Tutorials
Build your first blast Email and SMS
Step-by-step guide to creating and sending email and SMS blasts
SupporterBase makes it easy to send bulk communications to your supporters via Email Blasts or SMS Blasts.
| Role | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Admins and Group Captains | Draft, edit, approve, and send without extra approvals |
| Vice-Captains | Draft and submit for approval. Admins and captains will be notified to review, edit, and approve |
Email blasts
Create a new email blast
In the left-hand menu, go to Email Blasts > Create New Email Blast.
Choose your recipient category:
- Group Members
- Select your Supporter Group.
- (Optional) Target by levels of engagement (see Making sense of filtering tools).
- (Optional) Target by tag filters (see Making sense of filtering tools).
- Event RSVPs/Attendees
- Select the Supporter Group.
- Choose the relevant event.
- For past events, you can target: all RSVPs, attendees only, or non-attendees only.
Draft your email
- Fill in the sender name, email title/subject, and email content.
- Click Create Email Blast.
For more information on email options, see the Advanced Email guide.
Send or schedule
- Admins/Captains: choose to Send now or Schedule. You can later cancel, edit, or delete.
- Vice-Captains: click Submit for Approval. Admins/captains will be notified to review and send.
SMS blasts
Create a new SMS blast
In the left-hand menu, go to SMS Blasts > Create New SMS Blast.
Choose your recipient category:
- Group Members
- Select your Supporter Group.
- (Optional) Target by engagement level, tag filters, or advanced filters.
- Event RSVPs/Attendees
- Select the Supporter Group.
- Choose the relevant event.
Draft your SMS
Enter your message in the Body field, then click Create SMS Blast.
Review and send
- Review your content and recipient list.
- (Optional) Send a test SMS.
- Edit, delete, or confirm send / schedule send.
- Vice-Captains: submit for approval. Admins/captains will be notified.
Troubleshooting SMS blasts
Recipient numbers lower than expected?
If your recipient count looks too low, check your configuration settings.
Go to Settings > Configurations > General and review these options:
- Toggle Apply NationBuilder contact preferences
- Toggle Send SMS to numbers entered as "home phone" by mistake
- Wait for the SupporterBase/NationBuilder sync to complete, or manually trigger by selecting the green Sync People from NationBuilder button (top of group page).
