Before You Begin

You should have access to iCampaign campaign settings and understand your available credit balance. Make sure you're familiar with creating segments to filter subscribers based on available contact information.

Understanding Multi-Channel Credit Usage

When both email and SMS are enabled in a campaign workflow, the system will send messages to both channels if a subscriber has both contact methods available. This means:

Dual sending: One subscriber with both email and phone number = 2 credits consumed
Single sending: One subscriber with only one contact method = 1 credit consumed

💡 Tip: Credits are only consumed when messages are successfully handed off to carriers. If a subscriber lacks the required contact method, they are automatically skipped and no credit is charged.

Steps to Optimize Credit Usage

1. Configure Preferred Channel Settings

To send only one message per subscriber and maximize your reach:

Open your campaign in iCampaign
Navigate to campaign settings
Look for the channel selection options (Email and/or Text Message)
Select only one preferred channel instead of both
Save your campaign configuration

2. Understanding Channel-Specific Behavior

When you select a single channel, the system follows specific rules:

Text Only: Sends only to subscribers with valid phone numbers. Subscribers with missing phone numbers are skipped entirely (no fallback to email)
Email Only: Sends only to subscribers with valid email addresses. Subscribers with missing emails are skipped entirely (no fallback to SMS)

⚠️ Important: The system does not automatically switch between channels based on available contact information. It strictly follows your selected channel.

3. Create Targeted Segments for Mixed Contact Information

To handle subscribers with different contact methods available:

Create separate segments that filter for specific contact information:
SMS Segment: Filter for subscribers who have phone numbers on file
Email Segment: Filter for subscribers who have email addresses on file
Set up separate campaigns for each segment with the appropriate channel selected

This approach ensures you don't waste attempts on blank fields and allows precise targeting based on available contact data.

Verification / Expected Result

After configuring your preferred channel settings:

The system pre-calculates recipients based on available data in your segment
Only subscribers with the required contact method receive messages
Credits are consumed only for successful message handoffs
Campaign reports will show the actual number of messages sent versus total subscribers in the segment

Example: A segment with 43 subscribers where only 19 have phone numbers will send 19 SMS messages when "Text" is selected, consuming 19 credits. The remaining 24 subscribers are skipped with no credit charge.

Troubleshooting / Common Errors

Higher credit usage than expected: Verify that both email and SMS aren't enabled simultaneously in campaign settings
Low delivery numbers: Check that your selected channel matches the contact information available in your subscriber segments
Missing subscribers: Remember that single-channel campaigns don't fall back to alternative contact methods