---
title: "Marketing Messages"
date: "2024-02-14T06:18:38+00:00"
summary: "Create personalized content across channels with Marketing Messages. Optimize communication based on contact preferences and frequency rules."
image:
type: "page"
url: "/campaign-studio/marketing-messages"
id: "423c15af-c9b8-45a3-b0d1-f9c4f514c509"
---

The _Marketing Messages_ feature in the **Channels** section is one of the ways Campaign Studio can optimize and personalize your communication with contacts. With marketing messages, contacts receive your content on a channel they have set as their preference.

Campaign Studio users can create content to send through one or more channels, such as Email, Text messages, Web Notification, and Mobile Push Notification. If a contact’s channel preference is set on the contact record, Campaign Studio sends the appropriate content on the preferred channel by using the **Send Marketing Message** action in a campaign.

If the contact has not specified a preferred channel, Campaign Studio considers Email as the default channel. If a contact has reached frequency rules or paused communication, Campaign Studio sends the message by using another opted-in channel with the highest permissible frequency.

Prerequisites 
--------------

Before you start using the Marketing Messages feature, you must complete the following:

1.  In the [**Unsubscribe Settings**](/node/56799/#section-unsubscribe-settings), enable the **Show contact’s preferred channel option.**
2.  Create a [preference center landing page](/campaign-studio/preference-center-landing-page "Preference center landing page") with the **Preferred Channel** block configured for your needs.
3.  Enable the channels that you want to use for marketing messages:
    *   Email is enabled by default
    *   [Text messages](/campaign-studio/text-messages "Text Messages") using the [Twillio](Twillio) plugin
    *   Web Notification using the OneSignal plugin
    *   Mobile Push Notification using the OneSignal plugin

Note

The Marketing Messages page only displays the tabs for channels that you have enabled in Campaign Studio.

Setting up a marketing message
------------------------------

1.  Log in to Campaign Studio.
2.  In the left navigation pane, click **Channels** > **Marketing Messages**.
3.  On the Marketing Messages page, click **+New**.
4.  In **Name**, enter a name for the marketing message.
5.  In **Description**, enter a description for the marketing message.
6.  For all of the channels that you want to use for this marketing message, do the following:
    1.  Click the tab for the channel that you want to use, and set the **Enabled?** toggle to **Yes.**
    2.  Verify a green check mark next to the name of the channel.
7.  In the **Message** dropdown field, select the content.
    
    If you have not already created the content, you can select **Create New** from the dropdown and create the content that you want to use. 
    
    Important
    
    When an email is selected, the status of **Send to unsubscribed contacts** is displayed based on the setting on the **Advanced** tab on the Emails page. For more information, see [Transactional and marketing emails](/campaign-studio/transactional-and-marketing-emails "Transactional and marketing emails").
    
8.  **Categories**: (_Optional_) Group various resource types to different organizational classifications such as marketing strategies, topics, or departments. For more information, visit [Categories](https://docs.acquia.com/campaign-studio/settings/categories).
9.  **Projects**: (_Optional_) Group and manage all related entities within a dedicated, centralized workspace. For more information, visit [Projects](https://docs.acquia.com/campaign-studio/projects).
10.  In **Published**, set the **Yes/No** toggle bar to publish or unpublish a marketing message. If it is unpublished, it is not sent.
11.  (_Optional_) In **Publish at**, set the date and time you want the marketing message to publish. This helps to control relevance, and does not require you to manually publish a marketing message at the right time.
     
     To schedule a marketing message to publish at a specified date and time:
     
     1.  Click the **Publish at (date/time)** box and select your preferred date and time from the Date and Time picker.
     2.  Set **Published** to **Yes**.
         
         Campaign Studio marks the marketing message as **Pending** and publishes it at the scheduled date and time.
         
12.  (_Optional_) In **Unpublish at**, set the date and time you want a marketing message to unpublish. This helps to control relevance, and does not require you to manually unpublish a marketing message at the right time.
     
     To schedule a published marketing message to unpublish at a specified date and time:
     
     1.  Click the **Unpublish at (date/time)** box and select your preferred date and time from the Date and Time picker.
         
         Campaign Studio unpublishes the marketing message at the scheduled date and time.
         

Important

The Date and Time picker shows the date and time according to the default timezone set for your user’s profile in [System Settings](/campaign-studio/settings/configurations). Therefore, before scheduling a marketing message to publish or unpublish, you must check the default timezone.

1.  After your marketing message is created with channels and content selected, click **Save & Close**.

Sending marketing messages
--------------------------

You can send marketing messages through a campaign.

1.  Log in to Campaign Studio.
2.  In the left navigation pane, click **Campaigns**.
3.  Create a new campaign or edit an existing campaign.
4.  Click **Launch Campaign Builder**.
    
    Campaign Studio displays the campaign builder.
    
5.  Select **Action** > **Send marketing message**.
6.  Provide the following details:
    *   **Name**: Specify a name for the action. This helps you and other users easily identify the action when viewing the builder or reports. Acquia recommends a pattern, such as _Text messages: Name of message_.
    *   **Execute this event…**: Select the time period when Campaign Studio needs to perform the event. For more information, see [scheduling actions](/campaign-studio/campaigns#actions-1).
        *   If the contact's preferred channel is email and you schedule the marketing message to send an email that falls in the pause communication date range and conflicts with your previously configured pause communication configuration, the system displays a notification. For more information, visit **Settings** > **Configurations** > [**Email Settings**](/node/56799#email-settings).
        *   To control communications during the paused period, additional pause communications preferences can be configured at the individual email level from the [Advanced](https://docs.acquia.com/node/56754#advanced-tab) tab.
    *   **Select a marketing message**: Select the marketing message that you want your contacts to receive through a channel they have set as their preference. If you have not yet created the message you want to send, select **Create new** and create the message.
7.  Click **+Add**.