Personalizing Bulk SMS with Templates and Variables

Bulk doesn't have to mean generic. A message template in SimpliSend can include placeholders - written as {{fieldName}} - that get replaced with each contact's actual data at send time, so "Hi {{firstName}}, your balance is {{balance}}" becomes a genuinely personal message for every single recipient, without writing it a thousand times.

Where the variables come from

Every field mapped when a contact was imported - name, phone number, or any custom field like a membership tier, an account balance, or a last-visit date - is available as a variable in a template. If a contact is missing a value for a variable used in a template, that's worth checking before sending to a large list, since a blank placeholder looks exactly like what it is: a blank spot in an otherwise personal message.

Building a reusable template

Templates are saved and reused across campaigns, so a recurring message - a monthly fee reminder, a weekly special - only needs to be written once. Editing a template later doesn't change messages that have already been sent; it only affects the next campaign that uses it.

Keep it within a normal message length

As covered in our character limits guide, a resolved template - placeholders replaced with real data - counts toward the same 160-character single-SMS limit as any other message. A template that looks like it fits at 155 characters with placeholder text can end up over the limit once a longer name or a multi-digit balance is substituted in for a specific contact, which is worth checking with a long test value before sending broadly.

A few effective template patterns

• "Hi {{firstName}}, your appointment is {{appointmentDate}} at {{appointmentTime}}."
• "Hi {{firstName}}, your account balance is {{balance}} - due {{dueDate}}."
• "{{firstName}}, you have {{points}} loyalty points expiring {{expiryDate}}."
• "Hi {{firstName}}, your order {{orderNumber}} has shipped."

The same templating engine is available through the public API for custom integrations - passing a templateId and a set of variables produces the same personalised result programmatically. See the developer documentation for the exact request format.