How to run an SMS campaign
The order matters more than the software. A clean list and a registered campaign come before a clever message.
1. Start from people who agreed
Use numbers you collected, with a record of how they opted in. Checkout, a form, a keyword they texted, a sign they acted on. You can text those customers. A purchased file is not a head start. The legal note is the short version of why, and it is not a substitute for advice from your own lawyer.
2. Register the business
Regular sending on Entrance waits on an approved 10DLC campaign. The form checks your site, the opt-in, and the sample messages. What 10DLC is covers brand, use case, and throughput. Daily volume follows the trust score, so a large file does not leave the building in one minute just because you pressed send.
3. Put the list in a sheet
A Name column, a column named number, and any other field written the way it should be read aloud. The spreadsheet note matches the file Entrance expects. Bulk is this same file with more rows. It is not a different product.
4. Write one message
Who it is from, one ask, and STOP. How to write it is a page. If the text needs an emoji, check the segment count before you fall in love with it.
5. Pick how it sends
Single blast, burst, scheduled, or personal. Use a burst when you do not want every reply in the same hour. Use scheduled when the message is about a moment that has not arrived. Use personal when the replies should sit with the person who sent them.
6. Test it on your phone
“Test your message” on the campaign setup sends one filled-in copy to you. Read it. Then look at a row with a long name and a row with an awkward cell.
7. Send, then work the replies
The message stays in the thread. Replies wait in the claims queue until someone takes them, unless the campaign was personal. Answer the questions. A STOP is already handled: opt-outs stay on the account.
8. Read the result before you write the next one
Delivery, true response rate, clicks, and opt-outs are the four numbers on the campaign. True response rate is responses minus stops, over delivered. If stops are the main response, change the message or the list before you schedule another send.
The bill for the month follows segments, the account fee, and $1 per number. Billing is that arithmetic.