Creating Campaigns#

Campaigns are the primary way to distribute interviews to participants at scale. A campaign bundles a published script with a list of participants and handles invite delivery, tracking, and reminders automatically.

Campaign Overview#

A campaign consists of:

• A published script — The interview your participants will complete
• A participant list — Email addresses of people you want to interview
• Invite settings — Expiry period, email customization, and scheduling
• Tracking — Real-time progress on invites, starts, and completions

Campaign Lifecycle#

Campaigns move through the following states:

| Status | Description | |---|---| | Draft | Campaign is configured but invites have not been sent | | Active | Invites have been sent and participants can complete interviews | | Paused | Campaign is temporarily halted; existing invite links remain valid | | Completed | All participants have responded or invite links have expired | | Archived | Campaign is closed and moved to archive |

Creating a New Campaign#

Step 1: Choose a Script#

Navigate to Campaigns → New Campaign and select a published script.

Step 2: Configure Campaign Settings#

Fill in the campaign details:

Step 3: Add Participants#

You can add participants using several methods:

Manual Entry

Type or paste email addresses, one per line:

john@example.com
jane@example.com
alex@example.com

CSV Upload

Upload a CSV file with the following format:

email
john@example.com
jane@example.com
alex@example.com

API Integration

Add participants programmatically using the API:

curl -X POST https://api.interviewrelay.com/v1/campaigns/{id}/invites \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"emails": ["john@example.com", "jane@example.com"]}'

Step 4: Customize the Invite Email#

Personalize the email that participants receive:

• Subject line — Clear, professional subject (e.g., "You're invited to share your feedback")
• Body text — Explain the purpose, estimated time, and any incentives
• Sender name — Your name or organization name
• Reply-to address — Where participants can send questions

Step 5: Launch#

Review all settings and click Launch Campaign to send invites immediately, or Save as Draft to launch later.

Managing Campaigns#

Campaign Dashboard#

The campaign detail page shows real-time statistics:

• Total invites — Number of invitations sent
• Opened — Participants who opened the invite email
• Started — Participants who began the interview
• Completed — Participants who finished the interview
• Completion rate — Percentage of invites that resulted in completed interviews
• Average duration — Mean interview length across all completions

Monitoring Individual Participants#

Click on any participant row to see:

• Invite status (sent, opened, started, completed, expired)
• Session details (if started)
• Transcript link (if completed)
• Email delivery status

Sending Reminders#

To send reminders to participants who haven't completed their interview:

1. Open the campaign
2. Click Send Reminders
3. Filter by status (e.g., "Sent but not started")
4. Customize the reminder message
5. Click Send

Pausing a Campaign#

If you need to temporarily stop a campaign:

1. Open the campaign
2. Click Pause Campaign
3. Existing invite links remain valid but no new reminders are sent
4. Click Resume when ready to continue

Extending Invite Validity#

If participants need more time:

1. Open the campaign
2. Click Settings → Extend Invites
3. Enter the number of additional days
4. Click Apply

Campaign Analytics#

Overview Metrics#

The analytics dashboard provides:

• Funnel visualization — From invite sent → opened → started → completed
• Completion over time — Daily/weekly completion trends
• Average interview duration — How long participants spend
• Drop-off points — Where participants abandon the interview

Exporting Data#

Export campaign data in multiple formats:

| Format | Contents | |---|---| | CSV | Participant list with statuses, timestamps, and metadata | | PDF | Individual or bulk transcript exports | | JSON | Raw data for programmatic analysis |

To export:

1. Open the campaign
2. Click Export
3. Select format and scope (all participants or filtered)
4. Click Download

Webhook Notifications#

Set up real-time notifications for campaign events using webhooks:

• invite.sent — When an invite email is delivered
• interview.started — When a participant begins the interview
• interview.completed — When a participant finishes the interview
• campaign.completed — When all participants have responded or invites have expired

Advanced Features#

A/B Testing Scripts#

Test different interview approaches by creating multiple campaigns with different scripts:

1. Create two versions of your script (e.g., different question orders)
2. Split your participant list into two groups
3. Create a separate campaign for each group
4. Compare completion rates and transcript quality

Scheduling Campaigns#

Launch campaigns at a specific date and time:

1. During campaign setup, click Schedule Launch
2. Select the date and time
3. Choose the timezone
4. Click Schedule

The campaign will automatically launch at the scheduled time.

Bulk Operations#

For managing multiple campaigns:

• Bulk archive — Select multiple campaigns and archive them at once
• Duplicate campaign — Copy settings from an existing campaign to create a new one
• Campaign templates — Save campaign configurations as reusable templates

Best Practices#

Maximizing Completion Rates#

• Short interviews — Keep scripts under 10 minutes for the best completion rates
• Clear emails — Explain what the interview is about and how long it takes
• Incentives — Offering compensation significantly boosts response rates
• Timing — Send invites during business hours in participants' timezones
• Reminders — Send one reminder 2–3 days before expiry

Managing Large Campaigns#

For campaigns with 100+ participants:

• Upload participants via CSV rather than manual entry
• Enable automatic reminders
• Use webhooks to track progress in your own systems
• Export data regularly for analysis
• Consider splitting into smaller campaigns for better manageability

Email Deliverability#

To ensure invites reach participants' inboxes:

• Use a professional sender name and reply-to address
• Keep subject lines clear and avoid spam trigger words
• Include a clear explanation of why they're receiving the email
• Verify email addresses before uploading

Troubleshooting#

Common Issues#

Invites not being received:

• Check participant email addresses for typos
• Ask participants to check spam/junk folders
• Verify your organization's email settings

Low completion rates:

• Review and shorten your script
• Improve the invite email messaging
• Send a reminder before invites expire
• Offer an incentive for completion

Participants reporting errors:

• Check session logs for the specific participant
• Verify the script is published and active
• Test the interview link yourself
• Contact support if the issue persists

What's Next?#

• Managing Invites — Deep dive into invite management and tracking
• Interview Sessions — Monitor and review individual sessions
• Transcripts & Analysis — Analyze completed interview data
• Webhooks — Set up real-time campaign event notifications