General Campaign Composer FAQs
What is Campaign Composer?
Campaign Composer is a seamless way to build and send campaign messages with Attentive.
Campaign Composer is how you build, schedule, and send text and email message campaigns with Attentive. You can use it to build one-time, single-message text campaigns for sales or quick messages, or orchestrate multi-touch, multi-channel campaigns to coordinate messaging for a major product launch. You can even take advantage of audience retargeting, enabling you to send messages to subscribers who didn’t interact with, or purchase anything from, prior campaign messages.
And you can do everything from just one screen.
To get started, check out the Campaigns and Campaign Composer overview, or dive in and create a campaign with Campaign Composer.
How are Campaign Composer campaigns different from the old version of campaigns in Attentive?
If you're used to the old campaigns flow in Attentive, you should check out Campaign Composer campaign improvements.
Can I send both text messages and emails in the same campaign?
Yes! You can include text messages and email messages in the same campaign, as well as run A/B tests for text and email messages.
If a subscriber signs up for my messaging program after I send the first message in a campaign, will they receive subsequent messages in the same campaign?
Yes! As your segments grow, new subscribers will receive each message in the campaign following their subscription. Note that this is different from journeys, in which subscribers must first trigger the first message. For more, see Select and target audiences for campaigns.
Creating campaign FAQs
Can I add another message to my campaign after the last one is sent?
No. Once the last message in your campaign is sent, the campaign ends and you should create a new campaign instead.
You can also copy a campaign message from a delivered campaign and use it to start a new campaign. To copy a message from a delivered campaign:
- Find the delivered campaign on the Campaigns list page.
- Click the three dots in the last column and select Preview.
- Click Edit campaign in the lower-right corner.
- Find the message you want to create a new campaign from in the drawer on the left side of the screen, click the three dots, and then click Make a copy.
- Choose Create a new campaign, and then click Next.
When you copy a campaign message, it retains the same message design and audience, making it easy to get new campaigns off of the ground. Note that you will have to set a new send time.
You can also copy entire campaigns, although you will need to reschedule each message in the copied campaign before it can be scheduled. To copy an entire campaign:
- Find the delivered campaign on the Campaigns list page.
- Click the three dots in the last column and select Make a copy.
When I copy a campaign message, do I need to create a new shortlink?
Nope! When you copy a campaign message, a new shortlink is automatically added to the new campaign message. The shortlink points to the same destination, but has a unique UTM for tracking purposes.
I'm not sure what to include in a message or the best way to design a campaign. What should I do?
No worries! Here are some resources to help get you started:
- Check out our guides on campaign copywriting, message design, and sending best practices
- If you're not sure what will work best for your brand, first learn about the best ways to A/B test different aspects of your campaigns, and then learn how to add A/B test messages to your campaigns
Are there guidelines for how I should name campaigns and campaign messages?
Yes! You should assign unique, descriptive names to both your campaigns and to each message within a campaign. Being diligent about how you name campaigns and campaign messages will help you find and reference successful campaigns for later use and will make it much easier to run reports and understand the ROI of your campaigns.
You should name campaigns by their marketing goal, and individual messages by their purpose. For example:
- Campaign name: Labor Day 2023 sitewide sale
- Message 1: LD 2023 SMS announcement
- Message 2: LD 2023 SMS followup
- Message 3: LD 2023 email announcement
- Message 4: LD 2023 email followup
If you follow a similar naming scheme for each of your campaigns, it will be much easier to understand the purpose and relevance of each of your campaigns and campaign messages.
When should I create a new campaign vs. add to an existing campaign?
We recommend that you create a new campaign for each message sequence that shares a marketing goal, like driving event signups, engagement for a holiday sale, or views for brand announcements. This will improve your reporting, and make it easier to understand the ROI of each of your campaigns.
For example, you’ll get the best results if you create entirely separate campaigns for your Labor Day 2023 sale and your Independence Day 2023 sale.
Can I use personalization macros in Campaign Composer campaign messages?
Yes! You can take advantage of a full suite of personalization macros, which let you add personal details -- like the first name of subscribers -- to each message you send. You can even use default fallback options, which add a customizable term if you don't have that detail for a subscriber.
Note that if you've used personalization macros with Attentive in the past, the syntax is different for Campaign Composer.
For more on macros, check out Personalize messages with macros and dynamic links.
How do I add opt-out language to messages I send to AT&T subscribers?
You don’t have to! With Campaign Composer, we’ve removed the {{unsubscribe}} macro from the message composer. But don’t worry – if you’re using a toll-free number, all text messages that you send to AT&T subscribers are automatically appended with opt-out language.
For more, check out Message opt-out language.
Can I add discount codes to campaign messages?
Yes! You can even include multiple discount codes in campaign messages. You can add either shared or unique discount codes, but keep in mind that integrated discount codes (e.g., autogenerated codes from Shopify) aren’t supported for campaign messages.
Can I use curly brackets in campaign messages?
Only use curly brackets ({ }) in campaign messages as part of a dynamic variable or link, like {{offer.code}}. Otherwise, your message won’t be sent. For example, a message with the text {Hurry! Our sale ends soon} won’t be sent, but a message with the text Use code {{offer.code}} will be sent.
Campaign message tag FAQs
What are campaign tags?
Tags are custom labels that you can add to each campaign message and make it easier to organize and find your campaigns later. You can use tags to note campaigns related to a particular holiday or sales campaign, campaigns sent by specific members on your team, and more.
You can also filter for one or more campaign tags when running custom reports, enabling you to see the performance of campaigns at more granular levels.
Can I add tags to a campaign message after I draft, schedule, or deliver it?
Yes! Although you can’t typically edit scheduled campaigns without unscheduling them (or delivered campaigns at all), you can add up to five tags to each campaign message at any time.
- Drafted campaigns: Edit the campaign and then click Edit tags for each message.
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Scheduled campaigns: From the campaigns list page, filter for Scheduled, click the three dots on the campaign (not an individual message), and select Edit. Then, click Edit tags.
If the campaign includes multiple messages, click on each message from the drawer on the left -
Delivered campaigns: From the campaigns list page, filter for Delivered, and click on the name of an individual message within a campaign.
Then, click Add tags.
How do I report on specific campaign tags?
You can filter for campaign tags by creating a custom report for campaign performance and applying the tags filter to the report.
- Go to Reports and click a performance report in Campaigns.
- Click Customize.
- Click the Filters tab.
- Complete the following:
- By Tags: Select is to include campaign messages with the filters you select in your custom report.
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Choose tags: Select one or more tags to filter your report on.
Once you’re done selecting tags and other filters, click Update. Your campaign performance report is now filtered for only campaigns with the selected tags.
- Click Save and enter a name for your custom report. Your saved custom report is now available in the Saved reports tab on the Reports page.
Audience targeting FAQs
What is retargeting and how does it work?
Retargeting retargets subscribers you sent a prior message to but who didn’t click on or purchase anything as a result of that message. Retargeting is a great way to boost the ROI of your campaign messages by reminding subscribers of recent offers or events they may have missed.
You can use three types of retargeting:
- Subscribers who clicked on a previous message but didn’t complete a purchase
- Subscribers who didn’t click on your first message at all
- Subscribers who didn’t open an email (email messages only)
Note that you can only use retargeting options after the first message of your campaign.
If you create a campaign that doesn’t use retargeting options and meets certain other criteria, we’ll automatically generate and recommend a retargeting campaign message. These recommended campaign messages use a high-intent audience segment, which includes recipients of your first message who clicked a link but did not complete a purchase. You can review the recommended message and optionally include it in your campaign before you schedule it, or you can click Generate new suggestion to see other suggested messages.
For more, check out Select and target audiences for campaigns.
When will Attentive recommend sending a retargeted message?
- We’ll suggest adding a second message that uses retargeting if your campaign:
- Includes only one message in a draft state
- Is not an A/B test
- Includes one MMS/SMS message and not an email
- Includes at least one shortlink, but no other attachments (like a contact card or video link)
- Doesn’t have any errors
- Your default Smart Sending window is less than 24 hours
For more, check out Select and target audiences for campaigns.
Scheduled and sending campaign messages FAQs
Can I send campaign messages based on subscriber time zones instead of just my own time zone?
Yes! When you set the send time for each message, you can choose whether to send your messages based on the timezone of your brand’s HQ (configured in Company Settings), or based on the subscriber’s timezone.
Learn more about scheduling messages to send at subscriber local timezones.
Note that if your campaign has Smart Sending enabled (which is recommended for most messages), subscribers who received a different message from you within the Smart Sending window won’t be sent a new message until the end of the Smart Sending period. By default, Smart Sending is 8 hours.
What happens if I schedule a message but the send time has already passed in the subscriber’s time zone?
You can choose one of the following options for messages where the send time has already passed in the subscriber’s time zone:
- Send immediately
- Send the message at the scheduled time the next day
- Don’t send to these subscribers
See Schedule messages at a subscriber’s local time for more information and best practices.
Why is my message showing “Sending” before or after the send time?
For messages that you send in subscribers’ local time, you'll see a status of “Sending” as soon as any subscribers reach the send time. This doesn’t necessarily mean that there are any subscribers in that time zone who are eligible to receive this specific message (the send count shows you the true volume of messages sent), but the status remains in “Sending” until all time zones for your subscribers have passed.
See Schedule messages at a subscriber’s local time for more information and best practices.
Why do I have subscribers who are outside the US (or other company regions)?
Subscribers need a valid phone number that matches the company region(s) in order to complete their opt in, but once they’re subscribed they could travel anywhere in the world. Our location data is updated based on recent engagement (e.g., link clicks), so you could have subscribers outside the company region(s) at any time who are still eligible to receive messages. To see how many of your subscribers are outside the US, create a dynamic segment of subscribers whose Country, recent is not United States.
See Schedule messages at a subscriber’s local time for more information and best practices.
Can I send multiple messages at the exact same time in the same campaign?
Not within the same campaign. To help ensure that campaign message sequences are sent in the correct order, messages must be scheduled at least five minutes apart. You can schedule campaign messages at five-minute intervals. For example, you can schedule campaign messages for 3:30, 3:35, and 3:40, but not 3:32 or 3:37.
If you want to send multiple unique campaign messages at the same time, create a separate campaign for each.
How do I ensure messages within a sequence are delivered in the correct order?
If you plan to use a combination of the subscriber’s local time and company timezone within a single campaign, be sure to set the send time of each message at least 3 hours apart to ensure that each message is sent in the correct order. Also, keep in mind that messages will begin sending immediately if the timezone has already passed for any of the subscribers in the audience, so make sure your messages are spaced appropriately.
If I pause a message in the campaign, what happens to subsequent messages?
When you pause a campaign message, all messages in the campaign are also paused and will not send until you schedule the campaign again. If a campaign is paused during its original scheduled send time, you’ll have to reschedule it to a future date and time.
Can I see the performance of individual messages in a campaign?
Yes! You can see a breakdown of the performance of each message from the Campaigns list page.
Individual message performance appears nested inside of each campaign.
Note: If a campaign included just one message, it appears in the Campaigns list page by the name of the message, not the name of the campaign.