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Send an email, text or WhatsApp to selected contacts

Tick the people you want on Contacts and send them one message now, at a set time, or in batches.

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When you already have the people in front of you on Contacts, you can message them straight from there. You can send everything at once, book it for later, or spread it out in batches so replies and bookings do not all arrive in the same ten minutes.

Before you start

  • For email: your sending domain set up under Settings › Channels. A saved email template is optional.
  • For texts: a phone number of your own under Settings › Channels. Texts to US numbers also need an approved US registration.
  • For WhatsApp: WhatsApp connected under Settings › Channels, and an approved WhatsApp template.
  • Enough in your wallet for anything beyond your plan's allowance.

Steps

  1. Go to Contacts and filter the list down to the people you want, for example everyone tagged "vip".
  2. Tick the contacts. To take everyone the filter found, click Select all [number] in the bar that appears.
  3. Choose what to send: - For email, click Send email. - For a text or WhatsApp, open More bulk actions and choose Send SMS or Send WhatsApp.
  4. Type an Action name, such as "Spring clinic reminder". It is shown in the tracking report.
  5. Check From. It shows the address or number the message will come from.
  6. Write the message: - Email: choose a Template, or leave No template — write below. Type the Subject and, without a template, the Message. - Text: type the Message. {{first_name}}, {{name}} and {{business}} are filled in per person, and the opt-out line is added for you. The count under the box shows characters and segments. - WhatsApp: choose an approved template and fill its blanks. Turn on Fall back to SMS if you want people WhatsApp cannot reach to get a text instead, and write that text.
  7. Under Send, choose one: - All at once: it goes when you click the button. - At a time: pick the Date and time, in your timezone. - In batches: fill in "Send [50] contacts every [10] minutes, starting now". For a dental clinic sending 400 recall reminders, 50 every 15 minutes keeps the phones manageable.
  8. Check the counts: Selected, Filtered out (no address, unsubscribed or opted out) and Final, and the cost line under them.
  9. For texts and WhatsApp, tick the box confirming everyone on the list has agreed to hear from you.
  10. Click Send (or Send texts, Send messages), or Schedule if you chose a time or batches.

What happens next

  • A send that goes now shows how many it reached and how many failed.
  • A scheduled or batched send is booked as a campaign. Emails are listed under Marketing › Email › Campaigns › Bulk Action Campaigns; scheduled texts appear in the Scheduled table on Marketing › SMS.
  • Every email carries an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribed contacts are left out automatically.
  • Each text and WhatsApp message is checked again as it goes: opt-outs, daily limits and, for texts, US registration. Anything refused counts as failed, not sent.

Troubleshooting

The Send button stays greyed out. Something required is missing: the Action name, the Subject or Message for email, the text for SMS, or the consent tick for texts and WhatsApp. It also stays grey when Final is 0.

It says "Your balance is empty. Add credit to send beyond your monthly allowance." Part of the send is beyond your plan's allowance. Click Top up in Settings → Billing in the message, add credit, and try again.

It says "You need a phone number to send bulk messages." There is no number on the account yet, or it is not connected. Get one under Settings › Channels.

It says my number "is still being registered for US texting." Texts to US numbers are refused until the registration is approved. Numbers outside the US are not affected.

Filtered out is higher than I expected. Those contacts have no email address or phone number, have unsubscribed or opted out, or, for WhatsApp, have not given WhatsApp consent.

I can't open or preview a bulk email afterwards. A send from the Contacts list keeps no copy of its body to show. Its row in Bulk Action Campaigns records the send, not the email itself.

Related

Still stuck?

Email support@opusfunnel.com with the page you were on. A person replies, usually within one business day.

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