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SMS blasts put your message directly on your fan’s phone screen. With a 98% open rate (compared to ~20% for email), text messages are your most powerful tool for time-sensitive announcements. Use them wisely, use them sparingly, and they’ll drive incredible results.

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Before You Start

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Prerequisites

Before you can send an SMS blast, you need:
  1. A provisioned phone number — set this up on the Integrations page. Fanaura provisions toll-free numbers that can send at 1,200 messages per minute.
  2. Opted-in fans — you need fans who have explicitly opted in to receive SMS messages from you. Fanaura enforces this strictly. Only fans with SMS opt-in consent will receive your blast.
If you haven’t set up SMS yet, head to the Integrations page and follow the phone number provisioning flow first.

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Step 1: Start a New Blast

  1. Navigate to the Blasts page from the sidebar
  2. Click the Blasts tab
  3. Click New Blast
  4. Select SMS as your blast type

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Step 2: Audience Selection

Choose which fans receive your text message.

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Targeting Options

The same powerful targeting you get with email blasts:
  • All opted-in fans — every fan who has consented to SMS
  • Fan lists — curated groups (e.g., “VIP List,” “Austin Fans”)
  • Location filters — target fans in specific cities, states, or countries
  • VIP tier — Diamond, Gold, Silver, or Bronze fans
  • Engagement filters — fans who engaged with your last campaign
  • Activity filters — fans who presaved, bought merch, RSVPed, etc.

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SMS Opt-In Enforcement

This is important: only fans with sms_opt_in = true will receive the message. Even if you select “All Fans,” Fanaura automatically filters out anyone who hasn’t opted in to SMS. The estimated recipient count reflects this — it only counts opted-in fans who match your filters.

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Estimated Recipient Count

As you adjust your audience filters, the recipient count updates in real time. This number represents the actual fans who will receive a text message.

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Step 3: Message Composition

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Writing Your Message

Keep it short, personal, and actionable. You’re landing in someone’s text messages — that’s intimate territory. Great SMS blast examples:
Hey ! New single “Midnight Drive” drops this Friday. Presave now and you might get a surprise: fan.fanaura.com/yourname/midnight-drive
NASHVILLE — just added a second show on March 15. Tickets are live: [link]
Flash sale! 30% off all merch for the next 24 hours. Code: LOYALTY. Shop: [link]
Thank you for being part of this journey, . The album is done. Announcement coming tomorrow.

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Character Counter

SMS messages are sent in 160-character segments. The character counter at the bottom of the composer shows you:
  • Current character count
  • Number of segments your message will use
  • Cost implication (each segment is billed separately)
A message under 160 characters sends as 1 segment. A 200-character message sends as 2 segments. Keep this in mind for cost efficiency. Pro tip: Try to keep your messages under 320 characters (2 segments). Short and punchy performs best in SMS.

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Merge Tags

Personalize your text messages with the same merge tags available in email:
TagWhat it inserts
{fan_first_name}The fan’s first name
{artist_name}Your artist name
{latest_title}Your most recent release title
Merge tags count toward your character limit based on the average length of the inserted data. Any URL you include in your message is automatically shortened to save characters. Long links like https://fan.fanaura.com/yourartist/midnight-drive become compact short links that still track clicks.

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Step 4: Review and Send

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Review Screen

Before sending, you’ll see a summary of:
  • Recipient count — exactly how many fans will receive the text
  • Message preview — your full message with merge tags shown as sample data
  • Segment count — how many SMS segments per message
  • Estimated delivery time — how long it will take based on your audience size

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Confirm and Send

  1. Review all details carefully
  2. Click Send to begin delivery immediately
  3. Confirm in the dialog that appears
Your blast begins sending right away.

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Delivery and Throughput

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How Fast Do Messages Send?

Fanaura uses toll-free numbers that send at 1,200 messages per minute. Here’s what that means for different audience sizes:
Audience SizeEstimated Delivery Time
500 fansUnder 1 minute
1,000 fansAbout 1 minute
5,000 fansAbout 4 minutes
10,000 fansAbout 8 minutes
15,000 fansAbout 13 minutes
30,000 fansAbout 25 minutes

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Batched Sending

Behind the scenes, Fanaura handles all the complexity of batched sending:
  1. Your message is queued in the campaign system
  2. Messages are sent in batches of up to 1,200 per minute
  3. Each batch respects the carrier rate limits
  4. Progress updates appear in real time on the campaign detail page
  5. When all batches are complete, the campaign is marked as “Completed”
You don’t need to do anything — just click send and Fanaura handles the rest. Go grab a coffee while it does its thing.

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Delivery Status

Each message in your campaign has a status:
  • Queued — waiting to be sent in the next batch
  • Sent — message has been dispatched to the carrier
  • Delivered — carrier confirmed delivery to the fan’s phone
  • Failed — message could not be delivered (bad number, carrier block, etc.)

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SMS Compliance

Fanaura takes SMS compliance seriously. Here’s what you need to know:

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Opt-In Required

You can only send SMS blasts to fans who have explicitly opted in. Fanaura enforces this at the platform level — there’s no way to override it. Fans opt in through:
  • Smart link forms (checking the SMS consent box)
  • Fan signup forms
  • Keyword opt-in (texting a keyword to your number)

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Opt-Out Handling

When a fan texts STOP to your number:
  • They are immediately opted out
  • They receive a confirmation: “You have been unsubscribed. Reply START to re-subscribe.”
  • They will not receive any future SMS blasts
  • Their opt-out is recorded with a timestamp for compliance

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Required Disclosures

When fans opt in, Fanaura’s data wrapper screens include:
  • What messages they’ll receive (marketing, promotional)
  • Approximate frequency
  • “Message and data rates may apply”
  • How to opt out (reply STOP)
  • Links to your privacy policy and terms of service

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TCPA Compliance

Fanaura’s SMS system is designed to comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA):
  • Prior express written consent required
  • Clear opt-in and opt-out mechanisms
  • Consent timestamps stored for every fan
  • Honoring opt-out requests immediately

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What Happens Next

After your SMS blast sends:
  • Real-time progress appears on the blast detail page
  • Delivery stats update as carrier confirmations come in
  • Fan replies appear in your Inbox (on the Blasts page, Inbox tab)
  • Full analytics are available once delivery completes — see the Blast Analytics guide

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Best Practices

  • Less is more. Don’t send SMS blasts more than 2-3 times per month. Every text should feel special, not spammy.
  • Time it right. Send between 10 AM and 8 PM in your fans’ timezones. Nobody wants a promotional text at 2 AM.
  • Lead with value. Every SMS should give the fan something — early access, exclusive content, a discount, breaking news.
  • One link maximum. SMS is not the place for multiple CTAs. One message, one action, one link.
  • Keep it conversational. Write like you’re texting a friend, not writing a press release. “Hey! New single drops Friday, wanted you to hear it first” beats “We are pleased to announce our forthcoming release.”
  • Use merge tags. A text that starts with your fan’s name feels personal. “Hey Sarah” hits different than “Hey fan.”
  • Watch your segments. Stay under 320 characters when possible. Your message should be readable in a single glance.
  • Reply to responses. When fans text back, they expect a reply. Check your Inbox regularly after a blast.