Campaigns are the core of how Lancer automates your job applications. A well-structured campaign ensures:
You target the right type of jobs.
You avoid wasting connects on unsuitable opportunities.
You maximize your ROI (Return on Connect Spent).
Although Lancer lets you create unlimited campaigns, we recommend starting with one campaign, refining it, and then expanding.
Campaign Layout
When creating or managing a campaign:
Left side: Job feed – all jobs that match your current filters.
Right side: Filter section – where you fine-tune targeting.
Top bar: Forecast – shows how many jobs your campaign can monitor monthly.
Example: Adding “Shopify” as a keyword might return 10,000 jobs per month. This does not mean Lancer will apply to all of them. Instead, it means Lancer will monitor these jobs, and only after applying contextual filtering (via your Knowledge Base), proposals will be sent to suitable ones.
Real-Time Job Monitoring
Campaigns monitor newly posted jobs in real time. Proposals are only sent after a campaign is activated.
Lancer does not send proposals retroactively to older posts.
Think of campaigns as a live job monitor with rules that decide what opportunities to apply for.
Building Campaign Filters
Keyword & Query Builder
All of these words: All listed keywords must be included (acts as an “AND” filter).
Any of these words: At least one keyword must appear (“OR” filter).
None of these words: Excludes unwanted keywords.
Exact phrase: Use quotation marks for phrase-matching (“conversion rate optimization”).
Title-only search: Limit filters to only appear in job titles (e.g., “Shopify expert”).
Pro Tip:
Keep campaigns under 1,000 jobs/month for better precision. Too many jobs usually means filters are too broad.
Categories
Choose or exclude entire categories (e.g., Sales & Marketing, E‑commerce Development).
Client Requirements
This is one of the most powerful sections for improving campaign quality.
Hire Rate:
Recommended: Filter out clients with <50% hire rate.
Exception: Allow new clients (e.g., fewer than 4 posted jobs).
Payment Verified: Always enable this to avoid wasted proposals.
Location:
Option 1: Target high-value geographies (e.g., US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia).
Option 2: Exclude specific low-value regions.
Spend & Budget Quality:
Target clients who have spent significantly (e.g., $10,000+).
Look at total spend per posted job to find fair-paying clients.
Example: 300 jobs, $3M spent vs 10 jobs, $200 spent.
Average Hourly Rate Paid: Good to identify higher-value clients, but note it only applies for hourly jobs, not fixed-price.
Minimum Reviews: Optional. Leaving it open is fine unless you want only experienced clients.
Client Rating (feedback from freelancers):
Best clients: 4.5+ rating.
Avoid <4.0 — usually difficult clients.
Compensation & Budget
Hourly: Define min/max hourly ranges (e.g., $30+ recommended for skilled freelancers).
Fixed Price: Be flexible with placeholder budgets (e.g., $50 for a $5,000 project). Many clients just insert rough numbers.
Unspecified budgets: Often indicate high-quality clients who are willing to negotiate. Always include them.
Best Practices for Filters
Layer multiple filters together (hire rate + spend + keywords).
Leave some flexibility (don’t exclude new clients entirely, but set limits).
Test & iterate — small adjustments can drastically improve campaign quality.
Track your Return on Connect Spent (ROCS) to ensure proposals are targeted at clients who are most likely to hire.
Key Takeaways
Filters give you control over campaign focus.
Don’t aim for quantity. Aim for specificity and quality.
Campaign monitoring works only forward (no retroactive proposals).
The Knowledge Base + Filters work together:
Filters = broad targeting.
Knowledge Base = final contextual selection.