Running Your First DM Campaign – Redreach

Ready to send your first automated Reddit DMs? This guide walks you through every step from campaign creation to sending messages.

Before You Start

Make sure you've completed initial setup:

✅ Extension installed and connected to your Redreach account

✅ Reddit account detected in Settings

✅ Daily limit configured (start with 10-15 for your first campaign)

✅ Message delay set to 3-5 seconds minimum

If you haven't done these steps, see Installing & Setting Up.

Step-by-Step: Your First Thread Campaign

Let's run a simple Thread Campaign targeting users who commented on a specific Reddit post.

Step 1: Find a Target Thread

Go to Reddit and find a post in your target niche

Look for posts with 10-50 comments (good size for first campaign)

Make sure the post is relevant to your offer

Click into the post to view the full thread

Example: If you're reaching out to SaaS founders, find a post in r/SaaS asking about tools or challenges.

Step 2: Open the Redreach Sidebar

Look for the orange "Redreach" tab on the right edge of the page

Click it to slide out the sidebar

Click the Campaign Setup icon (target symbol) at the bottom

The sidebar will detect you're viewing a thread and show thread-specific options.

Step 3: Select Campaign Type

This is the most important step! You'll see three campaign type options:

Thread Campaign (indigo/blue button) ← Choose this one

Subreddit Campaign (purple button)

List Campaign (green button, coming soon)

Since you're on a thread and want to target commenters on this specific post, click "Start Thread Campaign" or make sure Thread is selected.

The extension automatically detects you're on a thread page and recommends Thread Campaign.

Step 4: Create Your Campaign

At the top of Campaign Setup, click "+ New Campaign"

Enter a descriptive name: "Thread: r/SaaS PM Tools - First Test"

Press Enter

Why this naming format?

"Thread:" tells you it's a thread campaign

"r/SaaS PM Tools" tells you the target

"First Test" tells you the purpose

Your campaign is created and selected automatically.

Step 5: Write Your Message

In the large text area, write your DM template:

Hey! I saw your comment on the PM tool thread and it seems you are interested in better PM tools?

I'm working on a tool that helps with [your solution]. Would love to get your feedback if you have 2 minutes.

Interested?

Tips for your first message:

Keep it short (3-4 sentences max)

Personalize by referencing the thread

Clear call-to-action

Friendly, not salesy

The message auto-saves as you type.

Step 6: Configure Campaign Settings

Click "Campaign Settings" to expand the options:

Essential settings for first campaign:

DM Limit: Set to 10 (small test run)

Skip Post Author: ✅ Enabled (don't DM the person who created the post)

Only DM First Level Comments: ✅ Enabled (skip nested replies, focus on main commenters)

Skip if DMed by My Reddit Account: ✅ Enabled (prevent duplicate contacts)

Leave other settings at default for now.

Step 7: Review Daily Limits

Before starting, check your daily limit progress:

Look at the Dashboard (home icon)

See "Today's DMs" - should show 0/25 (or your configured limit)

Make sure you have enough capacity for your 10 DM test

Step 8: Start the Campaign

Return to Campaign Setup

Make sure Thread Campaign is selected (you should see the indigo/blue "Start Thread Campaign" button)

Click the large "Start Thread Campaign" button

A loading screen appears with the message "Starting campaign..."

Important: The button color and text match the campaign type:

Thread Campaign = Indigo/blue "Start Thread Campaign"

Subreddit Campaign = Purple "Start Subreddit Campaign"

List Campaign = Green "Start List Campaign" (coming soon)

Step 9: Watch the Automation Run

The Campaign Running overlay will appear showing:

Real-time DM count (e.g., "3 / 10 DMs sent")

Today's total (e.g., "3 / 25 today")

Progress bar visualization

Current action (e.g., "Scanning page for users...")

Elapsed time

You'll also see:

Animated orange cursor moving around the page

Status indicator showing what's happening

Tab title updating with count (e.g., "[3/10] Campaign Running")

💡

Important: Keep the browser window open and don't navigate away. The automation needs the page to run. This is a browser extension limitation that we are working on. You can however easily just put another browser window on top of the existing one and do other tasks in the meantime.

Step 10: Campaign Completes

When finished, you'll see the Campaign Summary modal:

Campaign Complete! ✅

DMs Sent: 10
Duration: 2m 34s
Daily Total: 10 / 25

Click "Close" to dismiss.

Step 11: Review Your Contacts

Go to the Dashboard

Scroll to see your new contacts listed

Each contact shows:

Reddit username

Status: "DM Sent"

Campaign name

Timestamp

Congratulations! You've sent your first automated Reddit DMs.

What Happens Next?

Response Monitoring

Redreach automatically monitors for responses:

Every 10 seconds, the extension checks your Reddit chat

When someone replies, their status changes to "Responded"

You'll see a notification in the sidebar

Username highlighting updates (orange with "Responded" badge)

Viewing Responses

Redreach has a lightweight but powerful lead outreach CRM built in. Simply navigate to the Redreach webapp and click the “Lead CRM” tab on the left dashboard sidebar.

To see and reply to responses:

Click a contact marked "Responded" in the Dashboard

Or click their highlighted username anywhere on Reddit

The extension will navigate you to that conversation in Reddit Chat

Building on Success

After your first campaign:

Check response rate - Did anyone reply? What % responded?

Refine your message - Based on responses, tweak your template

Scale gradually - Try 20-30 DMs next time

Test different threads - Find what audiences respond best

Common First-Campaign Questions

"How long does a 10 DM campaign take?"

With a 4-second delay between messages:

10 DMs × 4 seconds = ~40 seconds of sending time

Plus navigation and page loading = 2-3 minutes total

"What if the campaign stops early?"

Common reasons:

✅ Hit daily limit (check Settings)

✅ Couldn't find enough eligible users in the thread

✅ Reddit rate limit detected (wait 2 hours)

Check the Campaign Summary modal for the completion reason.

"Can I stop a campaign mid-run?"

Yes! Click the "Stop Campaign" button in the Campaign Running overlay. Already-sent DMs won't be reversed, but it will stop sending more.

"What if I navigate away during the campaign?"

The campaign will pause. Keep the Reddit tab open and visible while running. Please don’t minimize the browser, don't switch tabs or navigate to another Reddit page. This is a browser extension limitation that we are working on. You can however easily just put another browser window on top of the existing one and do other tasks in the meantime.

Troubleshooting Your First Campaign

"Start Campaign button is grayed out"

Check that you:

Created/selected a campaign

Wrote a message template (not empty)

Are on a Reddit thread page (not homepage)

"Campaign immediately stops"

Possible causes:

Already hit daily limit (check Dashboard)

No eligible users found in thread (all already contacted or filtered out)

Extension needs reload (go to chrome://extensions and refresh Redreach)

"Messages aren't sending"

Check if you're still logged into Reddit

Verify DMs aren't disabled for your account

Make sure you haven't been rate-limited (check for Reddit warnings)

Video Tutorial

More of a visual learner? Watch Dom guide you through this quick tutorial on what you can with the Redreach Outbound Browser Extension.