Creating & Managing SMS Campaigns:
Turn Lists into
Conversations

SMS Campaigns are how you reach your existing contact list — re-engagement sends, promotional offers, job alerts, event reminders. With dynamic keyword personalization and OTTO reply automations, one send creates hundreds of individual conversations automatically.

SMS CampaignsBulk SMSDynamic KeywordsReply Automations

What It IsA one-to-many outbound send — one message template (personalized per contact) sent to a list simultaneously, with OTTO handling every reply.

The DifferenceDynamic keywords make every message individual. Reply automations mean every YES becomes a qualified lead — no manual reply handling.

When to Use ItRe-engagement of aged leads, seasonal promotions, job alerts, event reminders, list-building follow-ups — any scenario where you’re reaching a list you already own.

SMS Campaigns are the outbound engine — Lead Collectors handle inbound. Together, they cover the full lifecycle: capture new contacts through OTTO funnels, then reach them with personalized bulk sends when you have something to say.

Creating a Campaign

Go to SMS Campaigns → Create Campaign

Select the SMS Campaign number you’ll send from — must be the same number assigned to your reply automation collector

Select your contact list

The list you’re sending to. Ensure all contacts have valid, consented phone numbers — unconsented sends violate TCPA.

Write your message with dynamic keyword placeholders

Use {{first_name}}, {{city}}, {{service}} — variables pulled from your list’s column headers. Preview with real contact data before sending.

Select reply automation collector (optional but recommended)

Connects OTTO to the reply side — YES replies trigger qualification automatically, STOP replies suppress instantly, Spanish replies activate Language Funnel.

✓

Send now or schedule — OTTO handles every reply from the moment it goes out

Review the report in Reports → SMS Campaign Interactions to see deliveries, replies, and qualified leads.

Dynamic Keyword Personalization

Generic blasts get ignored. A message that says “Hi Sarah — you asked about HVAC in Baltimore back in March, we have a special running” performs at 3× the reply rate of a generic send. Dynamic keywords make this automatic across thousands of contacts in one send.

❌ Generic blast

✓ Dynamic keyword campaign

Hey there — here’s our spring offer. Reply YES if interested.

Hi Sarah — you asked about HVAC in March. Spring AC special in Baltimore this week. Still interested?

✗Same message to each contact regardless of history

✓Name · service · location · timing — all personalized per contact

✗High opt-out rates from irrelevant messages

✓Relevant message = lower opt-outs, higher reply rate

Reply Automations

Attach a Lead Collector to your campaign as the reply automation. When a contact replies YES, OTTO runs the qualification flow. When they reply STOP, they’re suppressed immediately. When they reply in Spanish, the Language Funnel activates. All automatic — no manual inbox monitoring required.

✓ Same number rule

The campaign send number and the reply automation collector number must match. Replies go back to the number they came from — OTTO can only intercept them if that number is assigned to the configured collector.

Go Deeper

📖 Related Insight

Digital Graveyard: Resurrecting Aged Leads and Maximizing ROI

The re-engagement playbook: aged lead segments, dynamic keyword personalization, OTTO reply automations, multi-touch sequences.

Read the Insight →

▶ Next Step

Accessing Campaign Reporting

After your first send, here’s how to read delivery data, reply rates, and qualified lead output.

Read the KB Article →

🏢 Industry Use Case

Mass Texting with Dynamic Keyword Personalization

How retail and member organizations send personalized bulk SMS at scale — using dynamic keywords to vary content per contact.

Read the Use Case →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which number do I send a campaign from?

The SMS Campaign number — and it must be the same number assigned to your reply-automation collector.

How do I personalize a campaign?

With dynamic keywords like name, city, and service; a personalized message can earn roughly 3× the reply rate of a generic blast.

How are replies handled?

Attach a Lead Collector as the reply automation: a YES runs OTTO qualification, and STOP suppresses the contact immediately.

UpdatedMay 24, 2026

Creating & Managing SMS Campaigns:Turn Lists intoConversations

Creating a Campaign

Dynamic Keyword Personalization

Reply Automations

Frequently Asked Questions

Creating & Managing SMS Campaigns:
Turn Lists into
Conversations