Getting Started

This guide walks you through the steps required to get Outreach running for your organisation, from initial access through to channel configuration and first campaign readiness.

Prerequisites

Before you can run campaigns, you'll need a valid integration for at least one delivery channel:

• SMS — a Twilio account with a Messaging Service. See SMS Configuration for the full setup.
• Email — a SendGrid account with an API key, plus at least one verified sender domain or email. See Email Configuration and Domains and Senders.

You can configure one or both — campaigns are channel-specific and only the configured channels are available in the campaign wizard.

Who Uses Outreach

Outreach has three primary user roles:

• Org Admin: the most senior role. Responsible for requesting access, configuring delivery channels, choosing the SMS sender strategy, and managing the organisation's Outreach settings.
• Admin: an in-product administrator that sits below Org Admin. Can do everything an Org Admin can do except change organisation-level settings, configure Outreach channels, or manage sender settings.
• Campaigner: responsible for creating, running, and monitoring campaigns.

For a detailed breakdown of permissions, see Roles and Permissions.

Architecture

The following diagram shows how Outreach integrates with your organisation, including how campaigns are delivered through Twilio (SMS) and SendGrid (Email).

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Step 1: Request Outreach Access

Outreach is an add-on product that must be enabled for your organisation before it can be used.

1. Log in to the NeonNow Admin app as an Org Admin.
2. Navigate to Outreach in the sidebar.
3. On the Outreach product landing page, select Request Access.
4. Your request is submitted to the NeonNow team for review. The team verifies your organisation's eligibility, provisions the Outreach subscription, and notifies you when it's active. There is nothing else you need to do during this step — see Access and Setup FAQs for what to expect while you wait.

While the request is being processed, the landing page shows a "Requested" state. Once your request is approved and activated, the landing page updates to show the full Outreach interface.

info

Only Org Admins can request Outreach access. Campaigners who navigate to Outreach before it is enabled will see a landing page prompting them to contact their Org Admin.

Step 2: Configure at Least One Delivery Channel

Before any campaigns can be created, at least one delivery channel must be configured in Outreach Settings.

For SMS

You need a valid Twilio integration:

1. Go to Outreach → Settings → SMS.
2. Enter your Twilio Account SID, Twilio Auth Token, and Messaging Service SID.
3. Outreach validates the credentials with Twilio before saving.

If validation fails (for example, the Auth Token is incorrect, the Account SID does not match the token, or the Messaging Service SID does not exist on the account), an error message is displayed and nothing is saved — re-enter the correct values and try again.

See SMS Configuration for step-by-step instructions. After connecting Twilio, choose a sender strategy (Sender Pool or Sender Selection) in the SMS settings.

For Email

You need a valid SendGrid integration:

1. Go to Outreach → Settings → Email.
2. Enter your SendGrid API Key.
3. Once the key is saved, add at least one verified domain or verified sender email.

See Email Configuration and Domains and Senders for step-by-step instructions.

Minimum Requirements

Channel	Minimum to create a campaign	Minimum to run a campaign
SMS	Valid Twilio credentials	Valid Twilio credentials + Messaging Service SID
Email	Valid SendGrid API key	Valid SendGrid API key + at least one verified sender

Step 3: Prepare Your Campaign Materials

Before creating a campaign, make sure you have:

• A contact file (CSV, JSON, or XML) with recipient data (phone numbers for SMS, email addresses for Email)
• Message content ready, or a plan for what you want to say
• Opt-out language (SMS) or unsubscribe link (Email) included in your template
• For email: your sender identity (From email, Reply-to email, Subject line)

File Format

Your contact file must include one field containing the recipient (phone number or email address). Any other fields can optionally be mapped as variables that personalise each message, or as a priority field. For example:

name	phoneNumber	amountOwed	dateOwed	priority
John Smith	+61400111222	250	1/7/2025	High
Jane Doe	+61400333444	500	15/7/2025	Normal

SMS phone numbers must be in E.164 format. See Files and Formats for supported formats, field roles, limits, and validation rules, and Example Files for a working sample in each format.

Step 4: Create Your First Campaign

Once access is enabled and a channel is configured, any user with the Campaigner, Admin, or Org Admin role can create and run campaigns.

Follow the Quickstart for a step-by-step guide to your first campaign.

Core Rules and Limits

Rule	Detail
Contact file upload	Up to 300,000 rows and 50 MB per file (CSV, JSON, or XML)
Campaign channel	Single channel per campaign (SMS or Email), cannot be changed after creation
Concurrent runs	Any number of runs send in parallel, including several runs of the same campaign. There is no per-campaign or per-channel limit
Scheduling	Manual or Repeat; "start later" runs are scheduled in 15-minute intervals, at least 15 minutes ahead
Email attachments	20 MB total per template
Test message recipients	Up to 10 recipients per Send Test action (SMS or Email)

Test emails

The 10-recipient limit applies specifically to the Send Test Email button inside the email template editor. There is no separate "test campaign" classification — every campaign you run sends to its full contact list, so use the Send Test Email feature to verify content before launching.

Next Steps

• Quickstart — create and run your first campaign
• Campaigns Overview — understand the campaign lifecycle
• Roles and Permissions — see what each role can do