Sending an SMS campaign
Writing it, checking who it reaches, and knowing the cost before you press send.
Quick answers
6 questions · click to openHow is SMS different from email?
It costs money per message, it can’t be un-sent, and it can’t be scheduled — an SMS campaign is draft, then sending, then sent. Get it right before you commit.
Who actually receives it?
People with a mobile number who haven’t opted out of SMS, within your division scope. Everyone else is skipped.
Can I send myself a test first?
There’s no send-test for SMS the way there is for email. Use the recipient preview to check who it would reach, and read the message back to yourself before you commit.
How do I know what it will cost?
The composer shows the message parts and the cost as you type, so you can see a message tip into a second part before you send rather than after.
Why did my message become two parts?
Either it went past 160 characters, or it contains an emoji or special character — which switches the whole message to a wider encoding where a single part is only 70 characters.
Can a local group send its own SMS?
Yes. Campaigns can target a division, so a local group reaches its own people.
SMS gets read. That’s the appeal and the risk: it lands in a place people don’t expect to hear from an organisation, it costs real money, and there’s no recall.
Before you write anything
- Know why it’s a text and not an email. Urgency and short instructions suit SMS — an event tomorrow, a polling booth location, a deadline tonight. Newsletters don’t.
- Check who has a mobile number. People without one are skipped, so your reachable audience is smaller than your list.
- Have a look at the cost. See costs, opt-outs and compliance.
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Create the campaign
Under SMS Campaigns, start a new campaign and fill in Campaign Details.
A new SMS campaign, with the message and the audience. -
Choose the audience
Audience / Sending Criteria takes everyone, a saved list, or filters — including by division or electorate. Cobber shows the Estimated recipients as you narrow it down.
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Write the message
The composer shows a live phone preview alongside the character count, Message Parts and the running cost. Merge fields work here too, so you can use a first name — just remember every merge field makes the message longer for some people than others.
The composer, with the phone preview and the running cost. -
Check the recipient preview
Recipient Preview lists who would receive it and, for those who wouldn’t, the reason. This is the closest thing to a test send, so use it.
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Review and send
The confirmation screen shows who you’re Sending to and the cost. Send now starts it — there’s no scheduling and no undo.
Keep it short on purpose
Every part costs money, and a message that runs to three parts usually says three things. Pick one. If a supporter needs detail, send them a link to a page that has it — that’s cheaper and easier to read on a phone anyway.
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Far fewer recipients than people on the list | Most likely missing mobile numbers. The recipient preview gives the reason per person; fix the records under Data Quality. |
| The cost doubled when you added an emoji | Expected. One emoji switches the whole message to the wider encoding, cutting a single part from 160 characters to 70. |
| Nothing sent and the org is in demo mode | Demo mode blocks all outbound SMS deliberately, so a demo organisation can’t text real people. |
| A supporter asked to stop and still got the next one | The SMS opt-out on their record has to be set by hand — Cobber doesn’t process inbound replies. Set it as soon as someone asks. |