Campaign Launch Checklist skill

What the Campaign Launch Checklist skill does

Best for

Agency recruiters launching a cold email campaign

Author

Work Insiders

Needs

Nothing beyond your AI assistant

License

MIT

Runs in

Claude, Gemini Enterprise, Gemini CLI, Gemini app (as a Gem), ChatGPT, Codex, Grok

How to use Campaign Launch Checklist in Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok

Steps follow OpenAI's skills guide and Google's Gemini Enterprise guide. Menu names change, so check there if a label looks different.

Nothing hidden: this is the whole file. Want it with your agency's details filled in, or formatted for ChatGPT, a Gemini Gem or Grok? Use the copy tool on the Cold Email Pack page.

---
name: campaign-launch-checklist
description: "Runs the pre-launch gates on a recruitment agency's cold email campaign (domains warm and authenticated, list verified and suppressed, copy and merge fields checked, schedule and limits set, opt outs working, legal flags closed) and passes or holds it, saving it paused for the recruiter to launch. Use when a recruiter asks \"is my campaign ready\", \"pre-launch checklist\", \"check my Instantly campaign before I launch\", \"what could go wrong at launch\", or \"go live checklist for cold email\"."
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: Work Insiders
  version: "1.0"
  pack: cold-email-pack
---

# Campaign launch checklist

You check a cold email campaign before the recruiter launches it. The volume and bounce numbers below are practitioner rules of thumb, not published standards. A campaign passes only when every gate passes. One failed gate holds the launch, with the fix named.

If `references/agency-profile.md` exists, read it first, including the Cold email lines.

Ask for the campaign brief from cold-email-start-here if there is one. Otherwise ask for: sending domains and mailboxes, warmup start date, the list file or its stats, the sequence, the sequencer settings (daily limits, schedule, tracking, stop-on-reply), and the countries on the list.

## The gates

| # | Gate | Passes when |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Domains | Sending domains are not the agency's main domain; SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX pass on each |
| 2 | Warmup | Each mailbox warmed at least 14 days (ideally 21+), warmup still on, health score good in the sequencer |
| 3 | Limits | Daily cold limit per mailbox at the ramp level (about 10 per mailbox in week one and 20 in week two, never over 40), random gap between sends turned on |
| 4 | List | Verified within 30 days, expected bounces under 2%, catch-alls separated, suppression list applied, one or two people per company |
| 5 | Copy | Plain text, no links, website domains, email addresses or attachments in email 1 (signature included), open tracking off, within the word limit of the skill that wrote it (BD 50 to 90, MPC under 90, candidate database under 100, candidate cold under 120), one opt-out line only, passes the free cold email spam-word checker (workinsiders.com/free-tools/cold-email-spam-checker/) |
| 6 | Merge fields | Every field exists in the list; no empty values in the rows being sent; three filled-in samples read correctly |
| 7 | Variants | Spintax syntax correct for this sequencer; test variants split evenly if a test is running |
| 8 | Schedule | Weekdays, business hours in the readers' time zone, sequence steps and waits as approved, stop on reply on, stop for the whole company on reply if the tool has it |
| 9 | Opt out | Opt-out line in every email; unsubscribes and "no" replies go to a suppression list that every campaign reads; US emails carry the mailing address |
| 10 | Legal | cold-email-compliance-check run for every country on the list, every flag closed or answered by the adviser |
| 11 | Replies | Someone owns the reply inbox daily; cold-email-reply-handler ready; booking link ready for "yes" replies |
| 12 | Seed test | One test send to the recruiter's own Gmail and Outlook addresses, read on a phone, landed in the inbox |

## How to run it

Go gate by gate. For each, mark **pass**, **fail** (with the fix) or **unknown** (with the question to answer). Unknown counts as fail until answered.

Then:
- All pass: say "ready to launch", and remind the recruiter to launch it themselves and watch the first 48 hours (bounces, replies, any complaints).
- Any fail: say "hold", list the failed gates in the order to fix them, and which skill fixes each.

## If a sequencer connector is connected

If the recruiter asks and a sequencer connector (such as Instantly's) is available, you may create the campaign, add the sequence and leads, and apply the settings above, **saved as paused**. Then read the settings back and check them against the gates. You never activate a campaign or send an email.

## The first 48 hours

Give the recruiter this short watch list:
- Bounces: target under 2%. Over 2%: check the list. Over 3% on 100+ sends, or over 5% at any point after 50 sends: pause and run deliverability-check. Pausing is always safe; ignore a one-day spike on tiny numbers.
- Any spam complaint: read the email again and check the targeting.
- Replies: answer within one working day using cold-email-reply-handler.
- Out-of-office replies with a return date: set a reminder, do not count them as replies.

# Agency profile

Fill this in once. Every skill in the pack reads it, so every output comes out in your agency's voice with your real terms. Delete any line you do not want the AI to use. Leave a line blank rather than guessing.

## Who we are
- Agency name:
- Recruiter name and title (for sign-offs):
- Phone:
- Mailing address (needed for US commercial email):
- Years in business:
- Specialties (roles we fill):
- Markets (cities, regions or "US remote"):
- Industries we know best:

## Terms
- Direct hire fee basis (e.g. % of first-year base):
- Guarantee period and type (free replacement / pro-rata refund / credit; conditions, e.g. fee paid within terms):
- Contract markup or bill rate approach:
- Exclusive or retained options:
- Payment terms (e.g. net 30 from start date):
- Introduction period (how long a candidate we introduce stays ours):
- Contract-to-hire conversion fee:
- Concessions we allow, and their limits:

## Proof points we can share
- Placements, time to fill, or retention figures we are happy to quote:
- Client names we may mention (only with permission):

## How we work
- ATS:
- Do we text candidates? (yes/no):
- Name the client in first candidate messages? (yes/no):
- Blind profiles: always / new clients only / never:
- Include pay expectation in submittals? (yes/no):
- Job post apply instructions:
- EEO statement:

## Cold email
- Sequencer we use (e.g. Instantly, Smartlead, EmailBison, lemlist, Apollo):
- Sending domains (lookalikes only, never our main domain):
- Mailboxes and the sender names on them:
- Countries we email (sets which email and data laws apply):
- Opt-out line we use (e.g. "Reply 'no' and I won't email again."):
- Booking link (sent only after someone replies yes):
- Where our current clients, opt outs and do-not-contact list are kept:

## Words we never use
-