Getting Started with SMS

  • Updated

This is the end-to-end walkthrough for setting up SMS in Act-On for the first time. Follow it top to bottom and your account will be ready to send. For concept-level background on Credits, Recipients, Opt-Ins, and reply keywords, read About Act-On SMS first.

Who does this: The person enabling SMS for the first time - typically an Administrator working with marketing ops
Time needed: 30-60 minutes for the hands-on setup once Credits are in place
Why this matters: SMS setup has three moving parts - Credits, an Opt-In List, and a Cell Phone field on your Marketing List - and skipping any one of them means the Send button stays disabled. Walking through them in order is the shortest path from a fresh account to a first campaign.
In plain English: Buy Credits, load your opt-ins, make sure Act-On knows which field in your list holds the mobile number, and send.

The three things you need

  1. SMS Credits. Contact your Account Manager to purchase. Act-On enables SMS in your account after the purchase is processed.
  2. An SMS Opt-In List. Upload opt-ins you already have, or start collecting new ones from a Form.
  3. A Marketing List with a Cell Phone field. The field holding the mobile number must be mapped to Act-On's system Contact's Cell Phone usage.

Also check SMS Settings to confirm Allowed SMS Hours, Fatigue Rules, and international sending are configured the way you want them before you start.

Purchase SMS Credits

SMS is an add-on package. Contact your Account Manager to buy Credits; your account is then configured to send. Credits reset on the 1st of each month and do not roll over. International SMS uses a per-country multiplier - see International SMS - Credits by Country.

Import or collect SMS Opt-Ins

SMS can only be sent to opted-in recipients. Act-On does not verify opt-in status - it is your responsibility to provide accurate data. Before your first send you need a list of mobile numbers that have opted in to receive your messages.

Go to SMS > Opt-Ins. From here you can upload an opt-in CSV, map the columns, and review the numbers Act-On will accept.

A CSV for import needs these fields:

  • Mobile Phone Number
  • Opt-In Source (for example, "Form Submit")
  • Opt-In Date in a consistent date format (for example, 2021-01-18). DateTime formats are not accepted.

Example CSV fields

Other columns can exist in the file but will not be used. After upload, use the mapping tool to tell Act-On which columns correspond to the three required fields, then review the list of opted-in numbers.

Note: The Opt-In List isn't used for targeting - you still pick Marketing Lists or Segments when composing a message. The Opt-In List is the filter Act-On applies at send time to decide who is eligible.

For the full walkthrough and the "starting with existing opt-ins for the first time" flow, see Build Your SMS Opt-In List.

Opt-outs

Recipients can opt out by replying STOP to any SMS from your account. Numbers that opt out appear on the SMS > Opt-Outs page and are filtered out of future sends automatically. It is good practice - and in many jurisdictions required - to include opt-out language in your messages. For example: "Reply STOP to opt out."

Map the Cell Phone field on your Marketing List

Any Marketing List you want to send SMS to must contain a mobile number field mapped to Act-On's system Contact's Cell Phone usage. Lists that don't will appear in the Recipients picker but can't be selected.

In Act-On, go to Lists > Marketing Lists, open the list, then go to More Actions > Identify List Columns. Find the field containing the mobile number and map it to Contact's Cell Phone. Full instructions: How to Identify the Cell Phone field on your Marketing List.

Compose and send

Go to SMS > Messages and click + Create SMS Message. The composer auto-saves as you work; drafts appear on the Drafts tab.

Recipients tab

  • Enter the message Title and optional Description. These are internal-only and not visible to recipients.
  • View your assigned Sender Code.
  • Click + Add Recipients and select Marketing Lists or Segments. Lists missing a Cell Phone mapping or containing no numbers are disabled.
  • Review the Recipient Summary:
    • Selected Recipients
    • Recipients without a mobile number
    • Recipients not opted in (not on the Opt-In List)
    • Duplicate phone numbers across the selected lists
    • Total eligible Recipients (selected minus duplicates, minus no-number, minus not-opted-in)
    • Percentage of eligible Recipients

Message tab

  • Write your message. Track the character count in the bottom right; 1 SMS = 160 characters.
  • Optional: insert a shortened, tracked URL with the Link Shortener icon. See How to Use the SMS Link Shortener and Tracker.
  • Optional: add personalization with the Personalization icon. See How to Use SMS Personalization.
  • Highly recommended: add the opt-out disclosure. The Opt-Out Text icon inserts "Txt STOP to OptOut" at the end of your message.
  • Review Credits Summary: available Credits, total required for this send, remaining balance.

Send or schedule

  • Send Message sends immediately. A confirmation modal shows an estimated send time.
  • Schedule Send sends at a future date and time. If the time falls outside your Allowed SMS Hours, Act-On warns you before confirming.

For the full Send walkthrough, including scheduling, after-hours warnings, and cancelling, see How to Send an SMS Message.

Review sent, scheduled, and draft messages

The SMS > Messages page has three tabs:

Sent

Sent messages (currently sending and already sent) are listed with the following columns:

Column What it shows
Title Title of the message.
Send Date Date the message was sent.
Sent By Act-On user who sent the message.
Sent Total recipients included in the send.
Failed Recipients who did not receive the message (carrier rejection, processing failure, and so on).
Opt-Outs Recipients who replied STOP and were opted out.
Clicks Recipients who clicked an Act-On shortened link.
Replies Recipients who replied (excluding opt-out replies).

Hover over a message row and click the report icon to download a recipient-level spreadsheet with Message ID, Title, phone number, email, and boolean flags for Sent, Clicked, Opted Out, Failed, Replied, plus Reply Text. For more, see The SMS Report.

Scheduled

Messages scheduled for a future time appear here. You can cancel a scheduled send by checking its box and clicking Cancel Send; cancellation returns the message to Drafts. Messages that have already started processing cannot be intercepted.

Drafts

Any message edited in the composer but not yet sent or scheduled shows here. Messages auto-save; there is no Save button. Each draft shows the last edit time and the person who last edited it. Open a draft to continue editing, or check the box to delete.

Next steps

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