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My campaign isn't sending. Diagnose it

Campaign is Active but nothing goes out. Walk the four-point checklist: sender connected, schedule window open, credits available, and the approval queue not holding drafts.

  1. Read the symptom: Active, but the sent count is 0

    Your campaign status reads Active but nothing is going out. “Active” only means the workflow is running — it doesn’t mean mail is flowing. Four gates can hold sends: no connected sender, a closed schedule window, no credits, or drafts stuck in the approval queue. Check each in order.

  2. Check #1 — is a sender connected?

    Open Campaign → Email Scheduler → Senders. At least one verified mailbox must be selected. If the list is empty, or the mailbox shows unverified or disconnected, that’s your answer.

  3. Fix a disconnected sender

    Reconnect the mailbox via OAuth on its connector details page, or add a verified one, then re-select it on the Senders tab. See Reconnect a mailbox.

  4. Check #2 — is the schedule window open?

    Open Email Scheduler → Schedule. Confirm the Sending Days (default Mon–Fri) include today and that the Campaign Timezone is correct. If today isn’t an allowed day, sending simply waits until it is — expected behavior, not a bug.

  5. Check #3 — do you have credits?

    AI drafting costs credits (2 for Standard, 8 for Premium per email). At zero credits, drafts can’t generate, so nothing sends. Check your billing balance and top up if it’s empty — see Out of credits mid-campaign.

    Check #3 — do you have credits?
  6. Check #4 — is the approval queue holding drafts?

    Open Campaign → Content Approval. If the mode is set to “Must Approve”, every draft sits on hold until you explicitly approve it — no action means no send. Either approve the pending drafts in the inbox’s approval queue, or switch the mode to “Review or Auto-send”, which releases drafts automatically after 24 hours.

  7. Resolve and verify

    After fixing the failing gate, confirm the sent count starts moving within the next scheduled window. If it’s still stuck, re-run the checklist top to bottom — it’s almost always one of these four.

Pro tips

  • ‘Active’ is not ‘sending’

    Active means the workflow is live. Four gates (sender, schedule, credits, approval) can each hold mail while the status still reads Active.

  • The approval queue is the #1 silent culprit

    If you picked “Must Approve,” every draft waits for you forever. Switch to “Review or Auto-send” if you don't want to hand-approve each one.

  • Check the timezone before you panic

    A campaign set to a timezone that's currently outside business hours is working correctly: it just hasn't hit the send window yet.

  • Run the checklist in order

    Sender, then schedule, then credits, then approval. The cheapest fixes come first, and it's rarely more than one gate.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my campaign Active but not sending?

Active only means the workflow is running. Sending is gated by four things: a connected sender, an open schedule window, available credits, and (if you chose Must Approve) approved drafts. One of them is blocking.

I have a mailbox connected but still nothing sends.

Confirm it’s verified and selected on the Senders tab, and that it hasn’t silently disconnected. Reconnect via OAuth if needed.

It sent yesterday, why not today?

Check your Sending Days and Campaign Timezone. If today isn’t an allowed day, or it’s outside business hours in that timezone, sending waits for the next window.

Does approval really block everything?

Yes — in “Must Approve” mode, drafts stay on hold until you approve them. No action means no send. Approve them or switch modes.

What happens to sending when I’m out of credits?

AI drafts can’t generate without credits, so there’s nothing to send. Top up and it resumes.

How do I know which of the four is the problem?

Walk them in order. Usually only one gate is closed, and the checklist isolates it in a couple of minutes.

Is there a ‘send now’ button to force it?

No. There’s no force-send or per-campaign throttle override — fix the blocking gate and the next scheduled window sends.

Campaigns

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Install with AI

Your coding agent sets up the FirstSales CLI and skills for you.

Prompt for Claude Code

I'm setting up FirstSales (https://firstsales.io), an AI outbound sales platform: campaigns, contacts, a reply inbox, deliverability and lead signals. Help me get my workspace sending real, good emails end to end, from Claude Code.

Read these first so you know how FirstSales works:
- Developer docs and API: https://developer.firstsales.io
- CLI: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@firstsales.io/cli
- Skills for coding agents: https://github.com/firstsalesio/firstsales-skills (read README.md and GUIDE.md)

Setup
1. Install the CLI: npm install -g @firstsales.io/cli
2. Install the FirstSales skills:
   claude plugin marketplace add firstsalesio/firstsales-skills
   claude plugin install firstsales@firstsales
3. Ask me if I already have a FirstSales account. If not, send me to https://app.firstsales.io to sign up.
4. Ask me to create an API key under Settings → API → API Keys, with only the scopes we need.
   Never ask me to paste the key into this chat. Tell me to run this in my own terminal, so the key stays hidden:
   read -rs FS_KEY && firstsales auth login --api-key "$FS_KEY"; unset FS_KEY
5. Run `firstsales whoami` and tell me which workspace and organisation we are connected to.

Then ask me about my business: what I sell, who I sell to (roles, company size, countries), my best customers, and what I use today for outbound (tools, lists, mailboxes). Walk me through:
1. Teaching FirstSales my business: website, offer, proof points and case studies in the knowledge base, so the AI writes like someone who knows the product.
2. Connecting my sending mailboxes and checking my sending domain: SPF, DKIM, DMARC and warm-up. If anything is unhealthy, tell me the exact DNS record to add.
3. Bringing in contacts: import my CSV or CRM export into a clean list, remove duplicates and bad emails, and block domains I must never email (customers, competitors, my own).
4. Building my first campaign: the right list, senders, steps and timing. Write the sequence with me, show me the drafts, and do not launch until I say yes.
5. Setting up Signals if it fits: find people engaging with LinkedIn posts about topics my buyers care about, and turn them into leads.
6. Inviting my team and giving each person the right access.

Once campaigns run, show me how to work the reply inbox from here: which replies need an answer, draft responses in my voice, and move good conversations into deals. If I use Cal.com, connect it so follow-ups can offer my booking link (not the first email).

Throughout, as you learn about my business, proactively suggest and help create:
- Reply templates for the questions and objections my prospects are likely to raise, based on my product, site and codebase if you can see them.
- Campaign ideas and segments worth testing, with the reason for each.

Safety rules:
- Show every change as a dry run (--dry-run) first and wait for my yes. Never send emails, launch campaigns or delete anything without my yes.
- Tell me before anything that spends credits, and how many.

Be opinionated. If the docs give a sensible default, just use it. Don't make me choose between five options.