Send an SMS

The New Message page lets you create and send SMS messages. This article explains how each section works and what to review before sending.

To get started, go to New Message from the left menu.

1. Subject and Recipients

Use this section to add an internal subject and select who will receive the message.

Add an Internal Subject

In Subject for your send (for your own use, not shown to recipient), enter a name to help you identify the message later. This subject is not visible to recipients.

Add Recipients Manually

To add a recipient by typing their phone number directly, follow these steps:

1. Enter the phone number you want in the Phone number field.
2. Select Add.

Select Recipients From Saved Contacts or Lists

1. Alternatively, you can select recipients from existing sources:
   • Select Phonebook to find and choose a saved number.

   • Select Contact List to find and choose a saved group of numbers.

     All selected recipients appear consolidated in the Selected Recipients field for easy visual confirmation.

2. To remove a phone number or list, click the X icon next to it.

2. Your Message

Use this section to compose your message and review how it will appear to recipients.

Select the Sender Identity

1. Choose the sender identity recipients will see on their devices. You have two options:
   • Phone number (Default): Uses the account’s main number.
   • Custom Sender: Uses a custom sender name or ID.
2. If you select Custom Sender, choose the sender from the dropdown list. Sender labels help you quickly identify each option, and tooltips provide additional details when you hover over a sender.

When multiple senders are available, you can search the list to quickly find the correct sender.

Write the Content

After selecting your sender, prepare your message. You can either load a template or write the message manually.

Use Templates

Templates allow you to create messages quickly by pre-filling the sender and message text.

1. Click Select a template.
2. Choose the desired template. If the template includes a predefined sender, the sender is automatically selected. You can search and review sender details if needed.

The template content automatically populates the message editor. You can still edit the text if needed. See Create a Template to learn more.

Write the Message Manually

To compose your SMS manually:

1. In Write your text here, enter the message recipients will see.
2. Use the Preview panel to confirm the final appearance.

Personalize your Message

The composer displays Available fields (for example, First Name or Last Name) based on your setup.

1. Click a field to insert it into the message and personalize it for each recipient.

To learn how to create these custom fields, see Create Custom Data Fields.

3. Settings

Before you send the message, you can adjust these settings to fit your needs:

1. Select Use link shortening/link tracking to convert long URLs into shorter versions, saving SMS character space. This also enables delivery and click rate statistics in your campaign report, letting you track unique clicks per recipient.
2. Click Show advanced options to choose a shortening domain, though we recommend the default option.
3. Click Send later to send the SMS at a specific date and time in the future.

4. Select any date and time you need. The system suggests logical defaults.

   Only future dates can be selected. Past dates are disabled in the date picker. Once scheduled, the message appears in the Scheduled SMS section.

5. Click Final Send Time to define how long the system should attempt to deliver a scheduled message. For more details, see Final Send Time (Message Expiry).
6. (Optional) If you have Opt-out text enabled, you can choose to control whether opt-out text is added to this message. See Unsubscribe Texts to learn how to enable this option.
7. Select Save as draft if your message isn’t ready to be sent or you’d like someone to review it first. All your saved drafts are accessible from the SMS Drafts section, where you can open, edit, and send them when ready.
8. Click Send SMS. A box pops up showing the estimated cost in SMS credits and the total number of recipients.
9. Click Send message to agree to the cost and send it right away.

If needed, you can send the message to yourself first as a test before sending it to recipients.

After sending, replies appear in the Conversations section.

Learn More

See the following articles to learn more:

• Conversations vs. Campaigns
• Read and Reply to SMS in Conversations
• Create a Template
• Create a Draft