How to Send Bulk SMS Campaigns in Valstorm

This guide will walk you through the process of creating, configuring, and sending a bulk SMS campaign using the Valstorm platform.

Video Tutorial

Part 1: Creating a New Campaign

First, you need to create a campaign to associate your contacts and message with. It's recommended to create a new campaign for each bulk text you send.

  1. Navigate to Contacts: From the main dashboard, open the left-hand navigation menu. Go to Sales > Contacts.
  2. Add to Campaign: On the Contacts page, locate and click the Add to Campaign button in the action bar.
  3. Create New Campaign: You will be taken to the "Add Contacts to Campaign" screen. Next to the Campaign dropdown field, click the plus (+) icon to create a new campaign.
  4. Name and Save: A "New Campaign" window will appear. Enter a descriptive Name for your campaign (e.g., "10/15/2025 Test Campaign"). Fill in any other relevant details and click Save.
  5. Return to Setup: After saving, you will be taken to the campaign's detail page. Use your browser's back button or click the previous tab to return to the "Add Contacts to Campaign" screen.

Part 2: Adding Contacts to the Campaign

Now, you will select which contacts receive the message.

  1. Select Your Campaign: Click the Campaign dropdown menu and search for the campaign you just created (e.g., "10/15/2025 Test Campaign"). Select it from the list.
  2. Choose a Contact Selection Method: You have two options to gather your contacts:
    • Filter: Use a pre-defined filter to segment your contacts (e.g., "All Contacts By Modified Date").
    • Query: Switch to the Query tab to write a custom SQL query (e.g., SELECT * FROM contact) for more advanced selection.
  3. Load Contacts: After selecting your filter or entering your query, click the Run Query button. The contacts that match your criteria will appear in the list below.
  4. Select Recipients: The contacts are divided into two lists. Move the contacts you wish to text from the left list ("Discarded Contacts") to the right list ("Selected Contacts"). You can move individual contacts or all of them using the arrow buttons.
  5. Confirm Selection: Once your "Selected Contacts" list is finalized, click the Continue with Selected Contacts button at the bottom of the page.

Part 3: Configuring and Sending the SMS

The final step is to configure the message details and schedule the send time.

  1. Set Action to SMS: On the campaign configuration screen, click the Action dropdown and select SMS.
  2. Select Phone Field: Choose which phone number field from the contact record the SMS should be sent to (e.g., phone).
  3. Choose 'From' Number: In the From Number field, select the phone number you want the text message to be sent from.
  4. Select or Create a Template:
    • Select: Choose a pre-existing message from the Template dropdown.
    • Create New: If you need a new message, click the plus (+) icon next to the dropdown. In the window that appears, fill in the Name, Body (the content of your SMS), and set the Type to SMS. Click Save. The new template will be automatically selected.
  5. Schedule the Campaign: You have two options for sending:
    • Now: To send the campaign immediately, select the Now button.
    • Later: To schedule for a future time, select the Later button. A calendar and time selector will appear. Choose your desired date and time.

    Important Note on Time Zones: The scheduler uses the time zone of the computer you are currently using. Be sure to account for any time zone differences between you and your recipients.

  6. Launch the Campaign: Once all settings are correct, click the Schedule Campaign Run button. The campaign is now queued and will send at the time you specified.