SMS
SMS campaigns sent through your own Twilio account
Send SMS campaigns and journey texts to the same audiences as your email, under the same consent record, through your own Twilio account. Each text uses one credit per segment, about 160 characters or fewer with emoji. Twilio bills the message at its own price, and Purple adds no markup. Consent is checked before every text.
How does Engage send SMS?
Through your own Twilio account, from the same audiences, consent records and campaign builder as your email. US business registration (10DLC) and toll-free verification are done in your Twilio console, and Engage will not send through a sender that is not chosen and active.
- Your own Twilio account, billed by Twilio at its own price, with no Purple markup
- A readiness checklist: account connected, sender chosen, replies reaching Purple
- SMS campaigns and SMS steps in journeys
How do I keep SMS costs under control?
Engage shows the cost before you send. One part holds 160 characters, or 70 with emoji or non-Latin letters, and joined parts hold 153 or 67 each. Each part, or segment, uses one credit from your plan. If Twilio reports insufficient funds, the campaign is held, not failed.
- Live character and part counter, up to 1,530 characters (ten parts)
- Cost estimate from Twilio's price list before you send
- Spend caps per send and per month, in your account's currency, that refuse a send before it starts
Can I track clicks from an SMS?
Yes. Engage shortens the links in your message and tracks clicks on them. The report shows sent, delivered, failed, clicked, opt-outs, message parts and cost. Shorter links also leave more room for your words, which keeps the part count down.
- Short links with click tracking
When will guests get my texts, and how do they stop them?
Never before 08:00 or after 20:00 in the guest's own time. You can narrow that window, never widen it. Opt-outs are recorded per channel in the same consent ledger as email, so a text STOP never changes email consent. A text campaign cannot go live without a STOP instruction.
- Texts only between 08:00 and 20:00 in each guest's own time, narrower if you choose
- STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT, OPTOUT and REVOKE end texts at once; START lifts only a STOP sent from the handset
- Clear free-text refusals such as "please stop texting me" stop texts too, and near-misses go to your team to review
- HELP replies answered, with no change to consent
Which countries can I send SMS to?
Any country your Twilio account can send to, once any sender registration that country needs is done in your Twilio console. US texting is a pilot Purple sets up with you. The state tables support, and do not replace, your own legal advice, and you own the consent and the content of every message.
- Any country your Twilio account can send to
- US texts held outside the stricter of the area-code state's and the address state's hours, with Sundays and holidays held and 20 states carrying their own rules
Questions
Does Purple add a markup to SMS?
No. Twilio bills each message on your own Twilio account at Twilio's price, and Purple adds no markup. Purple does not resell texts. Each text also uses one credit per segment, about 160 characters or fewer with emoji.
Can SMS be a step in a journey?
Yes. A journey can send an SMS at any step, and can wait up to 90 days for the guest to act, such as clicking a link, redeeming an offer or visiting, before it decides the next step.
How does Engage handle opt-outs?
A STOP keyword or a clear free-text refusal ends texts to that guest at once, and HELP changes no consent. No import, connector or API call carrying older or undated evidence can put an opted-out guest back on the list: only the guest's own newer, dated choice can.
Can I cap what I spend on SMS?
Yes. Set a cap per send and a rolling monthly cap in your account's currency, and Engage refuses a send that would go over before it starts.
Can I text guests in the US?
Yes, once Purple has set up US texting with you. Engage holds a US text until a moment its rules allow: never wider than 08:00 to 20:00 in the guest's own time, inside the stricter of the number's area-code state and the guest's address state, with Sundays and holidays held where a state bars them. Held texts go when the window opens. The rules support, and do not replace, your own legal advice, and you own the consent and the content of every message you send.
Connect Twilio and send your first SMS
Connect your own Twilio account. Twilio bills each text at its own price, Purple adds no markup, and contacts are unlimited* on every plan.