Creatives Overview

Creatives are reusable message templates in Trackly SMS. Create once, use in multiple campaigns.

One-Time creatives may contain plain text without links. Automated and Welcome creatives, and CSV imports, require link placeholders. Write numbered placeholders in lowercase ({{link1}}, {{link2}}, etc.); the creative editor and API reject uppercase or mixed-case forms such as {{LINK1}}.

What is a Creative?

A Creative contains:

Message text, with optional placeholders
Offer or custom-link bindings, when used
Performance metrics

"Flash sale! {{link1}} for 50% off today only. Reply STOP to opt out."

Creating a Creative

Go to Creatives
Click New Creative
Enter your message
Bind offers to link placeholders
Save

Bulk import with a list per creative

Open Import Creatives from CSV from the creatives page. Upload a CSV or TSV file, map its columns, and validate the rows before importing. Each file can contain up to 500 creatives. Include an optional list_id or list_name column to associate each creative with one sending list:

message,name,offer_id,status,list_id,list_name
"Shop today's deals: {{link1}}. Reply STOP to opt out.",Daily Deals,665fa1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c902,active,42,
"Explore our new arrivals: {{link1}}. Reply STOP to opt out.",New Arrivals,665fa1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c902,active,,New Arrivals List

Replace the example offer and list values with your account’s values. The downloaded template includes both list columns. Select whether your offer IDs are Trackly IDs or external integration IDs.

Column	Meaning
`message`	Required message text. The CSV importer requires at least one link placeholder.
`name`	Optional creative label.
`offer_id`	Offer for `{{link1}}`; use `offer_id_2` and `offer_id_3` for additional link placeholders.
`status`	`active` (default) or `paused`.
`list_id`	Optional numeric sending list ID from your account.
`list_name`	Optional exact, case-sensitive sending list name. Leading and trailing spaces are ignored.

A populated list column sets that creative’s List Controls to Only Send To Selected Lists with the resolved list. Both the creative’s and its offers’ list controls still apply when content is selected for sending. Importing creates reusable creatives; it does not start a blast.

Leave both list columns blank to use the upload-wide List Controls setting.
If you supply both columns, they must identify the same list.
If more than one list has the specified name, use list_id to identify the list.
Unknown, deleted, or inaccessible lists produce a row error. Those rows are skipped during import.
Review the resolved list for each valid row before importing.

Validation shows which list each row will use. Import keeps that resolved list ID with the submitted name; if the list is deleted or the ID and name no longer agree, the row fails instead of switching to a different list. Correct the row and validate again. Duplicate detection compares message text, including messages already saved on your account. The same message for a different list is still skipped as a duplicate. Importing does not update an existing creative’s list associations; edit that creative’s List Controls to change them. Only rows marked valid are submitted for import. Rows shown as duplicates or errors remain skipped, even if another row fails during import. To reconsider skipped rows, correct the file and validate it again.

Message Structure

Text Content

Write your message in the text area:

Your exclusive deal awaits! Shop now: {{link1}}

Reply STOP to unsubscribe.

Character Count

The editor shows:

Characters: Total character count
Segments: SMS segment count

Standard SMS: 160 characters = 1 segment. Unicode messages: 70 characters = 1 segment. Longer messages are split and reassembled.

Each {{linkN}} placeholder resolves to a short tracking URL that adds approximately 23 characters to your message. Additionally, compliance text (prepend + append) adds roughly 34 characters of overhead. Factor both into your character budget when estimating segment count. See Templates & Placeholders for detailed segment calculation guidance.

Content Validation

The system validates message content against blocked content patterns before a creative can be saved. Messages that match blocked patterns will be rejected. This helps ensure compliance with carrier and regulatory requirements.

Link Placeholders

Use {{link1}}, {{link2}}, etc. for tracked links:

Check out our sale: {{link1}}
Or browse new arrivals: {{link2}}

Each placeholder can be bound to a different offer.

Offer Bindings

Link placeholders to offers:

Placeholder	Offer	URL
`{{link1}}`	Summer Sale	track.ly/abc123
`{{link2}}`	New Arrivals	track.ly/def456

When sent, links become trackable short URLs.

Creative Types

Creatives have types that determine where they can be used:

Type	Use Case
One-Time	Regular campaigns, blast sends
Automated	ML-selected campaigns
Welcome	Welcome journey messages

Save and reuse a blast’s creative through the API

You can create a blast with inline text; an existing creative is optional. Set save_as_creative: true on a variant to also save its text and offer/custom-link mappings as an active One-Time creative. The default is false. The response’s saved_creatives array provides each saved creative’s ID and name. Schedule creation requires a key without a daily cap or send-approval requirement; any list restrictions still apply, including when creating a draft. To use the asset in a later blast, select Use existing creative in the blast editor. Choose its offer, or Creatives without offers for plain-text and custom-link-only creatives. Selecting a creative copies its message and links into the new blast. Subsequent edits to either record do not change the other. Saved assets inherit the original schedule’s source lists as List Controls; with no source lists they use all lists. MMS images stay on the schedule and are not included in the saved asset. The public creative API also accepts plain text for creative_type: "one_time". Automated and welcome assets require link placeholders. Every link placeholder must map to an offer from your account or a public HTTPS custom URL. The CSV import flow above continues to require offer-linked messages. Check creative_save_errors even after a successful HTTP 201 blast response. An optional asset-save failure leaves the schedule in place. Use the documented asset-only recovery request to save that creative separately; recreating the schedule would create another blast.

Creative Status

Status	Meaning
Active	Available for use
Paused	Temporarily disabled
Archived	Hidden but preserved

Performance Tracking

Each creative tracks:

Sends: Total times sent
Clicks: Total link clicks
Click Rate: Clicks / Sends
Revenue: Revenue attributed to this creative

Use this data to:

Identify top performers
Retire underperformers
Inform A/B tests

Message Compliance

Required Elements

All messages should include:

Clear opt-out instructions (STOP to unsubscribe)
Sender identification (your brand)

Account Settings

Your account can configure:

Prepend text: Added to start of every message
Append text: Added to end of every message

Example:

[Brand]: Your message here. Reply STOP to opt out.

Best Practices

Keep messages concise

Shorter messages = fewer segments = lower cost. Get to the point quickly.

Front-load the value

Put the most important information first. Some phones truncate previews.

Use clear CTAs

“Shop now” or “Claim your discount” beats “Click here.”

Test variations

Create multiple creatives and A/B test to find winners.

Next Steps

Templates & Placeholders

Advanced templating

ML Selection

Automated creative selection

Getting Started

AI Agents & MCP

Guides

Account & Team

Integrations

Resources

What is a Creative?

Creating a Creative

Bulk import with a list per creative

Message Structure

Text Content

Character Count

Content Validation

Link Placeholders

Offer Bindings

Creative Types

Save and reuse a blast’s creative through the API

Creative Status

Performance Tracking

Message Compliance

Required Elements

Account Settings

Best Practices

Next Steps

Templates & Placeholders

ML Selection

​What is a Creative?

​Creating a Creative

​Bulk import with a list per creative

​Message Structure

​Text Content

​Character Count

​Content Validation

​Link Placeholders

​Offer Bindings

​Creative Types

​Save and reuse a blast’s creative through the API

​Creative Status

​Performance Tracking

​Message Compliance

​Required Elements

​Account Settings

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Templates & Placeholders

ML Selection

What is a Creative?

Creating a Creative

Bulk import with a list per creative

Message Structure

Text Content

Character Count

Content Validation

Link Placeholders

Offer Bindings

Creative Types

Save and reuse a blast’s creative through the API

Creative Status

Performance Tracking

Message Compliance

Required Elements

Account Settings

Best Practices

Next Steps