You've just joined Sakari, or added a new outbound Sender, or you've made changes to an existing Sender and want to test if it works.  Follow the steps below to ensure you get the feedback you need.

1. Configure a Group

All outbound numbers (Senders) in Sakari must be aligned to a dedicated Group in Sakari to be selected for messaging.  Please complete the configuration steps in the following articles:

• Multiple numbers and users in Sakari (Groups)
• Create and Manage Groups 

2. Complete registration

Sender + message registration is required in the US and UK.

• US local numbers - see 10DLC FAQ
• US toll-free numbers - see Toll-Free (US and CA) Verification Overview
• UK +44 numbers and Alphanumeric Sender IDs - please complete this form

Domestic carriers are more likely to block messages sent from unregistered Senders.

3. Send directly from Sakari

Eliminate unnecessary variables by sending test messages directly from Sakari. 

Messages sent via an integration (from the contact record or via an automation) are forwarded to the SMS carriers via the exact same route as messages sent directly from Sakari. 

• The software platform in which a message is created does not affect deliverability in any way
• Sending a message via an automation or from the contact record in an integration does not affect deliverability in any way
• Testing deliverability via an integration and/or an automation introduces variables in creating messages in Sakari
• Message creation errors can be easily misinterpreted as a delivery failure

After confirming successful outbound and inbound messages directly in Sakari, you can go ahead and test a workflow from an integrated platform.

4. Set up a List of multiple test contacts

Send the message to a variety of recipients who can independently verify receipt.

Deliverability to one number does not accurately reflect overall deliverability, as the variability in mobile phone manufacturers, number providers, carriers, and networks used to deliver SMS messages is always a factor.

1. Identify a small group of colleagues who are happy to receive SMS and with whom you can independently verify deliverability
2. Create Contacts in Sakari for their numbers (if they don't already exist)

3. Create a List in Sakari containing these Contacts and send a Quick Campaign

   OR

4. Use the Quick Send feature and add each Contact as you would to an email

See also: Set up a test group using a List

5. Archive existing Conversations

Archive all Conversations in Sakari with the number to which you're sending the test message before sending the message.  Sending multiple test messages?  Archive the Conversation(s) between each message.

Unless otherwise instructed, Sakari defaults to sending messages to a Contact from the same outbound number that an active Conversation with them started from.  Archiving the Conversation prevents this.

6. Use a business-related message

• Avoid using one-word messages like 'test' or 'hello' as carriers may filter these as SPAM.
• If you were required to complete registration with your domestic SMS carriers via Sakari, please use message content similar to that you registered.  
• As long as your message is under 160 characters (one segment) and contains no Unicode characters, there's no difference in cost between sending a single word and a business-related message.
• Sending the same one-word message may also trigger Sakari's duplicate checker and filter your test message without sending it to the carriers!

For more guidance on best practices for SMS deliverability, please see our article SMS Deliverability Guidelines.