Initial Message Sending Window

In ThruText, the initial message sending window (IMSW) controls when your message senders can begin and stop sending the first message in a conversation. Setting this window accurately helps ensure messages are delivered on time and within the intended scope of your campaign.

This guide explains how to set and edit the IMSW, what it controls, and how it interacts with message throughput.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Initial Message Sending Window
  • Where to Set the IMSW
  • What the IMSW Does
    • Time Zone
    • What the IMSW Does Not Control
    • How Start and End Times Are Calculated
  • Editing the IMSW on an Active Campaign
  • Viewing Initial Messages Outside of the IMSW
  • The IMSW and Throughput
    • Per Minute Rate Limit Example
    • Per Day Rate Limit Example
    • Recommendations

Where to Set the IMSW

The initial message sending window is set in the first step of campaign creation. From the left sidebar navigation menu, expand ThruText, then expand Campaigns, and click Create New Campaign.

What the IMSW Does

The initial message sending window controls when initial messages, the first message in each conversation, can be sent. This window is defined by the Start Date and End Date. 

• Start Date: Controls the first date that initial messages can be sent. 
  • If this date is in the future, message senders added to the campaign will not be able to send the initial message until this date. If you want to start texting right away, the start date can be in the past.
  • You can edit the Start Date after launching the campaign.
• End Date: Controls when initial messages can no longer be sent. 
  • For example, if you are texting about a specific event, set the End Date for the time of the event to avoid starting conversations after it has passed. 
  • You can extend the End Date after launching the campaign if you need additional time to send initial messages.

Time Zone

The Start and End Date are controlled by the Time Zone selected. Select the time zone your contacts are in, and set all of the Dates and Times to ensure they are not contacted at inappropriate times. 

What the IMSW Does Not Control

The IMSW only controls when initial messages can be sent. It does not control

• When incoming replies can be received
• When outgoing replies can be sent 
• When outgoing followups can be sent

How Start and End Times Are Calculated

The Daily Open Time and Daily Close Time control when the campaign will be accessible to message senders. ThruText will take into account both times for assignments.

• Start Sending: ThruText will use whichever time is later between the Start Date and Daily Open Time to determine when sending begins on the Start Date.
• End Sending: ThruText will use whichever time is earlier between the End Date and Daily Close Time to determine when sending ends on the End Date.

Editing the IMSW on an Active Campaign

You can edit the initial message sending window on an active campaign. To do so, simply click Edit from the Active Campaign Summary page, edit the times, and click Save.

Viewing Initial Messages Outside of the IMSW

Outside of the IMSW, message senders cannot see initial messages in the User Messenger. However, users with access to the Admin Messenger can still view initial messages. 

To access the Admin Messenger, go to the ThruText Campaign Summary page, click Conversations, and then click on a sender's name/assignment.

In the admin messenger, you will see an Initial Messages tab here:

After the end date, initial message can not be sent. However, before the start date, initial messages can be sent, but they are queued. Queued messages are held until the Start Date arrives, at which point they are sent.

The IMSW and Throughput

Carriers enforce limits on how many text message segments you can send to users of a particular mobile carrier per minute or per day. ThruText uses the initial message sending window to determine how messages will be sent and queued when they observe a rate limit. You can read more about throughput and rate limits here: 10DLC Sending Limits - Throughput and Queuing.

Carriers enforce rate limits that dictate how many messages an organization can send per minute or per day. ThruText adheres to these rate limits by queueing any messages that exceed the allowed rate. Queued messages are held until capacity becomes available and are then sent. Messages stay in this queue as long as the IMSW is open, and will retry when capacity becomes available. If your campaign reaches the end date and there are messages remaining in the queue, these messages will be marked 'sending failed' and can no longer be sent from that campaign.

Per Minute Rate Limit Example

For example, if you are sending 10,000 MMS messages to AT&T users and your rate limit allows 1,000 MMS messages per minute, the system will take 10 minutes to send all your messages.

Per Day Rate Limit Example

Here's another example with a per-day rate limit. T-Mobile enforces a limit on the number of text message segments you can send to their users in a given day. 

If you are sending 15,000 segments to T-Mobile users and your rate limit allows 10,000 messages per day, the system will send 10,000 on the first day, and 5,000 will get queued. On the second day, the rate limit capacity will refresh, and the 5,000 messages that were queued will go out. 

Now consider how ThruText will handle these messages based on the length of the IMSW:

• 1 day: If the Start date is 1/23/25 9 AM and the End Date is 1/23/25 9 PM, the IMSW is 1 day. In this example, the 5,000 segments that are queued will be marked as "failed" on 1/23/25 9 PM.
• 1+ day: If the Start date is 1/23/25 9 AM and the End Date is 1/25/25 9 PM, the IMSW is 3 days. In this example, 10,000 segments are sent on 1/23/25 and the 5,000 segments remaining in the queue will deliver on the following day, 1/24/25.

Recommendations

Queued messages can affect when and whether contacts receive your outreach. Consider the following best practices:

• Timing: Send messages earlier in the day to give them more time to deliver within carrier rate limits. MMS messages, for example, have lower rate limits than SMS messages and will take longer to send. 
• Setting the IMSW: Some text messages are time-sensitive and would not be appropriate to deliver after the intended date. In this case, keep the IMSW shorter to ensure that queued messages will not deliver after the end date. If your text messages aren't time-sensitive, extending the IMSW ensures messages can be delivered when there is more capacity.

To track message delivery status, you can view the status of a message by creating an account-level or campaign export of the messages. This allows you to track the progress and outcome of your messages.