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How to Create & Send Your First Message
How to Create & Send Your First Message

Learn how to create, test, and send your first text message campaign in Tatango.

Judd Bobin avatar
Written by Judd Bobin
Updated today

Once your account is set up and your subscriber list is ready, you’re all set to start connecting with your audience. The first step in running a successful text message campaign is learning how to create and send a message.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the entire process—from writing your message to testing and sending it—so you can start engaging your supporters and driving results right away.

Step 1: Choose Your Subscriber List

  1. Log in to your Tatango account → Login

  2. Select the list you want to message.

  3. Click Create Message.

Step 2: Craft Your Message

  1. Choose message type: SMS (text-only) or MMS (includes images, GIFs, or videos).

  2. Enter your message content.

    • Keep it short, clear, and actionable.

    • Include your organization's name.

    • Add a clear call-to-action.

  3. Add media if using MMS. (Optional)

Tips:

  • SMS messages have a character limit of 160 characters. If you exceed 160 characters as an SMS message, your message will be sent in SMS message parts.

  • MMS messages have a character limit of 5,000 characters. MMS messages can include images or videos but should follow recommended specs.

Step 3: Send Yourself a Test Message

We recommend testing every message before sending it to your list.

  1. Once you crafted your message, click Send Test

  2. Enter your phone number or anyone team members separated by commas

  3. Then select, Send Test Message

  4. Review the message on your phone

Step 4: Send or Schedule Your Message

Once you’re happy with your message:

  1. Review your content and audience list

  2. Choose to Send Now or Schedule for Later

  3. Click Send Message

Step 5: Reviewing Outcome

When you view an individual message report in Tatango, you’ll see important performance metrics that help you understand how your message performed. Here’s what each metric means:

  • Message Delivery Status

    • Successful Messages: Total number of messages successfully delivered to subscribers.

    • Bounced Messages: Messages that were not delivered (due to invalid numbers, carrier errors, etc.).

    • Waiting for Carrier Confirmation: Messages still pending delivery status.

  • Unsubscribes

    • The number and percentage of subscribers who opted out after receiving this message. ​(Example: 146 unsubscribes, 1.4% rate)

  • Link Tracking If your message included a clickable link, Tatango tracks:

    • Total Clicks: Number of times the link was clicked.

    • Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of delivered messages that resulted in a click.

    • Unique Clicks: Number of unique subscribers who clicked the link.

    • Unique CTR: Percentage of unique subscribers who clicked.

  • Donations (If Integrated) If you have donation tracking connected, you’ll also see:

    • Number of Donations: How many donations were made after clicking the message link.

    • Total Donation Amount: Total dollar amount raised from this message.

  • Send Cost The total cost of sending this message.

  • Additional Message Details You’ll also see:

    • Message Name

    • Send Date & Time

    • Recipient Count

    • Estimated Message Parts (how many SMS segments were used)

    • Custom Domain status (if enabled)


What’s Next

Once you’ve created and sent your first message, it’s time to connect your integrations so you can grow your list automatically and start tracking donations tied to your messages.

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