Creating SMS Campaigns

Send targeted SMS messages to your customers — promote services, announce offers, fill quiet days, and re-engage lapsed clients with one-tap bulk messaging.

Where to find it — Web: Sidebar → Engage → Campaigns → "Create Campaign". Mobile: More → Engage → Campaigns → "Create Campaign".

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Overview

SMS campaigns let you:

• Send bulk SMS messages to targeted customer segments in one send
• Choose from preset audiences (all customers, recent, inactive, VIP, high spenders) or build a custom audience with filters
• Use AI to generate SMS copy in three tone variants — pick the one that fits your brand
• Insert merge tags to personalise messages with the customer's name, your venue name, or a booking link
• Send a test SMS to your own phone before sending to your audience
• Schedule campaigns for a future date and time, with AI-recommended send times
• Track delivery status per recipient after sending
• Pause and resume campaigns if your allocation or wallet runs out mid-send

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Before you begin

To send SMS campaigns, your venue needs:

1. PRO subscription — SMS campaigns are a PRO feature
2. Engage add-on — active Engage subscription (A$15/month AU or £9.95/month UK)
3. Dedicated phone number — provisioned through Engage setup
4. Wallet balance — minimum A$5 (Australia) or £3 (United Kingdom) to send SMS campaigns
5. Customer SMS consent — only customers who have opted in to SMS marketing receive campaign messages

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Creating a campaign

On web

1. Go to Engage → Campaigns in the sidebar.
2. Click "Create Campaign".
3. Select the SMS tab at the top of the composer (or Both to send SMS and email together).

Step 1: Name your campaign

4. Enter a Campaign name (internal only — customers do not see this). Maximum 100 characters.

Step 2: Choose your audience

5. Select an audience from the preset options:

Audience	Who it includes
All customers	Every customer with a valid phone number and SMS consent
Recent (30 days)	Customers who visited in the last 30 days
Inactive (60+ days)	Customers who have not visited in 60 or more days
VIP customers	Customers flagged as VIP
High spenders	Customers who have spent $500 or more (total)
Custom filters	Build your own audience with up to 5 combined filters

6. The audience count updates automatically: "Sending to [count] customers". Customers without a phone number, without SMS consent, who are blocked, or who have opted out of marketing are automatically excluded.

Custom filters let you combine up to 5 conditions using these fields:

Filter field	Operators	Example
Last visit	After, Before	Last visit after 1 Jan 2026
Total spend ($)	Greater than, Less than	Total spend greater than $200
Visit count	Greater than, Less than, Equals	Visit count greater than 5

Step 3: Write your message

7. Type your SMS message in the text area. The character counter shows your current count out of 160:

   • Green (0–119 characters) — well within a single SMS
   • Amber (120–154 characters) — approaching the limit
   • Red (155–160 characters) — near the single-SMS boundary

   Messages over 160 characters are split into multiple SMS segments. Each segment is charged separately against your allocation. A warning appears: "Message exceeds 160 characters — it will be split into multiple SMS parts and may incur additional charges."

   The maximum message length is 320 characters (2 segments).

8. Insert merge tags to personalise your message. Click "Insert tag" and choose from:

Tag	What it inserts
{{customerName}}	The customer's name
{{venueName}}	Your venue name
{{bookingUrl}}	A link to your booking page

If you type an unrecognised tag (e.g. {{fistName}}), the composer warns you with the correct options.

Step 4: (Optional) Use AI to write your message

9. Click "AI Draft" (web) or "Write with AI" (mobile) to generate three SMS variants.
10. The AI produces three options with different tones (e.g. "Direct", "Friendly", "Offer"), each capped at 155 characters to stay within a single SMS segment.
11. Click a variant to use it, or dismiss and write your own.

If the AI is unavailable, three generic fallback messages are shown instead.

Step 5: Choose when to send

12. Select "Send now" to send immediately, or "Schedule for later" to pick a date and time.
13. If scheduling, select the date and time. The time must be in the future.
14. A suggested send time may appear based on your past campaign performance (e.g. "Suggested: Tuesday–Thursday, 10 AM–12 PM"). If you have sent 3 or more campaigns previously, the suggestion is personalised based on your best open times.

Step 6: Review and send

15. Click "Send Campaign" (or "Schedule").
16. A Review & Send dialog appears showing:
    • Campaign name and channel
    • SMS message preview
    • Audience count with sample names
    • A frequency warning if any contacts received a campaign in the last 7 days
    • The note: "This action cannot be undone."
17. Click "Send to [count] contacts" to confirm.

On mobile

1. Go to More → Engage → Campaigns.
2. Tap "Create Campaign".
3. Select SMS as the channel.
4. Enter a Campaign name (e.g. "Summer promotion").
5. Choose an audience from the preset options. The audience count displays below.
6. Write your SMS message. The character counter shows "[count]/320 · [segments] SMS credits".
7. Optionally tap "Write with AI" to generate variants.
8. Toggle "Schedule for later" if you want to delay the send.
9. Tap "Send" (or "Schedule").
10. The confirmation sheet shows the campaign details, audience count, and a "Send Now" button.
11. Optionally tap "Send a test first" to preview the message on your own phone before sending.

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Sending a test SMS

Before sending a campaign to customers, you can send a preview to yourself:

1. Click "Send Test" (web) or tap "Send a test first" (mobile).
2. Enter your phone number (e.g. +61400000000).
3. Click "Send Test SMS".
4. A test message arrives on your phone, prefixed with [TEST].

Test messages do not use your campaign SMS allocation and do not create recipient tracking records.

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SMS allocation and costs

Your Engage subscription includes 200 campaign SMS per month. Each SMS segment counts as one send against your allocation.

Message length	Segments used
1–160 characters	1 segment
161–320 characters	2 segments

When you exceed your monthly allocation, additional sends are charged from your wallet:

Country	Overage rate
Australia	A$0.06 per SMS
United Kingdom	£0.04 per SMS

At 80% allocation usage, an in-app notification warns you: "Your campaign SMS allocation is 80% used this month."

If your wallet balance runs out mid-send, the campaign is paused with remaining recipients still queued. Top up your wallet, then resume the campaign from the Campaigns list.

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Campaign statuses

Status	Meaning
Draft	Campaign saved but not sent. Can be edited.
Scheduled	Campaign set to send at a future date and time. Can still be edited or cancelled.
Sending	Campaign is actively being delivered to recipients.
Sent	All recipients have been processed. Terminal state.
Failed	Campaign send failed for all recipients. Terminal state.
Paused	Campaign stopped mid-send (allocation exhausted and wallet empty). Can be resumed.
Archived	Campaign was soft-deleted. Appears as "Archived" in the UI.

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Viewing campaign results

After a campaign is sent, the detail page shows delivery metrics:

Metric	What it shows
Sent	Number of SMS messages sent
Delivered	Number confirmed delivered to handsets
Failed	Number that could not be delivered (invalid number, carrier rejection)
Unsubscribed	Number of recipients who opted out after receiving

The Recipients table lists every recipient with their delivery status, allowing you to see exactly who received the message and who did not.

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Duplicating a campaign

To reuse a campaign's message and audience:

1. From the campaign list, click the actions menu (three dots) and select "Duplicate".
2. A new draft is created with the same name (appended with (Copy)), message, and audience settings.
3. Edit the copy as needed and send.

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Resuming a paused campaign

If a campaign was paused due to insufficient wallet balance:

1. Top up your wallet under Settings → Billing.
2. From the campaign list, click the actions menu and select "Resume Sending".
3. The campaign resumes sending to the remaining queued recipients.

If the campaign was paused more than 7 days ago, a warning notes that some recipients may have changed and new customers will not receive the message.

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Role access

Action	Owner	Manager	Stylist
View campaigns	Yes	Yes	Yes
Create and edit campaigns	Yes	Yes	No
Send and schedule campaigns	Yes	Yes	No
Send test SMS	Yes	Yes	No
Duplicate campaigns	Yes	Yes	No
Archive campaigns	Yes	Yes	No
Resume paused campaigns	Yes	Yes	No

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Platform differences

Feature	Web	Mobile
Channel options	Email, SMS, Both	Email, SMS (no combined "Both" option)
Navigation	Sidebar → Engage → Campaigns	More → Engage → Campaigns segment
Custom audience filters	Up to 5 filters with field/operator/value	Not available
Character counter	Circular progress ring at 160 chars	Text counter showing count/320 + segment count
Merge tag picker	Popover with tag options	Not available (type tags manually)
AI copy	"AI Draft" popover with variant cards	"Write with AI" sheet with variant cards
Send time recommendation	Shown in schedule card with lightbulb icon	Shown below schedule toggle
Campaign metrics	6 metric cards (Sent, Delivered, Opened, Clicked, Bounced, Unsubscribed)	3–4 stat cards (Delivered, Bounced, Unsubscribed)
Recipients table	Full table with per-recipient status	Not available
Resume paused campaign	Available via actions menu	Not available
Keyboard shortcuts	None	Cmd+S (save), Cmd+Enter (send) on iPad

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
SMS tab not available in campaign composer	SMS campaigns require the Engage add-on with a provisioned phone number. Go to Engage settings and check that your Engage subscription is active and a dedicated phone number has been provisioned. SMS is not available for New Zealand venues.
"No eligible customers for this audience"	None of the customers in your selected audience have a phone number and SMS marketing consent. Check your customer records — customers need a valid phone number and must have opted in to SMS marketing.
Campaign shows "Paused" status	Your campaign ran out of SMS allocation and your wallet balance was zero. Top up your wallet under Settings → Billing, then use "Resume Sending" from the campaign actions menu.
Test SMS not arriving	Check that the phone number you entered is correct and includes the country code (e.g. +61 for Australia, +44 for United Kingdom). Test messages are prefixed with [TEST]. If the number is correct, there may be a carrier delay — wait a few minutes.
"Insufficient wallet balance" error when sending	SMS campaigns require a minimum wallet balance of A$5 (Australia) or £3 (United Kingdom) to send. Top up your wallet before sending.
Message shows "will be split into multiple SMS parts"	Your message exceeds 160 characters and will be sent as 2 SMS segments. Each segment counts separately against your allocation. Shorten your message to stay within 160 characters, or accept the additional cost.
Frequency warning about contacts receiving campaigns in the last 7 days	This is an informational warning — it does not block sending. It alerts you that some recipients recently received another campaign. Consider adjusting your audience or timing to avoid over-messaging.
AI-generated SMS options not appearing	AI copy generation requires Spark credits. If your wallet is empty, the AI may not be available. The system falls back to three generic message templates. Top up your wallet to restore AI features.
Cannot find "Resume Sending" option	Resume is only available on the web platform for campaigns with Paused status. It is not available on mobile. Open the web app and find the paused campaign in the campaigns list.

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Related Articles

• Engage
• Automated Notifications
• Customer Management
• Segments & Retention
• Creating Email Campaigns
• Writing Campaign Messages with AI
• SMS & Email Allocation and Limits

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Last updated: March 2026