Directus Guide

This guide explains how to use Directus Data Studio to manage your buyer intent platform content, leads, campaigns, and configuration.

What is Directus?

Directus is an open-source headless CMS and data platform that provides a powerful admin interface (Data Studio) for managing your content without writing code. In this platform, it serves as your central management hub for:

• Managing leads and contact data
• Creating and tracking marketing campaigns
• Building audience segments with dynamic rules
• Configuring AI prompts and automation
• Managing team members and permissions
• Organizing documents and media files

Accessing Directus Data Studio

1. Navigate to your Directus URL (check with your administrator)
2. Log in with your credentials
3. You’ll see the main dashboard with all your collections

Core concepts

Collections

Collections are like tables in a database — they hold specific types of content. Your platform includes:

Main Data Collections:

• Leads — Contact information, intent data, company details
• Campaigns — Marketing campaigns with QR tracking and email content
• Segments — Dynamic audience groups based on rules
• Notes — Internal notes and annotations

AI & Automation:

• AI Prompts — Prompt templates for AI interactions
• Integrations — Third-party service connections

Configuration:

• Settings — Platform-wide configuration settings
• Globals — API keys and service credentials (Twilio, OpenAI, N8N)
• Teams — Organization accounts with subscription info
• Users — Team member accounts and roles

Supporting Data:

• Documents — File storage and document management
• Activity Logs — Audit trail of all platform actions
• Deduplication Audits — Duplicate detection records
• QR Tracking Events — QR code scan analytics

Fields

Fields are the individual pieces of information in each collection item. For example, a lead has:

• Email (text)
• Company Name (text)
• Intent Score (number)
• Intent Topics (list)
• Status (dropdown: new, qualified, contacted, etc.)
• Location (city, state, country)
• Team assignment (relationship to Teams)

Items

Items are individual records within a collection. For example:

• A specific lead contact is an item in the Leads collection
• A marketing campaign is an item in the Campaigns collection

Managing leads

Leads are the core of your platform — they represent potential buyers with intent data.

Creating new leads

1. Navigate to Leads Collection
   • Click “Leads” in the sidebar
   • You’ll see a list of all leads
2. Create New Lead
   • Click “+ Create Item”
   • Fill in required fields: Email address, Company name, Team assignment
   • Add optional information:
     • Name (first_name, last_name)
     • Contact details (phone, additional emails)
     • Job information (job_title, department)
     • Company data (company_size, industry, revenue_range)
     • Location (address, city, state, zip_code, country)
     • Intent data (intent_topics, intent_score, intent_keywords)
3. Save Your Work
   • Click “Save” to create the lead
   • Lead becomes searchable immediately

Lead intent data

Intent data shows buying signals:

• Intent Topics — Topics the lead is researching (list)
• Intent Score — 0–100 score indicating buying readiness
• Intent Strength — Categorical strength (low, medium, high)
• Intent Recency — Days since last intent signal
• Intent Keywords — Specific keywords they’ve searched

Lead deduplication

The platform automatically manages duplicate leads:

• is_canonical — True if this is the primary lead record
• canonical_lead_id — Points to the main lead if this is a duplicate
• duplicate_group_id — Groups related duplicate leads
• confidence_score — Confidence level of duplicate match

Lead quality & status

Track lead lifecycle:

• status — Current stage (new, qualified, contacted, etc.)
• quality_score — Lead quality rating (0–100)
• is_suppressed — Marked as do-not-contact
• engagement_count — Number of interactions
• last_engaged_at — Most recent engagement date

Managing campaigns

Campaigns drive your outreach efforts with email, QR codes, and tracking.

Creating a campaign

1. Navigate to Campaigns
   • Click “Campaigns” in the sidebar
   • View existing campaigns and their performance
2. Create New Campaign
   • Click “+ Create Item”
   • Fill in campaign details:
     • name — Campaign title
     • status — draft, active, paused, completed
     • campaign_type — email, direct_mail, etc.
     • target_segment_id — Link to audience segment
3. Configure Campaign Content
   • subject_line — Email subject
   • html_content — Rich text email body
   • cta_url — Call-to-action link
   • qr_code_id — Unique QR code identifier
   • qr_code_url — QR landing page URL
4. Enable Integrations (optional)
   • use_sendspark — Enable video messaging
   • use_firstclass — Enable direct mail

Campaign tracking

Monitor campaign performance:

• total_contacts — Total audience size
• sent_count — Number sent
• qr_scans — Total QR code scans
• qr_unique_scans — Unique scanners
• launched_at — Campaign start date

Building segments

Segments are dynamic audience groups based on rules. They automatically update as lead data changes.

Creating a segment

1. Navigate to Segments — Click “Segments” in the sidebar

2. Create New Segment

   • Click “+ Create Item”
   • Set basic info:
     • name — Segment name (e.g. “High Intent - Tech Industry”)
     • segment_type — static or dynamic
     • team_id — Team ownership

3. Define Segment Rules — Click into the rules field (JSON editor) and define filtering logic:

   {
     "intent_score": { "gte": 70 },
     "industry": { "in": ["Technology", "SaaS"] },
     "status": { "eq": "qualified" }
   }

4. Activate Segment

   • Set is_active to true
   • System calculates segment_size automatically
   • View last_recalculated_at for freshness

Common segment rules

High Intent Leads:

{
  "intent_score": { "gte": 80 },
  "is_suppressed": false
}

Recent Engagers:

{
  "last_engaged_at": { "gte": "2024-01-01" },
  "engagement_count": { "gte": 3 }
}

Geographic Targeting:

{
  "state": { "in": ["CA", "NY", "TX"] },
  "company_size": { "in": ["100-500", "500+"] }
}

Managing AI prompts

AI Prompts are templates for AI-powered interactions and content generation.

Creating an AI prompt

1. Navigate to AI Prompts — Click “AI Prompts” in the sidebar
2. Create New Prompt
   • name — Descriptive prompt name
   • slug — URL-friendly identifier
   • status — draft, published, archived
   • description — What this prompt does
3. Configure System Prompt
   • system_prompt — Base instructions for the AI
   • Use markdown formatting
   • Example: “You are a helpful sales assistant…”
4. Add Message Examples
   • messages — Array of example interactions
   • Each message has role (user or assistant) and text (message content with {{placeholders}})

Using placeholders

AI prompts support dynamic data:

Generate an email for {{first_name}} at {{company_name}}.
Their intent topics are: {{intent_topics}}.
Intent score: {{intent_score}}/100.

When executed, placeholders are replaced with actual lead data.

Working with media (documents)

Uploading documents

1. Navigate to Directus Files — Click “File Library” in the sidebar to view all uploaded files
2. Upload New Files — Click “Upload Files” or drag-and-drop. Organize into folders: Campaign Assets, Lead Documents, Templates, Reports
3. File Metadata
   • Title — Descriptive name
   • Description — File purpose
   • Tags — Keywords for searching
   • Folder — Organizational folder

Configuration management

Global settings

The Globals collection stores platform-wide API credentials:

Twilio (SMS/Voice): twilio_account_sid, twilio_auth_token, twilio_caller_id, twilio_app_sid

OpenAI (AI Features): openai_api_key

Integration URLs: n8n_url (Automation platform), directus_url (CMS URL), site_url (Main application URL)

Security Note: These are sensitive credentials. Only administrators should edit.

Settings collection

The Settings collection uses key-value pairs:

• key — Setting identifier
• value — JSON or text value
• section — Grouping (e.g. “email”, “notifications”)
• status — draft, published, archived

Common settings: Email templates, Feature flags, UI configuration, Default values

Team & user management

Teams

Teams represent customer organizations:

• name — Organization name
• plan_name — Subscription tier
• subscription_status — active, canceled, past_due
• stripe_customer_id — Stripe customer reference
• stripe_subscription_id — Stripe subscription reference

Users

User accounts for team members:

• name — Full name
• email — Login email
• role — Team role (admin, member, viewer)
• is_admin — Platform administrator flag
• deleted_at — Soft delete timestamp (null if active)

Content workflow

Draft → Published → Archived

Most collections support status workflows:

1. Draft Status — Work in progress, not used in production, safe to experiment
2. Published Status — Active and in use, available to platform features, can still be edited
3. Archived Status — No longer active, retained for history, can be restored

Applying status

For items with a status field:

1. Select the item
2. Change status dropdown
3. Save changes

Search and filtering

Quick search

1. Use the search bar in any collection
2. Searches across key fields (email, name, company)
3. Results appear instantly

Advanced filtering

Filter Leads by Intent Score:

1. Click filter icon
2. Add condition: “intent_score” greater than or equal to “80”
3. Apply filter

Filter Campaigns by Status:

1. Add condition: “status” equals “active”
2. Combine with date range: “launched_at” is after “2024-01-01”

Filter Leads by Location:

1. Add condition: “state” in [“CA”, “NY”, “TX”]
2. Add condition: “country” equals “US”

Saved filters (presets)

1. Configure filters
2. Click “Save Preset”
3. Name it (e.g. “High Intent CA Leads”)
4. Access from presets dropdown anytime

Relationships

Many-to-One (M2O)

One lead belongs to one team:

• Lead → team_id → Team
• Select team from dropdown when editing lead

One-to-Many (O2M)

One team has many leads:

• View all team’s leads in Team detail page
• Automatically shows related leads

Junction tables

Some relationships use junction tables:

• Segment Membership — segment_leads links segments to leads (automatically managed by segment rules)
• Team Members — team_members links users to teams (defines user access per team)

Activity & audit trail

Activity logs

The Activity Logs collection tracks who performed actions, what changed, when it happened, and the full change history.

To view activity:

1. Navigate to Activity Logs
2. Filter by user, date, or entity
3. View detailed change records

Deduplication audits

The Deduplication Audits collection records when duplicates were detected, confidence scores, merge decisions, and who approved merges.

QR code tracking

QR tracking events

Track QR code engagement:

• campaign_id — Which campaign
• lead_id — Who scanned (if identified)
• scan_time — When scanned
• location — Geographic data
• device_info — Device type

To view QR analytics:

1. Navigate to QR Tracking Events
2. Filter by campaign
3. Export for reporting

Bulk operations

Bulk status changes

1. Select multiple items with checkboxes
2. Click bulk actions dropdown
3. Choose “Update Status”
4. Select new status
5. Confirm changes

Bulk export

1. Filter to desired items
2. Select all or specific items
3. Click export icon
4. Choose format (CSV, JSON)
5. Download file

Bulk delete (use carefully)

1. Select items to delete
2. Click delete icon
3. Confirm deletion
4. Note: Some deletes are permanent

Data import

Importing leads

1. Navigate to Leads collection
2. Click import icon
3. Upload CSV file with columns:
   • email (required)
   • company_name (required)
   • first_name, last_name
   • phone
   • city, state, country
   • intent_score
   • intent_topics (comma-separated)
4. Map CSV columns to lead fields
5. Preview import
6. Confirm and import

The platform will validate email formats, check for duplicates, assign to your team, and index for search.

Troubleshooting

Can’t save lead

• Check required fields — Email and company_name are required
• Check email format — Must be valid email
• Check team assignment — Must belong to a team
• Check permissions — You may not have edit rights

Campaign not sending

1. Check status — Must be “active”
2. Check segment — Must have target_segment_id
3. Check content — Must have subject_line and html_content
4. Check integrations — Required services must be configured in Globals

Segment not updating

1. Check is_active — Must be true
2. Check rules syntax — Must be valid JSON
3. Check last_recalculated_at — May need manual refresh
4. Contact administrator — May need system recalculation

Can’t access collection

• Check user role — May not have permission
• Check team membership — May not be in correct team
• Contact administrator — Permissions may need adjustment

Best practices

Lead management

1. Keep data clean — Remove invalid emails regularly
2. Monitor duplicates — Review deduplication_audits weekly
3. Track engagement — Update engagement_count and last_engaged_at
4. Use quality_score — Flag low-quality leads
5. Respect is_suppressed — Never contact suppressed leads

Campaign management

1. Test segments first — Verify segment_size before launching
2. Use descriptive names — Include date and target in campaign name
3. Track QR codes — Monitor qr_scans for engagement
4. Archive old campaigns — Keep active list clean

Segment building

1. Start simple — Test rules with small datasets
2. Document rules — Add description explaining segment logic
3. Monitor size — Large segments may impact performance
4. Use appropriate types — Static for one-time, dynamic for ongoing

AI prompts

1. Version prompts — Include version in name or description
2. Test with real data — Use actual lead placeholders
3. Keep focused — One prompt per use case
4. Archive old versions — Don’t delete, archive for history

Security

1. Protect Globals — Only admins should edit API keys
2. Use strong passwords — For user accounts
3. Regular audits — Review activity_logs monthly
4. Backup data — Export critical collections weekly

Getting help

In-app help

• Hover over field names for descriptions
• Check field notes for detailed guidance
• Review activity_logs for recent changes

Documentation

• Directus Official Docs
• Platform-specific docs (check with your team)

Contact support

• Technical Issues — Contact system administrator
• Data Questions — Reach out to data team lead
• Feature Requests — Discuss with product team

Quick reference

Collection overview

Collection	Purpose	Key Fields
Leads	Contact records	email, company_name, intent_score
Campaigns	Marketing campaigns	name, status, target_segment_id
Segments	Audience groups	name, rules, is_active
AI Prompts	AI templates	name, system_prompt, messages
Settings	Configuration	key, value, section
Globals	API credentials	openai_api_key, twilio_*
Teams	Organizations	name, subscription_status
Users	Team members	name, email, role

Common status values

Leads: new (recently added), qualified (meets criteria), contacted (outreach sent), engaged (responded), converted (became customer)

Campaigns: draft (being created), active (currently running), paused (temporarily stopped), completed (finished)

General: draft (work in progress), published (active/live), archived (retired)

Intent score ranges

• 0–30: Low intent — Research phase
• 31–60: Medium intent — Evaluating options
• 61–80: High intent — Ready to engage
• 81–100: Very high intent — Hot lead

Field types

• Text — Short text (email, name)
• Textarea — Long text (notes)
• Number — Numeric (intent_score, quality_score)
• Boolean — True/false (is_canonical, is_suppressed)
• Date/Time — Timestamps (created_at, launched_at)
• JSON — Structured data (rules, meta, intent_topics)
• Dropdown — Select from options (status, role)
• M2O — Link to another item (team_id, segment_id)

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Remember: This is a buyer intent platform — accurate lead data and well-targeted campaigns drive results. Keep your data clean and up-to-date!