> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.writesure.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Campaign basics

> How campaigns target leads, how bidding and the auction work, and how to control volume.

A **campaign** is how you tell Writesure which leads you want and how much you'll pay for them. You can run one campaign or many — for example, a different bid or daily cap per state. When a lead comes in, we pick your highest-bidding eligible campaign to compete for it.

## What goes into a campaign

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Target states" icon="map">
    One or more states to receive leads from. Must be within the states you're licensed in. A single state is fine — there's no minimum count.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Publishers" icon="rss">
    The lead sources to accept. At least one is required. New publishers are opt-in — they're never added to your existing campaigns automatically.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Brands" icon="tag">
    The consumer brand the lead came from. At least one is required.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Max bid" icon="gavel">
    The most you're willing to pay per lead, in whole dollars, at or above the floor.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Daily cap" icon="gauge">
    The maximum number of leads this campaign will receive per day.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Delivery" icon="paper-plane">
    Where leads are sent — email or a Google Sheet. Delivery is set once for your account under Settings.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## How pricing and the auction work

Writesure runs a **second-price (Vickrey) auction** between buyers. Among the campaigns eligible for a given lead, the one with the highest max bid wins — but you pay only the next-highest bid plus a small increment, never more than your own max.

<Info>
  Leads start at a **\$17 floor** for final expense. You'll often pay less than your max bid, because the auction settles at the second-highest competing bid. If you're the only eligible buyer, you pay the floor.
</Info>

* **Bids are in whole dollars** and must be at or above the floor.
* **A higher max bid** improves how often you win — it doesn't mean you always pay it.
* **Spending stays in your control** through your max bid and daily cap.

## Campaign states

| State        | What happens                                                       |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Active**   | The campaign competes for leads and delivers them to you.          |
| **Paused**   | Temporarily off. No leads, no spend. Switch back on any time.      |
| **Archived** | Retired from your active list. You can restore it later if needed. |

When a campaign hits its **daily cap**, it stops receiving leads for the rest of the day and resumes the next day automatically.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create">
    From **Campaigns → New**, fill in targeting, publishers, brands, max bid, and daily cap. A standalone campaign starts Active; the one you create during onboarding starts paused until your account is approved.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tune">
    Edit the bid, cap, or targeting any time. Changes take effect on the next matching lead.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pause or archive">
    Pause to take a break without losing your setup, or archive to retire a campaign. Both are reversible.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Running several narrow campaigns (for example, one per state) gives you finer control over bids and volume than a single broad one.
</Tip>