How to Launch an SMS Campaign in GoHighLevel — Get More Leads

You're losing money every day you don't have SMS campaigns running.

Text messages have a 98% open rate. That's not a typo. While email campaigns average 20-30% open rates, SMS cuts through the noise and lands directly in your customer's pocket. If you're managing a business or agency and not using SMS to nurture leads and drive conversions, you're leaving massive revenue on the table.

GoHighLevel makes launching high-converting SMS campaigns dead simple—but only if you know the right steps. I've helped dozens of agencies and businesses set up their first campaigns, and the ones who get it right see immediate results: more qualified leads, faster response times, and higher conversion rates.

In this guide, I'll walk you through exactly how to set up and launch your first SMS campaign in GoHighLevel, from contact lists to compliance. By the end, you'll have a working campaign that's already generating leads.

Ready to level up your marketing stack? Start your free 30-day trial of GoHighLevel today and unlock SMS, email automation, and more.

What Is an SMS Campaign in GoHighLevel?

An SMS campaign in GoHighLevel is a direct text message you send to a list of contacts to promote services, share updates, or nurture leads toward a sale. Unlike email, SMS reaches people instantly—no spam filters, no waiting for them to check their inbox.

In GoHighLevel, you can:

• Send bulk SMS to segmented contact lists
• Personalize messages with contact data (first names, company info, etc.)
• Schedule campaigns to send at optimal times
• Track delivery, open rates, and conversions
• Build SMS workflows that trigger automatically based on user actions

Think of it as your fastest communication channel for urgent offers, appointment reminders, and lead qualification.

Step 1: Build or Import Your Contact List

Before you send a single text, you need contacts. GoHighLevel gives you three ways to populate your list:

• Import from CSV: Upload a spreadsheet of phone numbers and contact details from your existing database
• Capture via web forms: Use GoHighLevel's form builder to collect phone numbers with consent on your landing pages
• Integrate CRM data: Sync contacts from your CRM or previous marketing platform

Pro tip: Only import contacts who have explicitly opted in to receive SMS. This isn't just good practice—it's legally required under TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) regulations.

Navigate to Contacts in your GoHighLevel dashboard, then click Import Contacts. Match your CSV columns to the required fields (phone number is mandatory), and upload. Within seconds, your contacts are ready to receive campaigns.

Step 2: Create Compliant Message Templates

Your SMS message needs to accomplish three things: grab attention, deliver value, and drive action. But it also needs to comply with regulations.

Required compliance elements:

• A clear call-to-action (CTA) — what you want them to do
• Your business name or identifier in the message
• An opt-out mechanism (usually "Reply STOP to unsubscribe")
• Keep it under 160 characters when possible (longer messages may split into multiple texts)

Example template:

"Hi [FirstName], we've reserved a free 15-min strategy call for you. Book now: [link]. Text STOP to opt out. — [YourBusiness]"

In GoHighLevel, navigate to SMS → Message Templates and create reusable templates. Use dynamic fields like [FirstName], [CompanyName], etc., to personalize at scale.

Step 3: Set Up Your Phone Number and Sender ID

GoHighLevel requires a dedicated phone number to send SMS campaigns. This builds trust with recipients and improves deliverability.

In your Settings → SMS Provider, connect your SMS gateway. GoHighLevel integrates with Twilio and other carriers. You'll either:

• Purchase a number directly through GoHighLevel
• Link your existing Twilio account

Once verified, this number becomes your sender ID. Recipients will see texts coming from this number, so consistency matters.

Step 4: Design and Launch Your Campaign

Now for the main event. Here's how to launch:

1. Go to SMS → Campaigns → New Campaign

2. Select Your Audience

Choose from your contact lists or segment by custom criteria (e.g., "contacted in last 30 days," "industry = dental"). The more targeted, the higher your conversion rate.

3. Choose or Create Your Message

Select a pre-built template or write a new message. Preview it to ensure it fits within SMS length limits and looks good on mobile.

4. Schedule Send Time

Send immediately or schedule for peak engagement hours. Studies show 9 AM and 2 PM typically have highest response rates, but test for your audience.

5. Review and Confirm

Double-check your audience size, message content, and sender ID. Look for any spelling errors or broken links—these cost conversions.

6. Click Send SMS

Once live, your campaign is running. Contacts receive your text within seconds.

Step 5: Monitor Campaign Performance and Optimize

Sending is only half the battle. You need to track what's working.

After launch, navigate to your campaign's status dashboard. You'll see:

• Delivery Rate: Percentage of texts successfully delivered
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): How many recipients clicked your link
• Conversion Rate: How many clicks turned into leads or sales
• Reply Rate: Engagement via incoming texts

Use these metrics to refine future campaigns. If deliverability drops, it may signal phone number reputation issues. If CTR is low, your CTA or offer needs work.

Pro tip: A/B test different messages with small segments first. Send two versions to 100 contacts each, measure results, then roll out the winner to your full list.

Bonus: Automate SMS with Workflows

Manual campaigns are good. Automated workflows are better.

GoHighLevel's workflow builder lets you trigger SMS automatically based on customer behavior:

• Send a welcome SMS when someone fills out a form
• Follow up with a reminder SMS 1 hour before a scheduled appointment
• Send a post-purchase upsell SMS after a customer buys
• Re-engage cold leads with an SMS after 30 days of inactivity

Navigate to Automations → Create Workflow from Scratch. Set your trigger (form submission, booking, etc.), add an SMS action, and activate. These workflows run 24/7 with zero manual effort.

Key Compliance Reminders

Before you hit send on any campaign:

• Explicit Consent: Contacts must have opted in to receive SMS. Don't buy lists.
• Timing: Never send SMS between 9 PM and 8 AM recipient's local time
• Frequency: Don't spam. Limit to 1-2 messages per week per contact
• Opt-Out Language: Always include "Reply STOP to unsubscribe"
• Privacy Policy: Display your SMS terms on any opt-in form

Non-compliance can result in FTC fines up to $43,792 per violation. It's not worth it.

The Bottom Line

SMS campaigns in GoHighLevel aren't complicated once you know the steps. Import contacts, write a compelling message, launch, and monitor. Rinse and repeat with fresh insights each time.

Agencies and businesses using SMS alongside email and automation see 3-5x faster lead conversion. If you haven't tapped this channel yet, you're losing deals to competitors who have.

Ready to get started? Claim your 30-day free trial of GoHighLevel right now. No credit card required. You'll get instant access to SMS, email automation, landing pages, and CRM tools to build a lead generation machine.

Your first campaign could launch today. Don't wait.