Scheduling a message to be sent later

Scheduling messages lets you set up messages that will be sent at a future date. You can create two types of scheduled messages.

1. One-off scheduled messages, which will be sent on the date and time that you specify
2. Recurring scheduled messages, which repeat according to a schedule that you specify

One off scheduled messages.

These are messages that will be sent only once at a given date in the future. To create a One-off scheduled message follow the steps below;

1. Click on the 'Send SMS' button near the top of the page. This will reveal the 'Send SMS sidebar'.
2. In the 'Send SMS sidebar' click on the 'Schedule Sending' link. This will reveal available message scheduling options.
3. Click on the option 'Schedule as a one-off SMS'
4. Click on the "Send Message On" field to pick the date that you wish the message to be sent. It will launch a date picker widget from which you can pick the date and time to send.
5. Insert the names or telephone numbers of the people who want this message to be sent to
6. Type in the message text to send
7. Click on the 'Schedule this SMS' button to save your message schedule.

See the images below for clarification on the process of creating a one-off scheduled message.

Send SMS Sidebar

Send SMS sidebar with message scheduling options.

Recurring scheduled message

This is a message that will be sent out multiple times, starting on a given date. The options available for repeating are daily, weekly or monthly. You can specify when the message should stop being sent by either specifying the maximum number of times the message should be sent, or by specifying the date on which the message should be sent for the last time. If you do not have a desired end date or maximum number of runs, you can also specify that the message should be sent according to the schedule indefinitely.

To create a recurring scheduled message, follow the steps below;

1. Click on the 'Send SMS' button. This will reveal the 'Send SMS sidebar'.
2. In the 'Send SMS sidebar' click on the 'Schedule Sending' link. This will reveal available message scheduling options.
3. Click on the option 'Set up a recurring schedule'
4. Set the date from which to begin sending the message. The dates on which the next messages will be sent will be relative to this date based on the interval you choose. Note that SMS will always be sent at the same time of day as the first one
5. Select the frequency at which the message should be sent. This can be, daily, weekly or monthly.
6. Specify the circumstances under which the message should no longer be sent out. These can be; 'up to a given date', 'up to a given number of sends', or until you manually cancel it in the outbox section.
7. Select the recipients of the message
8. Type in the content of the message to be sent.
9. Click on the 'Schedule this SMS' button to save your message schedule.

See the images below for clarification on the process of creating a recurring scheduled message.

Send SMS sidebar with options to set up a recurring scheduled message.

To learn how to manage your scheduled SMSs read this article.