Creating Campaigns

Create targeted SMS marketing campaigns with TextFlow’s intuitive 4-step campaign builder. This guide walks you through each step of the campaign creation process.

Before You Start

Prerequisites:

• ✅ At least one contact list or tag with contacts
• ✅ At least one phone number configured in your account
• ✅ Sufficient message credits in your plan

What You’ll Need:

• Campaign name and description
• Target audience (lists or tags)
• Message content
• Sending schedule (immediate or scheduled)

Campaign Creation Overview

TextFlow’s campaign builder consists of 4 steps:

1. Basics - Campaign name, type, and phone number
2. Audience - Select target lists or tags
3. Message & Compliance - Compose message and configure CASL settings
4. Review - Final review before sending

Each step validates your inputs before allowing you to proceed.

Step 1: Campaign Basics

Accessing the Campaign Builder

1. Click Campaigns in the left navigation
2. Click New Campaign button

You’ll see the campaign builder with 4 progress steps at the top.

Campaign Basics Fields

Campaign Name (Required)

• Internal identifier for your campaign
• Examples: “Spring Sale 2024”, “VIP Customer Update”, “New Product Launch”
• Best Practice: Use descriptive names that indicate purpose and date

Description (Optional)

• Internal notes about the campaign purpose
• Examples: “Announcing spring collection with 25% discount for VIP customers”
• Not visible to recipients

Campaign Type (Required)

Choose when to send your campaign:

Type	Description	Use When
Send Immediately	Sends as soon as campaign is created	Time-sensitive announcements, immediate follow-ups
Schedule for Later	Choose specific date and time	Planning ahead, optimal timing, multi-timezone coordination

Scheduling Best Practices

• Schedule campaigns for 10am-2pm local time for highest engagement
• Avoid Mondays (busy) and Fridays after 3pm (weekend mode)
• Test with small lists first before scheduling large campaigns

From Phone Number (Required)

• Select which phone number will appear as the sender
• Recipients will see this number
• Choose a number that matches your campaign purpose:
  • Dedicated numbers: For department-specific campaigns
  • Pool numbers: For general marketing campaigns

Scheduled Campaigns

If you select “Schedule for Later”, additional fields appear:

Send Date

• Calendar picker for selecting the date
• Cannot schedule in the past

Send Time

• Time picker (24-hour format)
• Timezone: EST (your organization’s timezone)

Quiet Hours Handling

• If scheduled during quiet hours (9pm-9am), messages will queue until 9am
• Applies per-recipient timezone

Proceeding to Step 2

Click Next to proceed to Audience Selection.

Validation:

• Campaign name must not be empty
• Phone number must be selected

Step 2: Target Audience

Selecting Target Lists

Choose which contact lists will receive your campaign.

List Selection:

1. Click on list buttons to select/deselect
2. Selected lists show with colored background
3. Multiple lists can be selected

Contact Count Summary:

Once you select lists, you’ll see:

Metric	Description
Selected Lists	Number of lists selected
Total Contacts	All contacts in selected lists (including duplicates)
Opted Out	Contacts who have unsubscribed (will not receive messages)
Will Receive	Final recipient count after removing opt-outs and duplicates

Duplicate Handling

If a contact appears in multiple selected lists, they will only receive one message. TextFlow automatically deduplicates based on phone number.

Tag-Based Targeting

If you’re using Tags View:

Single Tag:

• Select one tag to target all contacts with that tag

Multiple Tags (AND/OR logic):

• All of these (AND): Contacts must have ALL selected tags
• Any of these (OR): Contacts must have AT LEAST ONE selected tag

Example:

• Tags: “toronto” AND “vip” → Only VIP customers in Toronto
• Tags: “toronto” OR “vancouver” → Customers in either city

Audience Best Practices

1. ✅ Start small: Test with a small list before sending to thousands
2. ✅ Segment carefully: More targeted = higher engagement
3. ✅ Review opt-outs: Check the “Opted Out” count before sending
4. ✅ Avoid over-messaging: Don’t send to the same list more than 2-3 times per week

Proceeding to Step 3

Click Next to proceed to Message & Compliance.

Validation:

• At least one list or tag must be selected
• “Will Receive” count must be greater than 0

Step 3: Message & Compliance

Message Content

Message Text Field:

• Type or paste your SMS message
• Maximum: 1600 characters
• Real-time character count displayed

Character Counter:

122/1600 (1 segment)

• Characters: Current character count
• Segments: Number of SMS segments
  • Standard SMS: 160 characters per segment
  • Unicode (emojis): 70 characters per segment
• Cost: Each segment counts as one message

Message Length

Keep messages under 160 characters when possible. Multi-segment messages cost more and may have lower engagement.

Personalization Tokens

Insert dynamic contact fields into your message:

Button	Token	Replaced With
+First Name	{{firstName}}	Contact’s first name
+Last Name	{{lastName}}	Contact’s last name
+Email	{{email}}	Contact’s email address

Example:

Hi {{firstName}}, our spring collection is here!
Get 25% off all new arrivals this week only.

Renders as:

Hi Sarah, our spring collection is here!
Get 25% off all new arrivals this week only.

Missing Fields

If a contact doesn’t have the personalized field (e.g., no first name), the token will be replaced with an empty string. Always test personalization!

Message Templates

Click Use Template to load pre-saved message templates:

1. Choose from your saved templates
2. Template content loads into the message field
3. Edit as needed
4. Tokens are preserved

Message Preview

As you type, a real-time preview shows:

• Your message content
• Personalization tokens (as-is, not rendered)
• Business signature (if enabled)
• Opt-out instructions (if enabled)

Example Preview:

Hi {{firstName}}, our spring collection is here!
Get 25% off all new arrivals this week only.
Shop now: example.com/spring

- Demo Company

Reply STOP to unsubscribe.

Compliance Settings

TextFlow includes mandatory CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) compliance features:

Include Business Signature

☑️ Enabled by default

Automatically appends your organization name:

- Demo Company

When to disable:

• Two-way conversational messages (not marketing)
• Follow-up messages in an existing thread

Include Opt-Out Instructions

☑️ Enabled by default (Required for CASL compliance)

Automatically appends:

Reply STOP to unsubscribe.

Important:

• Required for all marketing messages in Canada
• Cannot be disabled for campaign messages
• Opt-outs are processed automatically

Respect Quiet Hours

☑️ Enabled by default

What it does:

• Delays messages sent during quiet hours
• Messages queue and send when quiet hours end
• Applied per-recipient timezone (based on area code)

Default Quiet Hours:

• Start: 9:00 PM
• End: 9:00 AM

Customizing Quiet Hours:

1. Use the time pickers to adjust start/end times
2. Time is in 12-hour format (AM/PM)
3. Applied to all recipients based on their timezone

How Timezones Work:

• Toronto (416/647): Eastern Time
• Vancouver (604/778): Pacific Time
• Messages sent at appropriate local time for each recipient

Example:

• Campaign scheduled for 8:00 PM EST
• Toronto recipients: Queued until 9:00 AM EST next day
• Vancouver recipients: Sent at 5:00 PM PST (same moment, different timezone)

Quiet Hours Best Practice

Always enable quiet hours for marketing campaigns. Sending late-night messages annoys customers and increases opt-outs.

Message Best Practices

1. ✅ Clear call-to-action: What do you want recipients to do?
2. ✅ Include links: Short, trackable URLs (use a URL shortener)
3. ✅ Create urgency: “This week only”, “Limited time”, “Today only”
4. ✅ Personalize: Use first names for higher engagement
5. ✅ Test first: Send to yourself to check rendering

Good Example:

Hi {{firstName}}! Flash sale: 40% off all jackets
today only. Shop now: bit.ly/sale40

Bad Example:

Hello valued customer, we are pleased to announce
that our organization is having a promotional event
where you can save money on select merchandise...

Proceeding to Step 4

Click Next to proceed to Review.

Validation:

• Message text must not be empty
• Character count must be ≤ 1600

Step 4: Review & Send

Campaign Summary

Review all campaign details before sending:

Campaign Details:

• Name: Your campaign name
• Delivery: “Immediate” or scheduled date/time
• Target Audience: Number of lists/tags selected
• Planned Messages: Final recipient count

Message Preview:

• Shows complete message with all compliance additions
• Personalization tokens shown as {{firstName}} (not rendered)
• Includes business signature and opt-out instructions

Ready to Send:

• Confirms final recipient count
• Warning if count is very high

Final Checks

Before clicking Create Campaign, verify:

• Campaign name is correct and descriptive
• Target audience is correct (not too broad/narrow)
• Message has no typos or errors
• Links are correct and working
• Personalization tokens are formatted correctly
• Quiet hours settings are appropriate
• You have sufficient message credits

Creating the Campaign

Option 1: Create Campaign

1. Click Create Campaign button
2. Campaign is created and:
   • Immediate: Starts sending within seconds
   • Scheduled: Queued for future delivery

Option 2: Save as Draft

1. Click Save Draft (available on any step)
2. Campaign saved but not sent
3. Access from Campaigns page to edit and send later

Option 3: Go Back

1. Click Previous to return to any step
2. Make changes as needed
3. Navigate forward again

After Campaign Creation

Once you click Create Campaign:

Immediate Campaigns:

1. Redirected to Campaigns page
2. Campaign status: Active
3. Messages begin sending immediately
4. Real-time progress updates on campaign card

Scheduled Campaigns:

1. Redirected to Campaigns page
2. Campaign status: Scheduled
3. Shows scheduled date/time
4. Can cancel or edit before send time

Managing Campaign Drafts

Saving a Draft

At any step during campaign creation:

1. Click Save Draft button (top-right)
2. Draft is saved with current progress
3. Redirected to Campaigns page

Editing a Draft

1. Go to Campaigns page
2. Find your draft (status: Draft)
3. Click Edit campaign
4. Continue from where you left off
5. Click Send when ready

Deleting a Draft

1. Find the draft campaign
2. Click Delete campaign (in dropdown menu)
3. Confirm deletion

Campaign Scheduling

Scheduling Best Practices

Optimal Send Times:

• Tuesday-Thursday: 10am-2pm (highest engagement)
• Avoid:
  • Monday before 10am (email backlog)
  • Friday after 3pm (weekend mindset)
  • Weekends (unless urgent)

Multi-Timezone Campaigns:

• TextFlow automatically adjusts for recipient timezones
• Schedule for optimal time in YOUR timezone
• Recipients receive at equivalent local time

Example:

• Schedule: Tuesday 11:00 AM EST
• Toronto (EST): Receives at 11:00 AM
• Vancouver (PST): Receives at 8:00 AM (same moment)

Canceling a Scheduled Campaign

Before the scheduled send time:

1. Go to Campaigns page
2. Find scheduled campaign
3. Click Cancel campaign
4. Confirm cancellation

Note: Cannot cancel campaigns after sending starts.

Testing Campaigns

Test Before Sending

Always test campaigns before sending to your full list:

Method 1: Test List

1. Create a “Test” list with your phone number(s)
2. Create campaign targeting only the test list
3. Review message on your device
4. Check links, formatting, personalization

Method 2: Small Sample

1. Create campaign with limited audience (e.g., 10 contacts)
2. Send and monitor results
3. If successful, duplicate and expand audience

What to Test

• Message appears correctly on iPhone and Android
• Links work and direct to correct pages
• Personalization renders properly
• Business signature appears
• Opt-out instructions appear
• No typos or formatting issues

Campaign Limits

Message Limits

Campaigns respect your plan’s message limits:

Plan	Daily Limit	Monthly Limit
Starter	5,000	50,000
Marketer	25,000	250,000
Custom	Varies	Varies

What Happens at Limit:

• Campaign automatically pauses
• Remaining messages queue
• Resume sending when limit resets (midnight EST for daily, 1st of month for monthly)

Purchase Additional Messages

If you exceed your limit:

1. Dashboard shows “Purchase Message Packs”
2. Click to buy one-time message packs
3. Campaign resumes automatically

Troubleshooting

”No contacts will receive this message”

Problem: Selected lists have no valid recipients

Solutions:

• Check if contacts exist in selected lists
• Verify contacts haven’t all opted out
• Ensure phone numbers are valid (+1 format)

“Message too long”

Problem: Message exceeds 1600 characters

Solutions:

• Shorten message content
• Remove unnecessary words
• Use URL shortener for links
• Split into two campaigns if necessary

Campaign stuck in “Sending”

Problem: Campaign not completing

Check:

• Daily/monthly message limits (Dashboard)
• Quiet hours settings (may be delayed)
• Campaign analytics for error details

Solution:

• Wait for quiet hours to end
• Purchase additional messages if at limit
• Contact support if issue persists

Personalization not working

Problem: {{firstName}} appears in message instead of name

Solutions:

• Verify contact has first name field populated
• Check token spelling: {{firstName}} not {{firstname}}
• Test with contacts that have all fields filled

Next Steps

After creating your campaign:

• Campaign Analytics - Track performance and engagement
• Two-Way Messaging - Handle replies and conversations
• Message Templates - Save messages for future campaigns
• Campaign Best Practices - Optimize for engagement

---

Ready to launch your first campaign? Create targeted, CASL-compliant SMS campaigns in minutes with TextFlow’s intuitive builder.