How to Set Up Your First Lead Generation Campaign: Step-by-Step Tutorial

You signed up for a lead generation platform. Now what? This tutorial walks you through creating your first campaign from zero to first qualified lead — including the mistakes most people make on day one.

Before You Start: What You Need

• Telegram or VK account — at least one, warmed up (7+ days old)
• Target audience definition — who are you selling to?
• Message template — even a rough draft works
• 30 minutes — that's all the initial setup takes

Step 1: Connect Your First Account

Go to Dashboard → Accounts and click "Add Account". You'll need to enter your phone number and verify via SMS code.

Common mistake: Don't connect brand new accounts. Warm them up first — join some groups, send a few messages, browse the feed for at least 7 days.

Account Health Check

After connecting, the platform validates your account automatically. Check that:

• Status shows "Connected" (green)
• No error messages about restrictions
• Account age is displayed correctly

Step 2: Find Target Groups

Go to Dashboard → Target Groups and add groups where your prospects hang out.

Manual Search

If you already know specific groups, add them by URL or name. The platform will fetch group metadata (member count, activity level).

Automated Search

Use the search feature to find groups by keyword. Enter terms related to your audience:

• Industry: "SaaS", "startup", "маркетинг"
• Role: "CTO", "разработчик", "head of growth"
• Topic: "автоматизация", "CRM", "lead generation"

Filter by:

• Member count: 500-10,000 (sweet spot for B2B)


• Language: Match your market


• Activity: Groups with recent posts and comments

Step 3: Extract and Review Leads

Once you've added target groups, the platform extracts members. But don't message everyone — review and qualify first.

Qualification Filters

• Activity: Only members who posted in the last 30 days
• Profile: Has a bio, photo, and name (not blank profiles)
• Relevance: AI scores each lead by how well they match your ICP

Review Your Leads

Look at the first 20-30 leads. Ask yourself:

• Would I buy from this person's company?
• Do they look like a decision maker?
• Is their profile complete enough for personalization?

If the leads look wrong, adjust your target groups or qualification criteria before sending anything.

Step 4: Write Your First Message

The message is everything. Here's a simple framework that works:

The 3-Sentence Formula

• Hook: Reference something specific about them (their message, company, or role)
• Value: One sentence about how you help
• CTA: One clear question or action

Example Messages

For a technical founder:

"Hey [Name], saw your post about scaling [product] in [group]. We help [similar companies] reduce [problem] by [X%]. Worth a quick chat?"

For an operations lead:

"Hi [Name], noticed you're handling [process] at [Company]. We automate that — clients save [X hours/week]. Want to see how?"

For a growth marketer:

"Hey [Name], your approach to [strategy] is interesting. We help [SaaS type] companies [specific outcome]. Curious to compare notes?"

Message Do's and Don'ts

Do	Don't
Personalize with their name	Send "Hi there" or "Dear sir"
Reference their specific activity	Use generic templates
Keep it under 100 words	Write a novel
One clear CTA	Multiple asks in one message
Sound human	Sound like a sales script

Step 5: Configure Sending Settings

Go to Dashboard → Campaigns and create a new campaign. Set:

Sending Limits

• Messages per account per day: Start with 10-15 (safe limit)
• Delay between messages: 30-60 seconds minimum
• Send window: Business hours in your target timezone

Content Variation

Enable AI message variation if available. This rewrites each message slightly so no two leads get identical text. This is critical for avoiding spam detection.

Follow-Up Sequence

Set up at least 2 follow-ups:

• Day 3: Follow-up with new value (article, case study)
• Day 7: Different angle or question

Step 6: Launch and Monitor

Hit "Start Campaign" and watch the first 10-20 messages go out. Then:

First Hour

• Check that messages are delivering (delivery rate should be 95%+)
• Watch for any account restrictions
• Note any immediate replies

First Day

• Review response rate — target 10-15%
• Check which messages got positive vs negative replies
• Adjust message template if response rate is below 5%

First Week

• Analyze overall campaign metrics
• Identify best-performing message variations
• Scale what works, stop what doesn't

Step 7: Handle Responses

Every response is a potential customer. Handle them:

• Positive reply: Respond within 1 hour. Ask for a meeting or demo.
• Question: Answer directly, then pivot to a meeting.
• Neutral/curious: Provide value, then ask for next step.
• Negative: Thank them, remove from campaign, move on.

Common First-Campaign Mistakes

• Sending too many too fast: 50+ messages on day 1 = restrictions
• Generic messages: "I'd like to connect" gets ignored
• Not personalizing: People can tell you're blasting
• No follow-up: 80% of deals close after follow-up
• Ignoring responses: Slow responses lose deals
• Wrong target groups: Messaging marketing people about dev tools

What Success Looks Like

After 1 week with 3-5 accounts sending 10-15 messages/day:

Metric	Good	Great
Messages sent	100-200	200-500
Response rate	10-15%	15-25%
Positive replies	10-20	20-50
Meetings booked	2-5	5-10
Account restrictions	0-1	0

If you're hitting these numbers, scale up. Add more accounts, expand to more groups, and refine your messaging. The first campaign is about learning — scaling comes after.