Sarbacane Sunrise (former version) : learn how to create an SMS campaign in 5 minutes

No time to read the entire user guide before creating your first SMS campaign? Here are the key steps to get started.

Buy SMS-credits

In order to send SMS campaigns, you'll need to have SMS credits.

I case you don't have any SMS credits yet or you need to top-up your balance, you can buy them by clicking the "Order" button next to your credit balance on your dashboard. You can also buy credits via your account settings by going to the "Account" section, and then proceeding to the "Offer" menu.

Set up you SMS campaigns

To create a new SMS campaign, start by clicking the "+" button on the Mailify Sunrise homepage. Then go on the "Create a new campaign" drop-down menu and select "SMS" from the list.

Once you've completed the steps mentioned above, you'll need to:

• Give your campaign a name, so you can find it easily.
• Choose the campaign type: marketing or notification (this will determine if the term "STOP" will be added to the end of your message).
• Assign one or more tags to your campaign (optional).

Import your contacts

There are two main ways you can import your contacts:

• From an existing contact list: If you already have a contact list registered in Mailify Sunrise, you can select this list from the drop-down menu.
• Import a file: files such as TXT, CSV or XLS are supported by Mailify Sunrise. You can also choose to import an SQL database, copy/paste a contact list, or manually enter your contacts.

Once you've uploaded your file or selected a list of existing contacts, you'll be able to view your contact list: this is the static list of contacts you're about to send your SMS campaign to.

Write the content of your SMS

Enter the content of your message directly in the text box provided on the smartphone.

For the record, an SMS contains 160 characters, which is equivalent to one SMS credit. You are able to send messages over 160 characters but this will require an additional 1 or 2 credits depending on the length of your message. Each message can contain a maximum of 450 characters in total. Keep in mind that some links, dynamic fields, STOP, or special characters may consume more characters and can cause you to use more credits than expected. Learn more about the use of SMS credits.

You can choose to customize the sender ID of your SMS (i.e. display your brand name) or leave the default sender ID (in that case a short number will be displayed as your ID by default).

You can direct to a form or a landing page in your SMS by inserting a link in the message. This will make your message an enriched SMS but will not affect the cost of your campaign.

Test, plan and send you SMS campaign

It's recommended to test your SMS campaign, especially in cases where your message contains a link to a landing page, a form, an external web page, or when a dynamic personalization field has been added. Checking that everything is working properly by sending your SMS to people around you is an imorptant step of your campaign.

To do this, click the button ""Send test"" below the information box on the ""Test & send"" step. Then enter the phone numbers of your recipients, or select them from your list of test numbers.

Once you've tested your message and you're happy with it, go ahead and click on ""Finalize the campaign"": you can then choose to send your campaign immediately, or to schedule your message for a certain date.

Statistics of an SMS campaign

To analyze the statistics of an SMS campaign, go to the "Statistics" screen. Then click on one of the campaigns displayed on the left hand side of your screen to view the the statistics of that specific campaign.

Once you’re in the campaign statistics view, there are a number of indicators that allow you to analyze the performance.

In the "Responses" tab of an SMS campaign's metrics, you can manage the responses from recipients who replied to your message.

You can also analyze the performance of several SMS campaigns that meet the criteria of your choice.