Use this checklist when you are setting up Hellotext for the first time or preparing a new business to go live.
The goal is to make sure your account, signals, channels, captures, and first playbook, route, or send are ready before customers start receiving messages.
If you are new to the product, start with What is Hellotext?.
If you are choosing between playbooks, campaigns, and Inbox workflows, read How Hellotext works.
1. Create and review your business
Create your business, choose the main country where it operates, and select the plan that fits your stage.
Before continuing, confirm that the business name, username, country, billing setup, and team access are correct.
Keep reading: Setting up your business.
2. Connect your commerce platform
Connect the platform where your customer, order, and product data lives. This helps Hellotext build customer profiles, read commerce signals, understand purchase activity, and attribute results.
Start with the integration that matches your store:
If you use WhatsApp commerce features, also review Connect your catalog to WhatsApp.
Before launching anything from this data, verify your data and signals after setup.
3. Connect your messaging channels
Connect the channel you plan to use first. For most teams, this starts with WhatsApp or SMS.
If you are using WhatsApp, connect the WhatsApp account before creating WhatsApp captures or sending WhatsApp campaigns.
Keep reading: Connect WhatsApp.
For SMS, review your available sender options before planning a send.
Keep reading: Messaging channels overview.
4. Add at least one capture tool
Before you launch campaigns, playbooks, or routes, make sure customers have a clear way to subscribe.
Start with the capture that matches where customers are most likely to join:
- QR codes for stores, packaging, printed material, or events.
- Shareable links for social media, ads, email, and landing pages.
- Forms for collecting customer details on your website.
- Checkout opt-in when customers are already buying.
Keep reading: Capture tools overview.
5. Prepare your first audience
Create or review the audience you will contact first.
Use lists when you need a fixed group of customer profiles. Use segments when you want Hellotext to update the audience automatically based on customer data or behavior.
Keep reading:
6. Launch one focused playbook, route, or campaign
Choose one first outcome before expanding: recover abandoned carts, follow up after purchase, answer frequent questions, collect subscribers, or send a one-time announcement.
Use a prebuilt playbook when the mission is already available. Use a route when you need a predictable step-by-step flow. Use a campaign when you need a one-time send to a selected audience.
Before going broad, test with your own number and a few teammates. Review how it looks on the actual channel and confirm links, opt-out copy, tone, timing, and handoff rules.
Keep reading:
- Playbooks and automation overview
- How Hellotext works
- First wins starter pack
- Implementation paths
- Go-live checklist before you send
- Choose your first playbook
- Getting started with journeys
- Creating a Campaign
- First launch best practices
7. Invite the people who will answer replies
Once customers can reply, make sure the right people have access to the inbox.
Invite teammates, review roles, and agree on who should own incoming conversations.
Keep reading:
8. Check the first results
After your first launch, review what happened before changing too many things at once.
Look at audience growth, replies, clicks, playbook activity, campaign reporting, and attributed sales.
Keep reading:
- Measure success in your first 7 days
- Playbooks and automation overview
- Choose your first playbook
- Campaign Reporting
- How we attribute sales
Optional before launch
Set up a custom domain for short links if you want branded links from the beginning.
Review SMS sending limits for new businesses if your first sends will use SMS.