How do I Send SMS to Groups?
Broadcast one message to everyone in one or more contact groups. Use a template to personalize it with each contact's details.
Send to Groups
Open the Compose Screen
- In DartPro, click Compose SMS and choose To Groups.
- Or select groups on the Groups page and click Message Groups.
Select Groups
- Pick one or more groups in Select Groups.
Choose the Message Type
- Type Message: write your text in Message Content.
- Use Template: pick a template in Select Template and check the Template Preview. To make a new one, click Create New Template.
Choose a Sender ID
- Pick one in Sender ID.
Send Now or Later
- Keep Send Immediately, or switch to Schedule for Later and choose a Broadcast Time.
Check the Cost and Send
- The cost card estimates the price. Calculate Exact Cost checks a sample of the contacts in your groups.
- Click Send Message, or Schedule Message if you're scheduling.
DartPro shows Message Sent. Personalized messages take longer to deliver, because each contact gets their own message.
Who Receives the Message
- Every contact in the selected groups who has a mobile number. Contacts with only an email are skipped.
- Each number once, even if the contact is in several of the selected groups.
- The members at send time. A scheduled message goes to whoever is in the groups when it's sent.
⚠️ Keep group names stable before scheduled sends
Scheduled group messages find their groups by name. If you rename or delete a group before the send time, its members won't get the message.
Personalize with Contact Details
With Use Template, the placeholders in your template are replaced with each contact's details. For example, Hello [first_name], your order is ready. reaches Ada as Hello Ada, your order is ready.
| Placeholder | Replaced with |
|---|---|
[title] | Title |
[first_name] | First Name |
[other_names] | Other Names |
[family_name] | Family Name |
[phone] | Mobile number |
[email] | |
[organization] | Organization |
💡 About the template check
The compose screen only recognizes [first_name], [family_name] and [mobile]. It warns that other placeholders will not be mapped, but DartPro still fills every placeholder in the table above. Use [phone] for the mobile number, because [mobile] isn't filled in.
- Missing details are left blank. If a contact has no first name,
Hello [first_name],becomesHello ,. - Latest details at send time. Templates and contact details are read when the message is sent, so scheduled messages use the latest versions.
Charges
Group messages are charged when you click Send Message or Schedule Message, including scheduled ones. Any unused amount is refunded when the broadcast finishes. See How is Message Cost Calculated?.