Before a texting program sends its first real message, a handful of things need to be confirmed, or you risk launching into filtering, violations, or a preventable mistake. A launch checklist turns "are we ready?" into a concrete set of yes-or-no items. Here's what to confirm before you send, grouped by what it protects: deliverability, compliance, and quality.
The deliverability checklist
Confirm your messages will actually land:
- 10DLC registration complete, brand and campaign, on the political use case.
- Campaign Verify token obtained and attached, for the political lane and throughput.
- Branded link domain set up, not a public shortener that draws filtering.
- A test send to yourself and a few numbers, to confirm delivery before blasting.
The compliance checklist
Confirm you're on the right side of the rules:
- A consented list, every number opted in, with records, no bought or raw voter-file numbers.
- Automatic opt-out handling, STOP and HELP, including human-worded opt-outs, plus a cross-campaign suppression list.
- Quiet hours configured by recipient local time, tightened to the strictest state you text.
- Sender identification in every message, and any required disclaimer.
- Record retention on, for opt-ins, sends, and opt-outs.
The quality checklist
Confirm the send is good:
- The message is clear, one ask, no typos, a working link.
- The audience is right, segmented to the people the message is for, not the whole list.
- An approval step has happened, someone checked message and compliance before sending. See managing a texting team.
- Timing is right, inside quiet hours, at a sensible moment.
Why use a checklist?
Because the failures that sink texting programs are avoidable and predictable, exactly what a checklist catches. Most texting crises and compliance problems trace to a skipped step: an unregistered sender, a missing opt-out setup, an unreviewed send with a bad link. A launch checklist makes those steps explicit so none gets forgotten in the rush, and running it before every major send, not just the first, keeps a program clean as it scales. It's a two-minute discipline that prevents the mistakes that cost far more than two minutes to fix.
Frequently asked questions
What should you check before launching a texting program?
Deliverability items (10DLC and Campaign Verify registration, a branded link domain, a test send), compliance items (a consented list with records, automatic opt-out/HELP handling, quiet hours, sender ID, record retention), and quality items (clear message, right audience, an approval step, good timing).
Why use a texting launch checklist?
Because the failures that sink programs, unregistered senders, missing opt-out setup, unreviewed sends with bad links, are avoidable and predictable. A checklist makes each step explicit so none gets forgotten in the rush.
Should you run the checklist for every send?
Yes, at least the compliance and quality items. Most texting crises trace to a skipped step, and running the checklist before every major send keeps a program clean as it scales. It's a two-minute discipline.
Keep reading: building a texting program from scratch and managing a texting team. For carrier registration, see The Campaign Registry.