How to schedule bulk SMS campaigns by date and time

Scheduling an SMS means choosing in advance the exact day and time it will reach your customers, instead of sending it the moment the campaign is built. For a company that sends reminders, collections notices or promotions, it is the difference between a message that arrives when it matters and one that arrives at the wrong hour.

When scheduling makes sense

Scheduling helps whenever timing matters as much as content: payment reminders ahead of a due date, appointment notices, campaigns tied to commercial dates and announcements prepared days earlier. To plan the year, the 2026-2027 key dates calendar for SMS campaigns in Mexico (in Spanish) is a good starting point.

Step by step

1. Prepare the list and the message. Upload your contacts, personalize the text and check how many segments each message will use. Our guide to sending bulk SMS from Excel or CSV covers this step.
2. Choose the sender. Brand name, short code or long number, depending on the goal.
3. Set date and time. In the bulk SMS platform panel you can send right away or schedule the campaign for later.
4. Review before confirming. Check the preview, the time zone and the total number of recipients.
5. Follow up. Review the delivery reports once the campaign has gone out.

Best practices for choosing the time

There is no perfect hour for every audience, so measure. These guidelines help you start:

• Avoid very late or very early hours. A commercial message at the wrong time causes annoyance and opt-outs.
• For payment or appointment reminders, send early enough for the customer to act, not at the moment of the deadline.
• If you serve customers in several time zones, schedule by group so each person receives it at a reasonable hour.
• For very large volumes, schedule sending in windows and warn the support team in advance.
• Test two time slots with small groups and compare responses before sending to the whole base.

Compliance and consent

Scheduling does not change the rules: send commercial messages only to people who consented and honor opt-out requests. See our overview of SMS marketing regulations in Mexico and, if you send advertising, consider Profeco’s Public Registry to Avoid Advertising (REPEP).

Common mistakes

The most frequent ones are scheduling without checking the time zone, forgetting that content arrives unchanged days later (expired prices, dates or offers) and not verifying delivery. If a message does not arrive, why an SMS is not delivered helps you find the cause.

Frequently asked questions

See also: Buen Fin 2026: how to prepare your SMS campaigns to sell more without overwhelming customers

Sources

• Profeco: Registro Público para Evitar Publicidad (REPEP), FAQ (Spanish)