--- title: "Create a campaign: SmartyTap docs | Chargezen" description: "Send a SmartyTap email or text campaign: choose who gets it, write each message, set the send time, check the text cost, schedule it and plan the calendar." url: "https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/campaigns/create-a-campaign" lang: "en" updated: "2026-10-19" --- Canonical URL: https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/campaigns/create-a-campaign # Create a campaign Send a SmartyTap email or text campaign: choose who gets it, write each message, set the send time, check the text cost, schedule it and plan the calendar. Last updated: 2026-10-19 A campaign is a one-time email or text to the lists and segments you choose. One campaign can hold several messages, an email and a text, a follow-up, or a version in another language, each with its own send time. SmartyTap checks the details before anything goes out, so you see the text cost and any problems while you can still fix them. Go to **Campaigns > All campaigns** to see every campaign, or **New campaign** to start one. The campaign opens as a board: your audience on one side, the messages and their send times on the other, and the details of whatever you select on the right. ## Name it and set the goal 1 #### Open Campaign settings Click the gear icon. Under **Name and goal**, type a **Campaign name** and pick a goal: **Sales**, **Leads**, **Traffic**, **Engagement**, **Event registration**, **Product launch** or **Custom**. 2 #### Add the details Under **Campaign details**, add a **Description**, **Tags** and a **Calendar color** so it stands out on the calendar. 3 #### Choose an exit For campaigns with follow-ups, set **After a conversion** > **Stop remaining messages after** to **Someone places an order** or **Someone starts a subscription**, so buyers don't get the reminder. ## Choose who gets it 1 #### Pick a source In the **Audience** column, choose **List** or **Segment**, or **Choose later** to write first. 2 #### Include Under **Include any of these audiences**, add each list or segment with **Add inclusion**. People in any of them get the campaign once. 3 #### Exclude Under **Exclude these audiences**, add groups to leave out, like recent buyers, with **Add exclusion**. 4 #### Check the estimate **Audience estimate** shows how many email and SMS recipients the path reaches. Need different messages for different groups? Add another path, give it a **Path name**, and point each message at its **Audience path**. Use **Message filters** to narrow a single message further. ## Write each message Add an **Email** or **SMS** message. The email tile shows how many mailboxes you can send from; the SMS tile shows **Ready** or **Setup needed**. 1 #### Email setup For an email, open **Campaign setup** and choose the **Sender**, **Sender name** and where **Replies** go (**Smartytap inbox**, a **Specific reply-to email**, or **No reply-to override**). Write the **Subject** (up to 70 characters) and **Preview text** (up to 120). 2 #### Write it Click **Open email composer** or **Open SMS composer**. Personalize with variables like the customer's first name. 3 #### Send a test Use **Send test** to send the email to your own inbox, or the text to a few phone numbers. 4 #### Check the settings On the message's **Settings**, decide on **Track link clicks**, **Tracking parameters** (see [UTM tracking](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/campaigns/utm-tracking)) and, for texts, **Shorten links** and **Quiet hours**. ### Smart Sending Under **Smart Sending**, **Skip people who recently got a message** skips anyone who got an email from another campaign in the last 16 hours, or a text in the last 24 hours. Messages from the same campaign don't count. Leave it on for promotions, and turn it off for news that can't wait, like a shipping delay. ### Quiet hours for texts With **Quiet hours** on, texts wait until quiet hours end in each customer's local time. Set the hours for your workspace in SMS settings under **Quiet Hours Schedule** (**Start Time** and **End Time**). If you turn quiet hours off for a message, texts can go out at night, and the review step warns you. ## Set the send time Click **Edit timing** on a message and choose: * **Send now**: sends as soon as you schedule the campaign. * **Schedule once**: pick a **Scheduled send time** and a **Time basis**, either a **Specific timezone** or **Each recipient's timezone**. See [Local-time sending](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/campaigns/local-time-sending). * **Choose send time**: keeps the message a draft until you decide. A campaign with several messages can use a **Multi-day window** with a **Start** and **End**. ## Review and schedule 1 #### Click Review The review lists the campaign, its window, the audience and every message, marked **Will be scheduled** or **Stays a draft**. 2 #### Fix the checks Under **Scheduling checks**, each problem has a **Resolve** button that takes you to it. When nothing is left you'll see **Ready to schedule**. 3 #### Check the text cost **Text message cost** shows the **Estimated total**, your **SMS credit balance**, texts **Already scheduled** and the **Balance after sending**. Texts are 2 cents per message part. 4 #### Schedule Click **Schedule N messages** (or **Send N messages now**). Scheduling locks the content, recipients and send time. Not ready yet? Click **Save draft** at any time and come back from **All campaigns**. ## Pause, cancel or copy * **Pause campaign** holds messages that haven't sent; **Resume campaign** picks up again. * **Cancel remaining** stops every scheduled or queued message. Messages already sending can finish, and sent messages can't be recalled. * **Manage campaign** has **Clone campaign** (to reuse it), **Archive campaign**, and **Delete campaign** for drafts. ## Plan on the calendar On **All campaigns**, switch from **List** to **Calendar** to see sends by **Month** or **Week**, colored by each campaign's calendar color. Messages without a send time wait in the **Not scheduled** tray. Times show in your workspace time zone. ## FAQ ### Who actually receives it? Everyone in the included audiences, minus the excluded ones, who agreed to that channel and hasn't unsubscribed, and who isn't skipped by Smart Sending. ### What if my SMS credit won't cover the texts? The review warns you and shows the shortfall. Add SMS credit before the send time. ### Campaign or flow? A campaign is one send at a time you choose. A flow runs on its own for each customer when something happens, like an order. See [Anatomy of a flow](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/flows). ## Related **Guides** * [A/B tests](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/campaigns/ab-tests) * [Local-time sending](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/campaigns/local-time-sending) * [Translations](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/campaigns/translations) * [Reports and revenue](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/reports) **On the product page** * [Campaigns that test themselves and respect every inbox](https://chargezen.com/smartytap/campaigns) * [Segments](https://chargezen.com/smartytap/segments) **Learn more** * [What is an SMS campaign?](https://chargezen.com/glossary/sms-campaign) * [What is an SMS segment?](https://chargezen.com/glossary/sms-segment) ### Related Articles [ #### A/B tests Let the campaign pick its best version ](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/campaigns/ab-tests)[ #### Local-time sending Arrive at the same hour wherever customers live ](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/campaigns/local-time-sending)[ #### UTM tracking See which message brought each visit ](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/campaigns/utm-tracking)[ #### Segments Build the groups you send to ](https://chargezen.com/docs/smartytap/audience/segments) Was this page helpful? 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