple-recipients-proactive-email.png) Click **Add Recipients** to add and upload another CSV of email contacts you’d like to contact as part of the Email Campaign. ## **CSV upload error** If your CSV cannot be uploaded due to an error, you may see an error message with a link to download the error log. Click **Download error log** to view the CSV log. ![Error message indicating a problem with the uploaded CSV file and instructions to resolve it.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/7047b671-c4f2-4df0-bb0a-b9b511fd2452/Images/Documentation/campaign-error-state.png) Look under **column A** in the error log to see what caused your upload to fail. ### **‘Unable to add csv’ error** - Ensure the csv column header names are correct. Use the downloadable template to ensure accuracy. - Ensure the csv is saved as *Comma Separated Values.csv* or *CSV UTF-8.* ### Number of recipients exceeds the maximum number allowed - Ensure your CSV has 3,500 contacts or less. - Add a new recipient list if you have more than 3,500 contacts. ### **Invalid Timezone** - Make sure you are using the correct timezone format using the [TZ database](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones). ### **Wrong Number of Fields** - There should only be two columns in your CSV: **timezone** and **email_address**. Remove any extra columns. - Save the CSV as **Comma Separated Values.csv** or **CSV UTF-8** only.