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Quickstart — your first send in 10 min

8 min read · Updated 2026-09-05

“Quickstart — your first send in 10 min” is a Direct University lesson from Direct REI, the AI cold-outreach platform and CRM for real estate investors. Video walkthrough + the five steps: connect a mailbox, add contacts, generate a sequence, and send your first batch.

This walkthrough takes a brand-new account from zero to a sent batch of outreach in under ten minutes. Five steps.

1. Connect a mailbox (~3 min)

Go to Settings → Email → + Add mailbox. You'll need an app password from your email provider — not your normal login password.

Paste the app password, click Test connection, then save. Green badge = ready.

2. Add some contacts (~2 min)

Two options:

3. Create a campaign (~1 min)

Open the Email page (or Texting for SMS) — the sequence editor is right at the top. Click + New next to the Campaign dropdown (or open All Campaigns and click + New campaign):

  1. Name it something descriptive ("Austin Wholesalers Q4")
  2. Pick a channel (Email, SMS, or Direct Mail)
  3. Pick your role: Buying (you want to acquire from them), Selling (you want to sell to them), Partnership, or Other
  4. Set a Reply Goal in plain English — e.g., "find off-market land sellers willing to take an offer". (There are quick-pick presets: Discover buy box, Qualify budget & timeline, Book a call, Partnership / referrals.)

Save. The Reply Goal is what the AI uses to steer every reply it writes.

4. Generate a sequence (~1 min)

Still in the editor, with your campaign selected, click Generate with AI. The AI writes a full cadence (default 4 messages, customizable 1–12) — initial pitch, follow-ups, and a break-up message. Subject + body for each.

Read them. Edit anything that sounds off. Save.

Tip: The AI writes in YOUR voice based on the Reply Goal + your profile (set in Settings → Profile). Filling out your profile with a clear value prop produces better sequences.

5. Add contacts to the campaign + send (~3 min)

First, in the CRM, select the contacts you added in step 2 and click Add to campaign → pick this campaign (they have to be in the campaign before they'll show up to send). Then scroll down to Enroll contacts in a campaign on the Email page (the Enroll & Send → button jumps straight there) — your campaign's contacts appear automatically. Select them (checkboxes, or Select all) and click Send to Selected. Confirm.

Sends are paced across your business hours with 5-15 second delays between each. The first email goes out within a minute; follow-ups land on Day 4, Day 9, and Day 16 by default (configurable per campaign).

Tip: Start with 5-10 contacts to test, then scale up. Watch the CRM for replies — they auto-flag red if action is needed.

What's next

Once you're sending, check out Connect Gmail / Outlook / SMTP without spam for deliverability deep-dives, and Writing sequences that get replies for the craft side.

This lesson lives in Direct University inside the Direct REI app, where you can search every lesson and ask the built-in AI assistant. Sign in to open it there.

Related lessons

Connect Gmail / Outlook / SMTP without spamVideo walkthrough + the deliverability essentials: app passwords, daily caps, warm-up, and mailbox rotation.Getting Started · 6 min read Writing sequences that get repliesWhat the AI does well, what to override, and the structure of a cadence that converts.Outreach Tips · 9 min read Your Home dashboard & daily workflowThe KPI strip, Drafts inbox, Needs-attention queue, activity feed, and next-action cards — your daily driver.Getting Started · 4 min read
About Direct REIDirect REI is an AI cold-outreach platform and CRM for real estate investors — wholesalers, flippers, builders, land investors, and brokers. Its AI acquisition manager, Oliver, pulls county property records, finds owners, and runs email, SMS, direct mail, and inbound-call tracking from your own mailbox and phone number, replying in your voice. Free plan; paid plans from $23/month billed annually ($29 monthly).

Start free — let Oliver run the outreach.

Free plan, no card. Oliver finds the leads and runs email, SMS, and mail from your own accounts.

Try Direct REI free →