Guide 1 of 15 in Level 1: Get set up

How to get started with Blackbox

To get started with Blackbox (blackbox.plus), sign in with Google or by email, and a short setup takes you through the rest. Type your business name and click Create. Start the Starter plan on Stripe: the card is taken up front, and you can cancel anytime. Paste your brand's website and click Read the site; in about 20 seconds Blackbox fills in the brand's name, logo, colours, fonts and facts for you to check before you click Create brand. It then lists the competitors that show up when your customers search, so untick any that aren't real, add the ones it missed and click Confirm. Next, connect your first channel, such as Meta Ads or Instagram: approve access on that platform's own page and tick the brand's accounts to start syncing 30 days of history. While it syncs, answer up to four short questions so the strategy fits the business, or skip them. Setup ends in your Inbox, where the strategy draft arrives.

You'll need
Time
About 10 minutes 12 steps Updated
You'll end with
A brand in Blackbox, its first channel syncing, and its strategy draft on the way to your Inbox
Do it in Blackbox Start setup, after you sign in
Example
Setup, from your business name to the first sync

How to get started with Blackbox

  1. Step 1:Sign in

    Click Sign in with Google, or Sign in with email to get a sign-in link.

    You'll see: Welcome to Blackbox, asking for your business name.

  2. Step 2:Name your business

    Type your Business name and click Create.

    You'll see: Start on Starter, with the plan card.

  3. Step 3:Start the plan

    Click Continue to checkout.

    You'll see: Stripe’s checkout page for the Starter plan.

  4. Step 4:Pay on Stripe

    Enter your card on Stripe and pay. Blackbox picks it up when you come back.

    You'll see: Which brand are you setting up first?, once your subscription is confirmed.

  5. Step 5:Paste your website

    Paste the address under Brand website and click Read the site.

    You'll see: Your site being read, usually in about 20 seconds.

  6. Step 6:Check the brand and create it

    Check the name, logo, colours, fonts and facts it read, and fix anything wrong. Then click Create brand.

    You'll see: Who you’re up against, with your competitors loading.

  7. Step 7:Check your competitors

    Untick any that aren’t a real competitor, add a missing one under Add a competitor, and click Confirm.

    You'll see: Connect your first channel, with the channels to pick from.

  8. Step 8:Pick your first channel

    Click the channel’s tile under Ad platforms or Social & search, then Continue to that platform.

    You'll see: The platform’s own sign-in page, in a new window.

  9. Step 9:Approve on the platform

    Sign in there and approve access, then come back to the Blackbox tab.

    You'll see: The accounts that login can reach, back in Blackbox.

  10. Step 10:Tick this brand’s accounts

    Tick the accounts that belong to this brand and click Start syncing.

    You'll see: While your data comes in, with 30 days of history loading.

  11. Step 11:Answer what you can

    Go through Here’s what we learned, Where you stand, What a customer is worth and Two last things, or click Skip on any of them.

    You'll see: That's everything for now, with the sync still running above.

  12. Step 12:Go to your Inbox

    Click Go to dashboard.

    You'll see: Your Inbox, where the strategy draft arrives.

Good to know

  • The card comes first, before any brand or channel exists. Starter is one plan with no setup fee, and you can cancel anytime.
  • Leave halfway, at Stripe or on a platform’s sign-in page, and setup picks up on the step you left the next time you sign in.
  • The brand and the channel can wait: Skip for now sits under each of those steps. Blackbox brings you back to finish them the next time you open it.
  • The brand form here has no voice question. Add how you talk later on the brand page in Studio.
  • Competitors come from who shows up when your customers search on Google. For a new or very local brand that can be no one, so add the ones you know.
  • The questions are shown once. Anything you skip is asked again in your Inbox, next to the strategy draft.
  • Setup makes one brand. To add another later, see Set up your brand kit in Blackbox.
  • Only an admin answers the questions. Teammates see the answers, and can’t change them.
  • When the strategy draft arrives, see Get a marketing strategy for your small business.

If something doesn't work

A teammate invited me

Sign in with the email the invite was sent to. Your team shows under Pending Invitations: click Join and you go straight into the app, with nothing to set up.

It says Still waiting on Stripe

Your payment went through and activation is taking longer than usual. Click Check again after a few seconds. There is nothing else to do.

It couldn’t read my website

Sites behind a bot check or a password page often turn the reader away. Fill in the name, logo, colours and facts by hand, or click Use a different website.

No competitors were found

That is common for a new or very local brand. Add the ones you know under Add a competitor, or click Skip. We’ll ask again in the inbox.

It says Authorization not finished

Blackbox stopped waiting after five minutes. Click Try again to start the platform’s sign-in again. Nothing you set up is lost.

I need more than Starter

Starter covers 2 channels and 2 seats, with up to $15k of ad spend a month. For more, click Book a 30-minute call on the plan card.

Stuck at any step? Send us a message and we'll do it with you on a call. All of Level 1: Get set up