> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kontratar.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Campaigns

> How to create email templates and send bulk outreach campaigns to contracting officers and teaming partners.

**Campaigns** let you send bulk outreach emails to contracting officers, potential teaming partners, or other contacts. Campaigns can be sent to government officials and to private individuals.

The most common use is re-compete outreach. You find a contract approaching its expiration date, and you contact the people responsible for it before the new solicitation is written.

The module has two parts:

| Part          | What it does                                                          |
| :------------ | :-------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Templates** | Define the email content. Written once, reused across many campaigns. |
| **Campaigns** | Send a template to a list of recipients.                              |

You always build the template first. A campaign has nothing to send without one.

**How to get there:** Sidebar → Workspace → Click **Campaigns**

## 1. Campaign templates

A template defines the structure and content of your outreach email. Once created, a template can be reused across multiple campaigns.

The Templates tab lists everything you have built. It has a search box, a switch between list and grid view, a **Filter** button, and a page size selector at the bottom.

### Creating a template

1. On the Campaigns page, select the **Templates** tab.
2. Click **Create New Template**.
3. Fill in the fields:

| Field             | Description                                                                                                              |
| :---------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Template Name** | Required. A descriptive name, for example `541511_SUBSCRIPTION` or `AES_8A_REACHOUT`.                                    |
| **Status**        | Required. Set to **Active** to make the template available for campaigns. Set to **Inactive** to save it as a draft.     |
| **Email Subject** | The subject line recipients see in their inbox.                                                                          |
| **Email Body**    | The email content. Write it generically so it works for everyone in the campaign.                                        |
| **Attachment**    | Optional. Drag and drop a file, or click to browse. Supported formats: `.pdf`, `.txt`, `.doc`, `.docx`, `.xls`, `.xlsx`. |

4. Click **Create Template**.

<Tip>
  Name your templates after what they target rather than when you wrote them. `541511_SUBSCRIPTION` tells you the NAICS code and the offer at a glance. `Template 3` tells you nothing when you are picking one from a list months later.
</Tip>

### Customizable tokens

Templates support four tokens. A token is a placeholder you type into your email, and Kontratar swaps it for real information when the campaign sends.

| Token                | Replaced with                 |
| :------------------- | :---------------------------- |
| `{{RECIPIENT_NAME}}` | The recipient's full name.    |
| `{{COMPANY_NAME}}`   | The recipient's organization. |
| `{{CONTRACT_NAME}}`  | The related contract title.   |
| `{{EXPIRY_DATE}}`    | The contract expiration date. |

So if you write this in your email body:

```text theme={"system"}
Dear {{RECIPIENT_NAME}},

I am writing regarding {{CONTRACT_NAME}}, which we understand is
due to expire on {{EXPIRY_DATE}}.
```

A recipient receives this:

```text theme={"system"}
Dear Janet Okafor,

I am writing regarding Enterprise Geospatial Support Services,
which we understand is due to expire on 30 September 2026.
```

<Info>
  **Tokens work in attachments too, not just the email body.** If you attach a capability statement or a cover letter containing the same tokens, each recipient gets a document addressed to them personally rather than a generic one. This is the difference between a mail merge and a mass email.
</Info>

<Warning>
  **A token that does not resolve is sent exactly as you typed it.** If something goes wrong with the data, your recipient opens an email that begins `Dear {{RECIPIENT_NAME}}`. Always preview the email with a real recipient loaded before you launch the campaign.
</Warning>

### Managing templates

Use the search box to find a template by name. The **Filter** button narrows the list further, and the view switch changes between a list and a grid of cards. The page size selector at the bottom controls how many templates you see at once.

## 2. Sending a campaign

Once you have an active template, you can build a campaign around it.

1. Select the **Campaigns** tab.
2. Click **Create New Campaign**.
3. Fill in the fields:

| Field                | Description                                              |
| :------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Template**         | Choose from your Active templates.                       |
| **Identifier Type**  | How recipients are identified. **Email** is the default. |
| **End Date**         | The date the campaign stops sending.                     |
| **Recipient Emails** | Loads automatically once you select a template.          |

4. Click **Create Campaign**.

<Note>
  **You do not type in the recipient list.** Recipient emails are derived automatically from the awards associated with the template you selected. The form tells you this: it shows `Select a template to load approver emails for this campaign` until you pick one.

  So if your recipient list is empty or shorter than you expected, the cause is the template's award association rather than anything on the campaign form. Go back and check which awards the template is linked to.
</Note>

The Campaigns tab lists everything you have sent or scheduled, showing the template used, the end date, the identifier type, and the identifier.

## 3. The 21-day government email rule

<Warning>
  **Kontratar enforces a 21-day cooling period on government email addresses.** If you try to send to a `.gov` or `.mil` address that already received an email from you within the past 21 days, you will get a warning.

  This protects you rather than restricting you. Repeated contact with government addresses can get your sending domain flagged as spam, and that affects every email your organization sends, not just campaigns. A colleague chasing a contract award notice would find their message in a junk folder because of a campaign you sent last week.

  Treat the warning as a reason to wait rather than an obstacle to work around.
</Warning>

## 4. Campaign examples

### Expiring software contract outreach

You sell software licensing and support, and you want to reach agencies whose current contracts are ending.

1. Use [Awards](/Version-2/Awards) to search for software-related contracts.
2. Filter for contracts with performance periods ending within the next 12 months.
3. Export the contracting officer contacts.
4. Create a template that highlights your software capabilities, using `{{CONTRACT_NAME}}` and `{{EXPIRY_DATE}}` so each email names the specific contract that is ending.
5. Create a campaign against that template.

Because the tokens fill themselves in, one template covers every contract on your list. The contracting officer reads an email about their contract, not a circular about software in general.

### Targeted industry capability outreach

You hold a specialist certification, and you want to reach both the government and the companies likely to bid.

1. Use [Forecasts](/Version-2/Forecasts) to find upcoming procurements that mention your specialization.
2. Use [Awards](/Version-2/Awards) to identify the incumbent contractors on related work.
3. Create a template that emphasizes your certifications and partnership status.
4. Send it to government contacts and to potential teaming partners.

The second group matters as much as the first. A prime contractor assembling a bid team needs the capability you hold, and they are making that decision months before the solicitation appears.

## Related topics

* [Awards](/Version-2/Awards). Where you find contracts approaching expiration and the contacts associated with them.
* [Forecasts](/Version-2/Forecasts). Where you find requirements still in the planning phase, before a solicitation exists.
* [Pipeline Management](/Version-2/Pipeline-Management). How to track the pursuits your outreach is supporting.

**Parent topic:** [Kontratar v2.0 Documentation](/Version-2/whats-new-v2)