# How to create an email campaign in Email Studio

> Build an AI-written cold email campaign in Swashi Email Studio: choose your audience, let Copy Intelligence write four steps, set the schedule and automate.

Source: https://swashi.io/docs/outreach/email-studio
Section: Email Outreach
Last updated: 2026-10-10

Email Studio is where you build an outreach campaign in Swashi: you choose who to contact, Copy Intelligence writes a four-email sequence, you set when it sends, and you click **Automate**. The Outreach Agent then sends each step on a paced schedule and stops following up when a lead replies. It is built for business owners and sales teams who want personalized cold email without writing every message by hand.

## Before you start

- Connect at least one mailbox. See [Connect a sending account](https://swashi.io/docs/outreach/connect-sending-account). Without one, Email Studio shows "Connect an email account first".
- Have leads to contact: leads found in Lead Generation, your Google Sheet, or a CSV you uploaded (CSV import is available from the Growth plan).
- Add your offers and tone to your Business Brain (User Settings → Business Brain), so the AI writes in your voice.

Open **Email Outreach** in the sidebar and scroll to **Email Studio** ("Build your outreach sequence · AI angles · Schedule · Launch"). The wizard has four steps: **Audience**, **Message**, **Schedule** and **Automate**.

## Step 1: Audience

1. **ICP Tier (who to contact first).** Select tiers **A**, **B**, **C** or **D**. Tier A = Perfect ICP, B = Strong fit, C = Average, D = Low priority. Start with tier A, then add B. Learn more in [ICP tiers](https://swashi.io/docs/leads/icp-tiers).

   ![Email Studio Audience step with the ICP Tier selector highlighted and tiers A and B selected](https://swashi.io/docs/img/ep7-audience-tier.webp "Start with tier A, then add B.")

2. **Target regions (states, cities, countries).** Type a region such as "Texas", "Los Angeles" or "UK" and click **Add**. Leave it empty to target all regions.

   ![Target regions field highlighted in the Email Studio Audience step with an Add button](https://swashi.io/docs/img/ep7-audience-region.webp "Add regions, or leave the field empty to target all regions.")

3. **Niche (optional — leave blank for all).** Focus the campaign on one industry, for example "Dentists" or "HVAC Contractors".
4. **Maximum leads to contact.** Set how many leads this campaign contacts.
5. **Lead source.** Choose one:

   ![Lead source options highlighted in the Audience step: All Sources, Sheet Targets and My Uploaded Leads](https://swashi.io/docs/img/ep7-audience-source.webp "Choose where the campaign takes its leads from.")

| Option | What it uses |
|---|---|
| **All Sources** | Sheet + uploaded leads |
| **Sheet Targets** | Your Google Sheet / Apps Script |
| **My Uploaded Leads** | CSV imports only |

> **Note:** If you choose Sheet Targets without a sheet, the app shows "No Google Sheet connected — connect one in Settings first."

## Step 2: Message

This step is powered by **Copy Intelligence — AI writes with proven psychology**.

1. **Describe your offer.** One sentence is enough, for example "offer a free website audit to dentists in Texas".

   ![Copy Intelligence offer field highlighted in the Message step with the text Offer a free website audit to dental clinics in Texas](https://swashi.io/docs/img/ep7-message-prompt.webp "Describe your offer in one sentence.")

2. **Choose your angle.** Pick the persuasion angle the emails lean on:

| Angle | Idea |
|---|---|
| **Website Authority** | Their site is losing leads |
| **Lead Automation** | Automate their growth |
| **Social Proof** | Others like them win |
| **ROI Analytical** | Show the numbers |
| **Urgency / FOMO** | Window is closing |

3. **Tone.** Choose **Professional**, **Conversational**, **Urgent**, **Analytical** or **Storytelling**.
4. Click **Write All 4 Steps**. One click writes the full sequence in your brand voice. Click **Regenerate** to try again.

   ![Write All 4 Steps button highlighted next to the offer field in the Email Studio Message step](https://swashi.io/docs/img/ep7-message-write.webp "One click writes the whole four-email sequence.")

5. **Review each step.** The sequence has four emails with four jobs: **Initial Touch**, **Follow-up 1**, **Follow-up 2** and **Breakup**. Use **Sequence step** to switch between them and edit the **Subject line** and **Email body**. The cadence bar shows Day 0, +3d, +6d and +9d, and "4/4 steps written" when all steps are ready. See [Follow-ups and timing](https://swashi.io/docs/outreach/follow-ups-and-timing).
6. **Check the preview.** "PREVIEW — HOW RECIPIENTS SEE IT" shows the email with variables such as `{first_name}`, `{business_name}` and `{city}` filled in for a lead.

   ![Preview - How recipients see it panel highlighted, showing an email with the business name, city and first name filled in](https://swashi.io/docs/img/ep7-message-body.webp "The preview shows the email with variables filled in.")

Prefer to start from a draft? Click **Start with a template** and choose **Cold Intro**, **Follow-up 1**, **Follow-up 2** or **Value-First**.

> **Tip:** If you see "Spam trigger word detected. Remove it to improve deliverability.", edit the wording before you continue.

Every email also carries the safety line "Swashi auto-appends unsubscribe link · Suppression list active · Content safety check running". See [Compliance and unsubscribe](https://swashi.io/docs/outreach/compliance-and-unsubscribe).

## Step 3: Schedule

1. **Campaign Name.** Give the campaign a name you will recognize in reports.
2. **Timezone.** The timezone your schedule uses.
3. **Send window (local time).** The hours emails may go out, for example business hours.
4. **Send on.** The days of the week to send.
5. **Start date (optional)** and **End date (optional).** With an end date, the campaign runs daily until that date. Leave it blank to run until all leads are contacted.
6. **Daily Cap (emails).** The most emails this campaign sends per day. Sending also stays within each mailbox's safe warm-up limit.

## Step 4: Automate

1. Check the **Campaign Summary**: **Targeting**, **Max Leads**, **Send Window**, **Timezone**, **Daily Cap** and **Est. Duration**.
2. Review the protection checklist: suppression list checked before every send, unsubscribe link auto-appended, 72-hour cooldown between emails to the same lead, bounce rate above 5% auto-pauses the account, spam trigger scan and content safety check.
3. Click **Automate**. Your campaign appears under **Campaigns** with its **Next run**, sends and reply rate.

## Managing a running campaign

- **Pause** and **Resume** a campaign at any time.
- **Next Run** uses your campaign timezone. Pick today and an earlier time to run sooner.
- Watch the **Live Email Sequence** to see exactly what is being sent at each step. See [Unified Inbox](https://swashi.io/docs/outreach/unified-inbox).
- Status messages explain a quiet day, for example "No eligible leads left today — resumes at your next scheduled run." or "Monthly send limit reached — resumes on the 1st."

## Next steps

- [Follow-ups and timing](https://swashi.io/docs/outreach/follow-ups-and-timing)
- [Deliverability and warm-up](https://swashi.io/docs/outreach/deliverability-and-warmup)

## Frequently asked questions

**Do I have to write the emails myself?**

No. Describe your offer in one sentence and Copy Intelligence writes all four emails of the sequence in your brand voice. You can edit any step or start from a template instead.

**Which leads does a campaign contact?**

The leads that match your Audience settings: ICP tier, regions, niche and lead source (All Sources, Sheet Targets or My Uploaded Leads), up to the maximum you set.

**Can I change the lead source of a running campaign?**

Pause the campaign first. The app locks the lead source while a campaign is running.

**What happens if I leave the end date blank?**

The campaign runs daily until all matching leads are contacted. If you set an end date, it runs daily until that date.

**Why can't I launch my campaign?**

You need at least one connected sending account. If Email Studio shows 'Connect an email account first', connect a mailbox in Email Sending Accounts and try again.