How to create an email or SMS campaign

A campaign in the TeleportHQ Marketing Studio is a series of emails or text messages that work toward one goal, for example a two-week autumn sale. Open Campaigns → New campaign, choose Email campaign or SMS campaign, pick who receives it, your sending service and a goal, then review the plan AI builds and click Accept & generate. TeleportHQ writes the messages and sends them on their scheduled days.

Before you start#

• Plan and setup. The Marketing Studio needs a Trial, Pro or Premium workspace and sign-up and login turned on. See What is the Marketing Studio?.
• A sending service. Emails and text messages go out through your own account with a sending service. You can connect it inside the New campaign window. See How to connect an email or SMS sending service.
• Your contacts. A campaign goes to All contacts or to one of your lists. See How to add contacts and create contact lists.
• AI tokens. Suggesting goals, building the plan and writing each message use AI tokens. See What is the Marketing Studio?.
• Limits. Up to 5 campaigns can run at once. A campaign lasts up to 30 days (14 by default).

Steps#

1. In the editor's left sidebar, click Growth, then Marketing Studio.

2. In the studio menu, click Campaigns, then click New campaign.

   

3. Type: in the New campaign window:

   1. Optionally type a Campaign name (optional), for example Autumn bread box, and set Starts on and Ends on.
   2. Under "What kind of campaign do you want to run?", click Email campaign (selected at first) or SMS campaign.

   Then click Next.

   

4. Audience: "Who should receive this campaign?" Click All contacts or one of your lists. The table shows who's in it. Click Next.

   

5. Provider: your connected service is already selected. If it isn't connected yet, click its card and fill in its fields here. Click Next.

   

6. Goal: "What is this campaign for? Pick a goal we tailored to your business." Click one of the goals AI suggests, or Something else… and describe your own (for example "Promote our autumn bread box and drive pre-orders"). Ready-made goals come first:

   • If your project has a store: Promote your products and Promote a specific product. With Promote a specific product, choose the product under "Which product should this campaign promote?". Every message features it and links to its product page.
   • If your project takes bookings: Get more bookings ("Send people to your booking page to pick a date and book.") and Promote a bookable item. With Promote a bookable item, choose a room, service or rental under "Which bookable item should this campaign promote?". Every message features it and links to the page where it's booked.

   Click Build the plan. With a specific product or bookable item, the button stays greyed out until you pick one.

   

7. Plan: AI may ask a few questions first. Answer them, or click Let the AI answer all, then click Build the plan. Review the day-by-day plan:
   • Each message has a switch. Turn off the ones you don't want: "12 of 14 posts selected — toggle any you don't want."
   • To change the plan, click Request changes, describe what you want (for example "fewer messages, send in the evenings") and click Regenerate plan.
8. Click Accept & generate. For a campaign longer than 7 days, the button reads Generate first 7 days.
9. Wait while each message is written. When you see "All done!", click Finish.

Check that it worked#

You land on the campaign's calendar. In Campaigns, the campaign's card shows its status, such as Scheduled or Running, and a line such as "0 sent · 6 scheduled". Each message goes out on its day; afterwards the calendar marks it as sent, and each contact's Message history lists it.

Test the campaign first#

Use Test run to watch the whole campaign play out in a few minutes, sent only to test addresses.

1. Open the campaign's calendar and click Test run at the top left.
2. Add your own email addresses (or phone numbers, for an SMS campaign).
3. Choose the dates to test in Test from and Test until, and how long a day lasts in 1 day plays in.
4. Click Start test.

The window explains: "Time is compressed. Each campaign day plays out in" the time you chose, and "Real emails are sent — but only to the test addresses you add below. Your real audience is never contacted and the campaign's stats stay untouched." The test stops by itself at the end of the test window.

Manage a running campaign#

• Open a campaign: in Campaigns, click Open on its card. The calendar opens.
• Change when a message goes out: drag it to another day, or click it and change Send time.
• Add a message: click Add post at the top right of the calendar. For an email, choose Use a template or Generate with AI. For a text message, choose Write it myself or Generate with AI.
• Edit an email's design: click the email on the calendar, then Edit in builder.
• Send a message right away: click it, then Send now. Choose Contact list, or a Single address (Single phone number for SMS) to send one copy.
• Write the next days: messages are written up to 7 days at a time. For a longer campaign, click Generate posts for next 7 days on the calendar (fewer days near the end).
• Pause or resume: on the campaign's card, click the gear (tooltip Sending provider settings), then Pause or Resume.
• Stop: click Stop on the card and confirm with Stop campaign. "Scheduled posts that have not gone out yet will be canceled. Posts already published stay live." To start a stopped campaign again, click Reactivate on its card or Start campaign on its calendar.

Campaigns on a site with several languages#

On a TeleportHQ site with several languages, the Type step has a Language field (your main language at first). The campaign's emails and text messages are sent in that language:

• With Translate text elements automatically on (Project settings → Editor → Preferences), TeleportHQ writes each email in your main language and translates it into your other languages. The campaign sends its own language's version. A text that has no translation goes out in your main language.
• With it off, each email is written directly in the campaign's language.
• Text messages are always written in the campaign's language.

To reach two language groups, create one campaign per language, each with its own list. See How to translate your site automatically.

Troubleshooting#

"Heads up: connect your Email provider so this campaign can actually send." (or SMS) The campaign is saved as missing configuration and won't send. Click Set up provider to send on its card, or the line on its calendar, and connect your service.

"You can run up to 5 campaigns at once. Stop or finish one to start another." New campaign is greyed out. Stop a campaign you no longer need, then try again.

"Could not build the plan. Try again." or "Something went wrong while generating. You can retry." Click Retry, or Retry this one next to a message that failed. If some messages were created, you can keep them with Finish anyway.

"Your store has no products yet. Add one in the E-commerce panel first." or "Nothing is offered on your booking page yet. Add or show an item in the Bookings panel first." You chose Promote a specific product or Promote a bookable item, but there's nothing to pick. Add a product to your store, or add or show an item in the Bookings panel, then open New campaign again. Or pick another goal.

"This contact list has no deliverable recipients — nothing would be sent." when you click Send now The campaign's list is empty, or everyone in it unsubscribed or has no email or phone number.

A message on the calendar says "Connect your email/SMS provider to send this campaign." The campaign had no connected service when that message's time came. Connect your service; the next messages go out.

A message on the calendar says "Paused — this workspace subscription is inactive. Upgrade to resume sending upcoming posts." The workspace's trial or subscription had ended when that message's time came. That message isn't sent ("This post was not sent and will not be sent."). Subscribe again, and the messages still to come go out on their days.

Good to know#

• Sending needs an active plan. If the workspace's trial or subscription ends, messages due in the meantime are not sent. After you subscribe again, the messages still to come go out. A message more than 24 hours late is never sent: "Not sent — the scheduled time had already passed."
• Links point to your live site. The messages link to your published site: to a product's page when the campaign promotes one product, to your booking page for Get more bookings, or to the item's booking page when the campaign promotes one bookable item. Publish before the first message goes out.
• Unsubscribed contacts are skipped automatically.
• Social media and WhatsApp campaigns are marked Soon in the Type step and can't be chosen.