How to create proactive outbound campaigns on Intercom

intermediate 8 min read Updated 2026-03-18

Quick Answer

Create proactive outbound campaigns in Intercom by navigating to Outbound > Campaigns, selecting your target audience, crafting your message, and setting delivery preferences. Configure follow-up sequences and track performance through Intercom's analytics dashboard.

Try Intercom Full Intercom Review

Prerequisites

Active Intercom account with outbound messaging enabled
Customer data imported and segmented
Defined campaign goals and target audience
Content approval from your marketing team

Step-by-Step Instructions

Navigate to the Outbound Campaigns section

Log into your Intercom workspace and click on Outbound in the left sidebar menu. Then select Campaigns from the dropdown options. Click the New campaign button to start creating your proactive outbound campaign.

Ensure you have the necessary permissions to create campaigns - you may need admin or campaign manager role.

Choose your campaign type and audience

Select Email campaign or In-app message as your campaign type. Click Choose audience and either select an existing segment or create a new one by defining filters such as user properties, events, or tags. Use filters like Last seen, User role, or Plan type to target specific user groups.

Start with smaller, well-defined segments to test your campaign effectiveness before scaling up.

Craft your campaign message

In the message composer, write a compelling subject line for email campaigns or headline for in-app messages. Create your message content using Intercom's rich text editor. Add personalization using merge tags like {{ user.name }} or {{ user.company.name }}. Include a clear call-to-action button by clicking Add button and configuring the button text and destination URL.

Keep your message concise and focused on a single goal to improve engagement rates.

Configure delivery settings

In the Delivery section, choose between Send immediately or Schedule for later. If scheduling, select your preferred date and time. For email campaigns, configure the sender details including From name and Reply-to email. Set timezone preferences to ensure optimal delivery times for your audience.

Consider your audience's timezone and typical activity patterns when scheduling campaigns.

Set up follow-up sequences (optional)

Click Add follow-up to create automated follow-up messages. Define the trigger conditions such as Message not opened after X days or Link not clicked. Create follow-up content with different messaging or offers. Set the delay between messages using the time picker controls.

Limit follow-ups to 2-3 messages to avoid overwhelming your audience.

Review and test your campaign

Use the Preview feature to see how your message will appear to recipients. Click Send test to send a test message to your email address. Review all settings including audience size, message content, and delivery schedule. Check that all links and buttons work correctly in the test message.

Always send test messages to multiple team members to catch any issues before launch.

Launch and monitor your campaign

Once satisfied with your campaign setup, click Send campaign or Schedule campaign to activate it. Monitor performance in real-time through the Campaigns dashboard, tracking metrics like delivery rates, open rates, click rates, and conversions. Use the Analytics tab to view detailed performance data and user engagement patterns.

Set up custom events to track campaign attribution and measure the full impact on your business goals.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Campaign showing low delivery rates

Check your audience filters for inactive users and verify email addresses are valid. Review your sender reputation and ensure you're not hitting spam filters by using Deliverability settings in your account.

Merge tags not displaying user data correctly

Verify that the user properties exist in your customer data. Navigate to Settings > Data to check available user attributes and ensure the merge tag syntax matches exactly: {{ user.property_name }}.

Campaign stuck in 'Preparing' status

Large audience segments can take time to process. If stuck for over 30 minutes, contact Intercom support. Consider breaking large campaigns into smaller segments to improve processing speed.

In-app messages not displaying to users

Check that your audience criteria are correctly configured and users meet the targeting conditions. Verify that the Intercom messenger is properly installed on your website or app using the Installation verification tool.

Prices mentioned in this guide are pulled from current plan data and may change. Always verify on the official Intercom website before purchasing.

Visit Intercom View Intercom Pricing