Create an SMS campaign

Learn how to create and send a text message campaign to all customers or a segment of customers.

Updated over a week ago

Before you get started

Here are some key details to note about sending SMS campaigns:

  • In order for customers to receive SMS messages, their mobile number must be formatted with the country code and no additional characters. Example: +14165550000.

  • If this is your first SMS campaign, you will be prompted to read and confirm that you understand the SMS Marketing Compliance and have made any necessary updates to your store's settings before proceeding.

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  • If this is your first SMS campaign, your campaign will need to be reviewed for approval by our support team before sending it. Our team will respond with either an approval or a request for more details within one business day of receiving your campaign submission.

πŸ’² Pricing Information: SMS is an add-on feature through Marsello. You will need to have an active subscription to SMS before using this feature. To learn more about SMS pricing, click here.


Create an SMS campaign

1. In the Marsello admin, go to Marketing > Campaigns > SMS and click Create Campaign

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2. Enter your SMS Campaign content

πŸ’‘ Tip: Create your SMS campaign from scratch or visit our Text Message Templates page for inspiration.

When creating your SMS campaign, there are a few important things to remember:

  • Keep it short – SMS Campaigns providers has a strict 160-character limit, so make sure your content is clear and concise, written in plain language. It's also recommended to avoid abbreviations, emoticons, and all caps.

πŸ“ Note: Your store name, any URLs, and opt-out method are counted towards your 160-character limit.

  • Include your store name – It's important to let your customers know it's you. Include your store's name in your SMS content to help promote customer trust. Common ways to do this include "StoreName:" at the beginning of your content.

  • Add a call-to-action URL – With just 160 characters, you may want to include a link that customers can click to learn more, or go through to your online store. To make things easy, Marsello automatically shortens your URL to be SMS optimized.

  • Opt-out method – Marsello automatically adds "Reply STOP to opt-out" to the end of every SMS sent via Marsello. This is required to comply with SMS laws and regulations, such as TCPA & TCIA.

πŸ“ Note: This "Reply Stop to opt-out" will ONLY unsubscribe the customer from the SMS communications channel, they will still receive the email marketing if they don't unsubscribe from them via the Unsubscribe link in the email.

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4. Enter your SMS Campaign name

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πŸ“ Note: This campaign name is internal only and is to help you identify your campaign in the Campaigns dashboard

5. Send a test SMS campaign (optional).

If you want to preview your SMS campaign before you send it, simply:

  • Click Send Preview

  • Enter your mobile number (including your country code)

  • Click Send Preview

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This will send a test of your SMS campaign to your mobile number.


6. Click Save & Continue to Recipients

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This will automatically save your SMS campaign content ready to send to your customers.

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Choose your audience

1. Select to send to your entire customer database, or specific customer segment(s)

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⚠️ Important: SMS campaigns will only be sent to customers who are subscribed to your SMS marketing channel, have a valid mobile number (example: +14165550000), and accepts your marketing. Learn more.

2. Click Save & Continue to Review

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Review & send (or schedule) your SMS campaign

1. Review your settings

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2. Review the Estimated credits to send. This is the estimated number of credits that will be used to send this SMS campaign. Credits are determined based on the customer's location.

⚠️ Important: If you don't have enough SMS credits you may need to upgrade your SMS Subscription before you can send your SMS Campaign.

3. Review your SMS Campaign content
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Under SMS Preview, check your SMS campaign content and look carefully for typos before sending your SMS campaign.

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4. Choose when to send your SMS campaign

  • Send now – This will queue your SMS campaign to send right away

  • Schedule for later – Choose the date and time in the future that you'd like to send your SMS campaign.

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⚠️ Important: When scheduling an SMS campaign, you can only schedule it between 8:00a.m. to 6:00p.m in the subscriber's local time. Marsello has put in place safeguards to ensure SMS campaigns cannot be sent to your US customers outside of these times (i.e. during quiet hours) to help with TCPA and associated SMS laws and regulation compliance.

5. Click Send Now (or Schedule Campaign). This will set up your SMS campaign to send at your desired time and date.

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Understanding your SMS campaigns dashboard

The SMS Campaigns dashboard displays everything you need to know about the success of your loyalty program. With these insights, they will be able to make effective changes and iterations to your email campaign and ultimately sales.

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How it works – Your customers' experience

When the customer receives the SMS campaign, they'll be able to open it and engage with your content. If you've included a call-to-action text link, they'll be able to click through and continue their interaction.

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πŸ€– Data Insight: 90% of SMS messages are read within 3 minutes.

If the customer decides they no longer want to receive SMS campaigns from your store, they can reply STOP to the SMS campaign. This will automatically update their Marsello customer profile and remove SMS as an available channel to contact them.


FAQs

Q. Is SMS included in Marsello Pro's pricing?

A. No, SMS is not included in Marsello Pro's pricing. SMS as an add-on feature with separate pricing. Click here for more details on how Marsello bills for SMS.

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