> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.gleantap.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.gleantap.com/campaigns/send-your-first-blast.md). # Send Your First Blast Sending an email or SMS blast in Gleantap takes three parts: 1. **A segment** — who you're sending to (e.g., summer-camp customers). 2. **A template** — what you're sending (or draft it in the campaign itself). 3. **A campaign** — the send itself, tying the segment and template together. You can build them in any order, but the smoothest flow is: **segment → template → campaign**. This page walks through the full sequence with a running example: sending a promo to your summer-camp customers. For deeper reference on each step, follow the links. *** ## Step 1 — Build your audience segment A **segment** is a saved list of contacts matching criteria you define. Building it first means you can reuse it for future blasts and preview the count before sending. **Example:** everyone who bought the "Summer Camp 2026" product in the last 12 months. 1. Go to **Audience → Segments**. 2. Click the green **+** button in the top-right to create a new segment. 3. Name it (e.g., `Summer Camp 2026 attendees`). 4. Set it to **Dynamic** so it stays fresh as new attendees are added. 5. Click **Add Filter**. Under **Purchase Info**, choose **Has Purchased Item**, then select the summer-camp product. Add another filter under **Personal Info → Added On → In Last 365 Days**. 6. Click **Calculate** to see the count. Click **Save**. Deep dive: Creating Segments, Filter Options. **Tip:** if you're not sure how a specific filter behaves (e.g., "less than" excludes null values), see Filter Options → How missing data is handled. *** ## Step 2 — Prepare your template You have three ways to build the content: * **Save a reusable template first** (recommended for anything you'll send again) — go to **Campaigns → Templates → +**, design your email/SMS, save it. Then pick it during campaign creation. * **Draft inline** during campaign creation — for one-offs. * **Duplicate an existing template** — go to Templates, click the three dots on any existing template → Duplicate. For SMS blasts, "template" just means the message body; you can write it directly in the campaign step. **Example:** design an email template `2026-08 Summer Camp Followup` with a subject line, greeting merge tag (`{first_name}`), body copy, and a CTA button. Save it. Deep dive: Creating Templates, Working with Templates. *** ## Step 3 — Create and send the campaign Now you tie the segment and the template together. ### For an email blast 1. Go to **Campaigns → Email Campaigns**. Click the green **+** button. Choose **regular** (or A/B if you want to test variants). 2. **Overview** — name the campaign (internal only, e.g., `2026-08 Summer Camp Blast`). Save & continue. 3. **Content** — set the subject line (use Personalize to add `{first_name}` if you want), pre-header text, and pick your template (or draft plain text / design from scratch). Save & continue. 4. **To** — pick your segment (`Summer Camp 2026 attendees`). Click **Calculate Target Audience** — double-check the count before proceeding. Optionally add exclusion segments. Save & continue. 5. **Review & Send** — * Pick the **From** email (and Reply-to if you want responses to go elsewhere). * Choose **Send ASAP**, **Send Later** (schedule a specific time), or **Intelligent Sending (AI)** — which delivers to each recipient at their most-engaged time. * Click **Send Campaign**. Deep dive: Email Campaign. ### For an SMS blast 1. Go to **Campaigns → SMS Campaigns**. Click the green **+** button. 2. **Message** — name the campaign, pick your From Number, write your message (320-character max). Add merge tags with **Personalize**. Attach an image if needed (costs 2 extra SMS credits per recipient). 3. **Audience** — pick your segment. Confirm the opt-in keyword filter matches your setup. Click **Calculate Target Audience**. 4. **Time/Trigger** — pick **Send ASAP** or **Specific Date & Time**. 5. **Confirm** — a summary shows the send count and any credit overage. Click **Confirm** to send. Deep dive: SMS Campaign. *** ## Before you hit send — a quick checklist * [ ] **Segment count looks right?** Click Calculate. If it's zero, something's off with the filters. See Filter Options → Troubleshooting. * [ ] **Sent yourself a test?** Especially for the email — layout, images, and merge tags render differently in real inboxes. See Sending a Test. * [ ] **Content is compliant?** For SMS, include an opt-out reminder ("Reply STOP to opt out"). For email, ensure the sending domain is authenticated. Content that trips SHAFT-C or spam patterns can silently drop delivery. See SMS Compliance & Deliverability and Best Practices for Email. * [ ] **Quiet Hours?** Automated sends outside your configured quiet-hour window are held; verify your Send time and account timezone. * [ ] **Suppression accounted for?** The final send count = segment count minus suppressed contacts. See Understanding Suppression. *** ## After you send **Watch stats live.** As the campaign begins delivering, open the campaign detail view to see opens, clicks, replies, bounces, and unsubscribes update in real time. * Email deep dive: Email Campaign Stats * SMS deep dive: SMS Campaign Stats **Reply management.** Replies come into your Inbox. See Filtering Conversations to filter to just your campaign's responses. **Duplicate for future blasts.** Once a blast worked well, duplicate it (three-dot menu on the campaign) so you don't rebuild from scratch next month. *** ## Common scenarios ### "I want to send this to summer-camp customers who haven't visited in 30 days" Build a segment combining two filters: * **Purchase Info → Has Purchased Item → Summer Camp product** * **Visit Info → Last Visit → Over Days: 30** Send the campaign to that segment. See Filter Options for operator details. ### "I want to send different content to two subsets" Two options: * **Two separate campaigns** — one per segment. Simple, full control. * **A/B campaign** — one campaign, two variants. Use for testing the same message with tweaks. See A / B Campaign. ### "I want to send this every time a new customer joins that segment" Change **Send ASAP** to **Automated / Ongoing** (email) or **Ongoing** (SMS) in the timing step. New contacts entering the segment will receive it automatically. ### "I want to send from a different email address" The **From** dropdown in Review & Send lists all authenticated sender emails on your account. If the one you want isn't there, set it up in **Configure → Configure Email**. See Configure Email. ### "I sent to the wrong segment — how do I stop it?" Open the campaign and change its status to **Paused**. See Updating Campaign Status. If it's already partway through delivery, you can pause the remainder — the messages already sent can't be recalled. *** ## Related pages * Email Campaign — full detail on the email campaign builder * SMS Campaign — full detail on the SMS campaign builder * Creating Segments — how segments work * Creating Templates — reusable message content * Ongoing vs One Time — when to use each timing option * Sending a Test — always do this before hitting send * Understanding Suppression — why some contacts won't receive --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://help.gleantap.com/campaigns/send-your-first-blast.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.