The Create New Automated Message Campaign page will open.

Step 1: Type in a meaningful campaign name. Then click the purple Save button.

The screen will refresh.

For our example, we created the AMC Pray with Us (blue box above).

Now, we need to EDIT the TRIGGERS (brown box above), so click on it.

Step 2: The Edit Triggers box will pop up. See below for information about each trigger option. When you have set your trigger(s), click on Save (black arrow below).

2a. Brown box above: When someone texts a keyword, they go through the linked data capture process and then are automatically added to the AMC. People who text in the keyword will be added to the relevant group, data capture, and your AMC. *This is the trigger we recommend using in most cases.

Toggle the button on (it will turn purple as in the screenshot below). Click on the SELECT DATA CAPTURE(S) line. A dropdown list will open up. Select the data capture you wish to link to this AMC.

2b. Blue box above: By Group means anyone who is added to the group will trigger the campaign. Any time you add someone NEW to the group selected, they will also be added to the AMC. *Please note if there are contacts in the group BEFORE you select this option, they will NOT be added to the AMC. Only NEW contacts added to the group after this trigger is set up will be added to the AMC.

Click anywhere on the SELECT GROUP line and choose from the dropdown list.

2c. Yellow squiggle: By keyword means anyone who texts your keyword to your number will be entered into this campaign. At the moment, using this option can mean a lag time of up to 3 minutes for the first message. If this first message is a critical, text auto-reply, this may not be desirable. As a result, we recommend Trigger by Data Capture or Trigger by Group.

Step 3: In this step, we will set up the first message in your AMC. Click on Add new (brown box below).

The New Automated Message box will pop up.

Step 4: Completing the New Automated Message box (above).

4a. Brown box above: Entitle your message something that will remind you what that message is for – ex. “1st message sent the Monday after”, or “Thank you for visiting – MONDAY”

4b. Yellow box above: Click on the downward arrow. Choose your Message Type from the dropdown menu.

4c. Blue box above: Click on the downward arrow. Then choose your Timer Settings from the dropdown list. NOTE: This cannot be changed once selected. Here is more information about both options: https://help.pastorsline.com/en/articles/2835603-timer-evergreen-vs-date-based. ***We suggest opening this link in a new tab, so you can more easily return to this article.***

4d. Click on SAVE.

Step 5: You will be returned to the AMC page. As you can see, a new "step" has been added. Now, we are going to actually create the first message in your AMC. Click anywhere on the message bar or the downward arrow on the right-hand side.

Step 6: The next screen you see depends on the timer setting you chose. We will do the two date options first because they are different. Then, we will walk through the rest of the screen which is the same, no matter which option you chose.

Option 1: Evergreen

Select either Send After or Immediately.

1. Send immediately. This setting does just that. It will send that message as soon as the person is added to this campaign. (*Be aware of this if you plan to use any of our integrations to add people to this campaign AND if you have overnight syncing turned on. Your messages could be sent overnight when we sync your accounts).

If you want a series of messages to be sent one after the other on the same day, you must wait at least 3 minutes in between each message for it to send correctly and in the correct order.

2. Send After. This setting allow you to choose how many days, hours, or minutes to "wait", after the person is added to this campaign, before sending the message.

For a full explanation of this option, use this link: https://help.pastorsline.com/en/articles/2793118-how-to-use-the-send-after-x-days-condition-in-an-automated-message-campaign. ***We suggest opening this link in a new tab, so you can more easily return to this article.***

Option 2: Date-based

Select the date and time you want the message sent.

After you choose a date, you will get a pop up to choose the time.

Step 7: Now, let's deal with the remainder of the screen. Remember: this is the same no matter which timer setting you chose.

7a. Brown box above: Choose your “From” number. Default will automatically send the message from whichever number they texted into. If you have multiple numbers, you can also choose to send from a different number. You might want to use this if you want this message to be from a designated “guest services” number or a “pastor’s” number.

7b. Blue box above: Leave it as Subscriber. This means any person who is opting in to your AMC.

Step 8: This step completes the first message of your AMC.

As you can see, there are two sides to this step. The left-hand side is for new, unique users. The right-hand side is for people who are already in this AMC.

This article will explain how the two sides work: https://help.pastorsline.com/en/articles/3119187-how-do-the-left-and-right-sides-of-an-automated-message-campaign-amc-work. ***We suggest opening this link in a new tab, so you can more easily return to this article.***

Type in your desired message, and take advantage of using merge fields (yellow circle above) to personalize your message even more!

As you can see in the screenshot above (black arrow), you have two finishing options.

Save: This saves what you have done and takes you to the Automated Message Campaign Details page. To continue adding messages, click on Edit (brown box below).

Add new: A pop up box will appear, taking you to the next message in your AMC.

Now that you have your AMC, you want people to opt-in. There are three triggers to choose from. Find out about them here. 

One excellent use of an AMC is for guest follow-up. Read here about how to create a guest follow-up workflow.
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