# Your First Day With Revnu

> Your three jobs on day one, where your first message goes, what to do when the first plan is wrong, when the first emails really leave, why Revnu may ask for a card first, and how to start with ads, one country or no blog.

Canonical: https://revnu.com/docs/first-day
Last updated: 2026-10-18

On your first day Revnu picks a goal and a channel, tells you both, and does the first piece of work within minutes. Your part is three small jobs: connect a mailbox, approve the first sequence, and answer the sender question if Revnu asks it. The steps below walk you through them in order.

### 1. Send Revnu your first message

Talk to Revnu wherever you chose at sign-up:

- **Dashboard:** the message box on **Home**. The chat also floats at the corner of every other page.
- **Slack:** the channel you invited Revnu to. Start the message with @Revnu.
- **iMessage:** text +1 (415) 373-8405 from the number you saved.

![The Home page, with the Message Revnu box under "How Do You Want to Grow Today?" and suggested prompts below it](/docs/screens/home.webp)

It's one conversation, so a message you send in one place shows up in the others. Revnu's first plan arrives in the same place. See [Talk to Revnu](/docs/talk-to-revnu).

### 2. Fix the plan if it's wrong

The plan says the goal and the channel, for example "Aiming for 30 new customers this month. Starting with outbound to heads of finance at UK accounting firms." If it's wrong, reply to it in one line:

- "Only Google Ads has ever worked for us. Start there."
- "Cold email to our list was a flop. Try LinkedIn."
- "We want to show up in ChatGPT answers. Do SEO first."
- "Stop the blog, do Google Ads instead."

Revnu does what you ask. Your request in chat wins over its own pick, at any point in the day. If you have a different number in mind for the goal, say that too.

> **Tip:** Say what has already failed, so Revnu doesn't try that first.

### 3. Connect Gmail or Outlook

Open **Connections** and find **Reach People**. Press **Connect** on **Gmail** or **Outlook** and sign in. Revnu sends from this inbox and reads the replies. See [Connect Gmail or Outlook](/docs/connect-email).

![The Reach People section of Connections, with Gmail, Outlook and LinkedIn DMs cards, each with a Connect button](/docs/screens/connections-reach.webp)

**What if I haven't connected a mailbox?**

Revnu still finds leads and writes the emails. To send them, it asks you to connect one of these:

- **Your own Gmail or Outlook**, in **Connections > Reach People**. Approved emails go out the same day. See [Connect Gmail or Outlook](/docs/connect-email).
- **LinkedIn**, if your buyers live there. See [Connect LinkedIn](/docs/connect-linkedin).
- **Inboxes Revnu buys for you.** Revnu asks before buying. These start slowly and warm up over days. Revnu buys them once a card is on the account. See [Sending inboxes](/docs/sending-inboxes).

If Revnu lists buying sending inboxes as a step, you can skip it and send from your own inbox first.

### 4. Look over your first leads

Open **Leads**. Revnu finds and saves the first five leads straight away, so you have something to look at. A longer list (ten or more companies) runs in the background while you keep chatting. The rest land here as they're found, and Revnu tells you when the list is done. Bigger lists take longer.

![The Leads page, Outreach Pipeline, with status tabs across the top and one lead opened to show its score, status track and the Drafts, People, Signals and Activity tabs](/docs/screens/leads.webp)

Click a lead to see its score, the reasons for it and the people Revnu found. If the companies look wrong, tell Revnu who you sell to in chat.

### 5. Approve the first sequence

Revnu writes the emails, then your first sequence waits for your approval. This happens on every account, whatever your approval settings say. Nothing is sent to a prospect until you approve it.

1. On **Leads**, pick the campaign from the menu at the top (it starts on **All Leads**).
2. Click the pill next to it, which shows the number of emails, for example **3 Steps**. On **All Leads** the same button reads, for example, **2 Sequences**: click it and pick one.
3. The sequence opens in a window. Read every email and its wait. Use the **Preview** menu to see an email filled in for one real lead.
4. Press **Approve** and confirm. With no inbox connected yet, the button reads **Log in and Approve**: it approves the sequence, then signs you in to Gmail and brings you back.

![The sequences menu on the Leads page, listing two sequences marked Needs an Inbox and a Connect an Inbox row at the bottom](/docs/screens/leads-sequences.webp)

The pill tells you where the sequence stands:

- **Needs Approval**: waiting for your yes.
- **Needs an Inbox**: approved, but nothing is connected to send from.
- **Live**: sending.

You can also approve the sequence from its card in **Review**. After the first one, your [approval settings](/docs/approvals) decide what waits. See [Sequences](/docs/sequences).

> **Note:** Approving alone sends nothing until a mailbox is connected. With both done, emails from your own inbox usually leave within minutes, except in the first half hour after you connect your first mailbox ([below](#when-do-the-first-emails-actually-leave)).

### 6. Answer the sender question

If no mailbox is connected yet and Revnu isn't sure whose name the emails should go out under, it asks you once. Reply with the name to sign as.

### 7. Clear the cards in Review

Open **Review**. Questions and approvals collect here. Select a card, then press **Approve**, **Dismiss**, **Snooze** or **Comment**.

![The Review page, Things That Need You, with an approval card selected showing Dismiss, Snooze, Comment and Approve](/docs/screens/review.webp)

When a prospect replies, Revnu writes an answer and it waits here for you. Replies to prospects always wait. See [Replies](/docs/replies).

### 8. Choose what waits for you

Open **Settings**, then the **Agent** tab. Under **What Needs Your Approval**, set each kind of work to **Ask Me First** or **Just Do It**. Spending money, replies to prospects and your first sequence always ask first, whatever you set. See [What Revnu asks before it acts](/docs/approvals).

![The Agent tab of Settings, What Needs Your Approval, with a row for each kind of work and the Always Asks First box at the bottom](/docs/screens/settings-approvals.webp)

## What happens in hour one

1. **It reads your business.** It uses the facts you confirmed at sign-up, your website and anything you've told it.
2. **It says the goal and the channel.** One message, with the reason. If you already named a channel, it starts that one. If it thinks another would do better, it says why in one line and still starts yours.
3. **It does the first piece of work.** For outbound, that's a lead list and a draft sequence. For SEO, a blog post. For ads, the ads themselves, then a paused campaign once your ad account is connected.

## When do the first emails actually leave?

Usually within minutes of your approval, from your own Gmail or Outlook.

One exception: for the first 30 minutes after you connect your first Gmail or Outlook inbox, emails Revnu sends without you approving each one wait until the 30 minutes are up. That includes the emails in an approved sequence. It gives Revnu time to tell you sending is about to start, and you time to say stop.

Emails you approve one by one, with **Approve & Send** in Review, aren't held. See [Connect Gmail or Outlook](/docs/connect-email).

## Once connected, what are my jobs?

Revnu finds the leads, writes the emails, sends them and follows up. Your jobs after that are short:

1. **Approve the first sequence.** After that, your [approval settings](/docs/approvals) decide what else waits.
2. **Answer the replies Revnu drafts.** When a prospect replies, Revnu writes an answer and you send it.
3. **Approve anything that spends money**, such as an ad budget or inboxes Revnu wants to buy.
4. **Clear the cards in Review.**

To see how many emails went out, ask Revnu "how many emails went out today?", or look for **Sent** leads on **Leads** and the **This Week** card on **Home**.

## Questions about your first day

**If you ask for a daily number**

Ask for a pace in plain words: "send 30 a day". Revnu can't send more than your mailboxes allow:

- **Your own Gmail or Outlook, on Pro:** up to 50 emails a day and 20 an hour, a minute or few apart.
- **Inboxes Revnu buys for you:** a few a day each, and nothing until they've warmed up.

A worked example. You're on Pro with your own Gmail connected and say "send 30 a day". 30 is under the 50-a-day limit, so it fits from day one, once the first sequence is approved and there are 30 leads with checked emails on it. At 20 an hour at most, the 30 go out over an hour or two. Ask for 80 a day from one inbox and Revnu sends 50, and the rest wait for the next day. To send more, connect a second mailbox.

Ask Revnu to confirm the pace it has set, and what would raise it. [How many emails Revnu sends a day](/docs/email-sending-limits) has every limit, including Managed.

**Why did Revnu pause and ask for my card?**

If your trial started without a card, Revnu may pause once it has something to show you, such as a first lead, a blog post or a drafted sequence, and ask for one.

You'll see **Add Your Card to Keep Going** across the dashboard. Your work is saved and comes back the moment the card is added, so add it first, then connect Gmail, Outlook or an ad account.

Adding a card costs nothing today. Your free trial carries on and nothing is charged before it ends. After that, Pro is from $99 a month. Revnu starts again the moment the card is saved. [Why did Revnu stop working?](/docs/agent-stopped) covers this and the other pauses.

**How do I start with ads instead of email?**

Say so in your first message:

> Start with Google Ads, not email. Spend up to $20 a day and count a booked demo as the win.

Revnu starts on the channel you name. Then:

1. **Connect your ad account** in **Connections > Advertise**. Google shows a "Google hasn't verified this app" screen. That's expected: click **Advanced**, then the link that starts **Go to**. See [Connect Google Ads](/docs/connect-google-ads).
2. **Set up one outcome** in **Ads > Revnu Tag**: a purchase, a trial start or a booked call. This is what your ads are judged on, and Revnu won't launch ads until one is set up. Until then it prepares the campaign as a paused draft.
3. **Approve the budget.** Every budget waits for you, and the ad platform bills your own account, never Revnu.

No developer? Counting purchases, trials or booked calls needs a small piece of code on your site or server. Revnu gives you a setup prompt that a coding agent such as Claude Code or Cursor can install. [Set up outcomes](/docs/set-up-outcomes) shows what works without any code.

Until an ad account is connected, Revnu writes the ads in chat and asks you to connect one. If Revnu went to email when you asked for ads, say:

> Pause the email work and set up the Google Ads test first.

**How do I keep it to one country?**

The **Where Your Buyers Are** row you confirmed at sign-up sets the default market for every lead list. To check or change it, open **Settings > Memory**, pick the **Who We Sell To** section in the list, and look for the "Where:" line.

For one list, just say it: "UK only for now." A specific request in chat wins over the default.

**How do I tell Revnu who to avoid?**

There are two places, for two different jobs:

- **Settings > Memory.** Describe the kinds of company to skip, in plain words: "Never contact agencies or anyone under 10 staff." Revnu reads this before it builds a list.
- **Settings > Agent > Block List.** Add exact emails, domains or LinkedIn profiles Revnu must never research or contact: current customers, partners, your investors. See [Keep people off your outreach](/docs/exclude-contacts).

**What if I sell to two different groups?**

Name both groups. At sign-up, press **Fix** on **Who Buys It** and write both: "Restaurant owners who list tables, and corporate event planners who book them." After sign-up, tell Revnu in chat which group to start with.

Revnu finds businesses and the people who work at them. It can't find private individuals, such as home movers, patients or people in a lawsuit, because no lead database lists them. If one group is consumers, split the work:

- Reach the businesses that serve them, such as letting agents, clinics or law firms, with outbound.
- Reach the consumers themselves through search content, ads and the communities where they ask questions.

**What if I don't have a blog?**

You can still start today. Say which channel you want first, and Revnu starts there. Three options need no blog:

- **A Revnu-hosted blog.** Ask Revnu to publish on a revnu.sh address. It needs no change to your site, and you can point a subdomain of your own at it later. This also suits shops on hosted store platforms such as Payhip, Gumroad or Etsy: link to the blog from your shop page. See [the hosted blog](/docs/hosted-blog).
- **Free directory listings.** Revnu submits your business to free directories and review sites. See [Free directory listings](/docs/directory-listings).
- **Outbound or ads.** Neither needs a blog.

On Wix, WordPress or Shopify? [Get Revnu's posts onto your site](/docs/blog-setup-options) covers every route.

## What you'll see

- A first message in chat with the goal, the channel and the reason.
- Leads in **Leads**, a post in **Visibility > Posts**, ads written in chat, or a draft campaign in **Ads**.
- The first sequence behind the pill on **Leads**, marked **Needs Approval**.

## If it doesn't work

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| No leads after an hour | Ask "Where are my leads?" Revnu tells you what is still running. If your buyers are consumers, see [two different groups](#what-if-i-sell-to-two-different-groups). If Revnu says it can't find your buyers in lead databases, point it at search content and ads. See [How the free trial works](/docs/free-trial) |
| You approved the sequence but nothing sent | Check the pill. **Needs an Inbox** means no mailbox is connected yet. If you connected your first mailbox in the last half hour, the first emails are [waiting out the 30 minutes](#when-do-the-first-emails-actually-leave) |
| You can't open Connections | You're on a no-card trial that has paused for a card. Add one, then connect. See [above](#why-did-revnu-pause-and-ask-for-my-card) |
| It picked the wrong channel | Say which one you want. It switches |
| The leads are in the wrong country | Fix the "Where:" line in **Settings > Memory**, then ask for a new list |
| Ads don't launch | Check **Ads > Revnu Tag** has an outcome set up. See [Why aren't my ads running?](/docs/ads-not-running) |
| Everything stopped | See [Why did Revnu stop working?](/docs/agent-stopped) |
| You want to cancel | Cancel in **Settings > Account**. Revnu can't cancel for you from chat. See [Cancel your trial or plan](/docs/cancel) |

## Next step

[What Revnu does on its own each day](/docs/what-revnu-does-each-day): the routine after day one, and what waits for you.

## Frequently asked questions

### What do I need to do on my first day?

Three things: connect Gmail or Outlook in **Connections > Reach People**, approve the first sequence from the pill next to the campaign on **Leads**, and tell Revnu whose name to sign the emails with if it asks. Approval alone sends nothing until a mailbox is connected.

### Where do I send Revnu my first message?

In the chat on **Home**, in your Slack channel with @Revnu, or by text to +1 (415) 373-8405, depending on what you picked at sign-up. They're one conversation.

### Revnu's first plan is wrong. How do I change it?

Reply to the plan message and say what you want, for example: > Only Google Ads works for us. Do that, and pause email for now. Revnu does what you ask, at any point in the day.

### Why haven't I got any leads yet?

The first five come within minutes of Revnu starting on leads. Longer lists run in the background, so the rest arrive as they're found. Ask "Where are my leads?" for a status. If your buyers are private individuals, Revnu reaches them through blog posts, search, AI answers and ads, and finds and emails the businesses that serve them.

### I approved the sequence. Why haven't the emails gone yet?

For the first 30 minutes after you connect your first Gmail or Outlook inbox, emails Revnu sends without your one-by-one approval wait. After that they usually leave within minutes. If the pill says **Needs an Inbox**, connect a mailbox first.

### Can Revnu send 30 emails a day from my Gmail?

On Pro, yes. Your own Gmail or Outlook sends up to 50 a day and 20 an hour once the first sequence is approved. Say "send 30 a day" and ask Revnu to confirm the pace.

### Can I make Revnu do ads instead of blog posts or email?

Yes. Tell it in chat: > Only Google Ads works for us. Do that, and pause email for now. Revnu writes the ads and suggests a starting test budget in its first reply. Connect your ad account in **Connections > Advertise** and set up one outcome in **Ads > Revnu Tag**. Revnu builds a paused campaign, and you approve the budget.

### How do I get leads from only one country?

Check the "Where:" line under Who We Sell To in **Settings > Memory**, which came from the Where Your Buyers Are row at sign-up. That sets the default for every list. For a single list, say "UK only" in chat.

### Will Revnu email anyone before I approve it?

Not before you approve your first sequence. That one always waits. After that, Start Sequences and One-Off Emails in **Settings > Agent** decide what waits. Replies to prospects always wait.

### Why did the dashboard ask for my card?

Your offer starts with a no-card trial that runs until Revnu has a first result, or about 30 minutes in. Add a card to open the full dashboard, Connections included. Adding it charges nothing today, and Revnu carries on at once.

### I sell on Payhip, Gumroad or Etsy. Can Revnu still write blog posts?

Yes. Revnu can publish them on a Revnu-hosted blog at a revnu.sh address, with no change to your shop. Link to it from your shop page.