How to Send Bulk SMS in Sparkforge (Compliance + Best Practices)

Bulk SMS is a high-conversion channel when you respect the rules and write like a person. This guide covers the compliance basics for US and Canada, the tactics that protect your sender reputation, and the three send modes Sparkforge offers.

SMS Compliance Basics

• Get consent before adding anyone to an SMS campaign.
• Identify yourself and your business by name in the message.
• If it's the first message, or it's been 90+ days since you last messaged, include an opt-out clause: Reply STOP to opt out.
• If someone replies STOP, mark them DND and remove them from future campaigns. Don't message them again.

Tactics That Work

• Greet by first name with the merge field {{contact.first_name}}.
• Cap bulk SMS at roughly once per month per contact.
• Send during reasonable local hours.
• Use a strong, specific offer — and ideally something free or low-commitment.
• Keep messages short. Skip exclamation-point spam and formal phrasing.
• Ask one direct question to spark a reply. Don't stack questions.
• Avoid links where possible — they hurt deliverability and bypass the conversation that converts.
• Only send when you can reply quickly. People who get fast responses convert; people who get nothing assume it was spam.
• Expect unsubscribes. Honor them and move on.

Bad example

"Hello, this is Ashley from Bob's Fitness. We're the best gym in town! All our members are models! It's $175/month to join with a $150 new member fee. We have lots of spots — hope you can afford it! We also offer training, classes, sauna, ice baths, and many other add-ons!"

Good example

"Hi {{contact.first_name}}, this is Ashley from Bob's Fitness. We're giving out a few 10-day passes — want one? Reply STOP to opt out."

How to Send Bulk SMS in Sparkforge

1. Filter your list. Smart Lists is the cleanest way to slice the audience.
2. Click the Send SMS button.
3. Click OK, Proceed.
4. Type your message and title the action for internal tracking.
5. Pick a send mode (below).

Send mode 1: Send all at once

One-shot announcement to the whole list. Use it when you don't expect responses and want it out the door immediately.

Send mode 2: Send all at scheduled time

Same one-shot, but set a future send time in the Start On field. Useful for time-zone-aware sends or off-hours queueing.

Send mode 3: Drip mode

Batches the send across a window. Use this when you expect responses and need to keep up with replies.

• Start On: day and time the drip begins.
• Batch Quantity: messages sent each cycle.
• Repeat After: wait time between batches.
• Send On: days of the week the system can send.
• Process Between Hours: daily window the batches run inside.

Drip example

Database reactivation, Black Friday weekend promo:

• Action name: Database Reactivation: Black Friday Weekend Promo
• Start On: November 29
• Batch Quantity: 10
• Repeat After: 3 minutes
• Send On: Mon–Sun
• Process Between: 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Result: 100 messages per day, sent in 10-message batches across a 30-minute window — slow enough to handle replies in real time.