Send personalized SMS

Sending personalized SMS works like a mail merge, but per SMS: you upload an Excel list with your recipients and use the column names as %tags% in your message. SMSBOX automatically replaces every tag with the right value per recipient, so everyone gets a personal message from a single template.

Personalization is included as standard with sending SMS online via SMSBOX — without a subscription or setup costs, from €0.06 per SMS, and credits are only consumed on sending. Feel free to combine it with scheduling SMS or with groups from your online phone book.

How to personalize a campaign

Upload your Excel list — Upload your Excel file (.xlsx, max. 2 MB) with a mandatory "mobile" column and freely chosen additional columns.
Use %tags% in your message — Every extra column automatically becomes a %tag% you place in your message text, such as %naam% or %uur%.
Check the preview per recipient — View the fully composed message per recipient in the preview table; duplicates are filtered automatically.
Send or schedule — Send the campaign immediately or schedule it for a date and time of your choice.

From template to personal message

You write one template with tags; every recipient gets their own, composed version. This is what that looks like:

Your template

Dear %naam%, your appointment starts at %uur%.

What the recipient sees

Dear Els, your appointment starts at 14:30.

The values come straight from your Excel file: the "mobile" column determines the recipient number; every other column (such as "name" or "time") is immediately usable as a tag.

Preview per recipient and automatic duplicate filter

Preview table
After importing, SMSBOX shows a preview table with the fully composed message per recipient. That way you see exactly what each recipient will get, before a single SMS leaves.

Duplicates filtered automatically
If a number appears twice in your list, SMSBOX automatically filters out the duplicate. Nobody receives the same message twice and you don't waste credits.

Effect on message length

With personalization, the final length per recipient is what counts: a message up to 160 characters is one SMS part; longer messages are sent as concatenated SMS up to a maximum of 459 characters (3 parts). A long name or description can therefore push a message just over the limit of an extra part. Check long variants in advance with the SMS length calculator.

SMS length calculator Send SMS online

Frequently asked questions about personalized SMS

Which tags can I use in my message?

Every column from your Excel file automatically becomes a tag: if you write %naam% or %afspraak% in your message, it is replaced per recipient with the value from the corresponding row. The column "mobile" determines the recipient number.

Can I check what each message looks like before I send?

Yes, after importing you see a preview table with the fully rendered message per recipient. Duplicate numbers are filtered automatically. Only then do you confirm the send.

Does personalisation count towards the message length?

Yes, the final length per recipient determines the number of SMS parts: up to 160 characters is one part, longer messages are sent concatenated (up to 3 parts). Check long variants in advance with the SMS length calculator.

Can I also schedule personalised messages?

Yes, after the import you simply choose a date and time — the personalised campaign then goes out automatically at the scheduled moment.

What file format must my list have?

An Excel file (.xlsx, max. 2 MB) with one row per recipient and a column "mobile" with the mobile number. All other columns are free to choose and immediately usable as tags.