Recipients and sending options
Use this reference when a message needs more than the basic first-send workflow: a contextual audience, both parents, copies to staff, a template or an attached resource. If you have not sent a message yet, start with Send your first email or SMS.
Choose the right starting point
| Starting point | Intended audience | Check before sending |
|---|---|---|
| New message | A list, people, users or another available audience choice | The To selection, filters and counts |
| A recipient list | Contacts in that list | Source, refresh state and exclusions |
| Form respondents | The relevant responses | Selected rows versus the broader form audience |
| Class or attendance list | Participants in the relevant class/date context | Occurrence, filters and parent/contact selection |
| Membership records | The selected membership audience | Membership and member-selection context |
| A client or invoice | The client concerned by that record | Actual destination and relevant attachments |
| A template’s Send action | The audience you choose for that message | Template content plus the new recipient selection |
Available choices depend on your permissions, organization settings and starting point. Do not assume that leaving all checkboxes clear means “send to nobody,” or that selecting a page selects every result. Inspect the audience carried into the composer before sending.
The composer can offer List, Classes, People, Myself, Users, and Combine, plus other choices enabled for the organization. Use Myself only for a send to your own details. An audience choice and a channel choice are separate decisions.
Choose channels and communication type
Email, SMS, and SMS and email explicitly select channels. Client preferences, when enabled, follows the client’s selected channel, with email as the default without a preference. Missing or invalid contact details can still prevent delivery; do not assume the system will switch to another channel after a delivery failure.
Choose Marketing for promotional content and Non-marketing for operational communication. A marketing opt-out is not the same as an invalid address or another delivery suppression. Non-marketing does not guarantee delivery and should not be used to bypass marketing preferences.
Include the other parent or contact
When the selected workflow offers Send to both parents, use it to include the additional parent/contact information available in the underlying registration or list. For imported contacts, that can be the second contact mapped during import.
The option does not create missing contact information. Check which records and channels have valid details. Class/form workflows may offer their own participant-and-parent selection before the composer opens; review that choice as well.
Add BCC users
Open BCC to select users who should receive a copy. The expanded panel is labeled Blind Carbon Copy.
The copy is prepared for the selected user; it is not necessarily an exact example of every participant’s personalized message. Its registration and placeholder context can differ by workflow and audience. Do not promise that all participant fields will always be present or always be empty. Preview context-sensitive content and use a suitable controlled test before a broad send.
BCC users are additional recipients. Clear them before a test intended only for yourself.
Check sender and reply settings
Open Sender & Reply settings. Email sender identity, email Reply-To, SMS sender number and SMS reply destination are different settings.
- Verify your own email domain when configuring branded email sending.
- Choose an email Reply-To address for responses.
- Check SMS sender and reply numbers. Entering a reply-to mobile does not change the outgoing sender.
Use templates, placeholders and attachments
Use an HTML Template applies designed content to the message. A one-time edited copy should be checked separately from the reusable template. For email, review the subject and any preview text offered by the template workflow. For SMS, review the text and the link to the hosted message.
Quick messages supply reusable text. Placeholders can use recipient, form or class information, but only when that information exists in the send’s context. Preview the result instead of relying on the appearance of the placeholder name in the editor.
Use Attachment or the editor’s link tools for supported forms, URLs, documents, images, videos and certificates. The options vary by context. Check the actual destination and whether the recipient can open it. In standard SMS delivery, media is accessed through a link, not an MMS file. A thumbnail in an email or editor preview does not guarantee a thumbnail on the recipient’s phone.
For an attached form, distinguish the people you selected from conditions such as whether they have already answered it. Review any recipient-filter options displayed for that workflow.
Review length, counts and scheduling
The displayed SMS usage and recipient cost are estimates. Personalization, links, marketing identification/opt-out text, contact validity and actual delivery processing can affect the final result. See SMS, images and message length.
Use Preview before sending. A first test to yourself confirms a useful baseline, but does not validate all recipient-specific placeholders or eligibility rules.
For a later send, use Scheduling messages. Do not assume editing the reusable template will update an already prepared or scheduled send. Inspect the scheduled message itself and follow its available management actions. For a recurring business trigger, use Automation.
After sending, review delivery and engagement before deciding whether a follow-up is needed.