Want to message a customer and loop in a team member in the same text thread? Need to notify your customers about a product update without sending the same message over and over?
Knowing how to send texts to multiple people at the same time helps you get the word out without typing the same message over and over. There are two ways of doing this: with and without a group text message.
In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through both options. Of course, neither is ideal for business communications, so if you’re looking for a better solution, we’ll provide an alternative.
⚠️You need to get verbal or written opt-in consent from customers before sending them texts. Otherwise, you can only reply when they message you first. If you don’t follow the guidelines, you may run into issues such as your account being suspended.
How to send a text to multiple people without a group message
Need to text multiple people without exposing their names and numbers in a group text? Here’s how:
How to send a text to multiple people without a group message from your iPhone
You can send a text to multiple people without a group text from your iPhone in five steps:
- Under Settings, select Apps, then tap Messages.
- Locate the slider for iMessage and toggle it off.
- Open your Messages app and type the message you want to send.
- At the top right corner of your screen, tap the Plus button to add your contacts.
- Send your SMS messages and wait for replies.
Your texts should appear in individual threads.
How to send a text to multiple contacts without a group message from your Android phone
Unlike iPhones, most Android phones don’t have built-in support for sending texts to multiple people at the same time without a group message. The workaround is to download Google Messages and make it your default SMS app.
Once you’ve done that, you can send blind group SMS messages through your Android device:
- In the Google Messages app, tap your profile picture.
- Under Message settings, tap Advanced.
- Scroll down to the section labeled Group messaging and toggle on the setting that says, Send an SMS reply to all recipients and get individual replies (mass text).
- Back in Google Messages, start a group conversation and add your recipients.
Your messages will now be sent to the group without creating a group text message.
How to send a text to multiple people in a group message
If it doesn’t matter whether your recipients see each other’s personal details, you can opt to send a group message.
However, group messages aren’t really designed for business texts like appointment reminders or SMS marketing, as you’ll see below.
How to send a text to multiple contacts in a group message from your iPhone
You can send group texts from your iPhone using your phone’s built-in Messages app:
- In your Messages app, tap Compose.
- Tap the Add button to add contacts or type them in manually.
- Type everything you want to send and tap the up arrow.
How to send a text to multiple people from your Android
To send a group text from your Android device, you’ll need to:
- Open your default texting app (this doesn’t have to be Google Messages).
- Tap Start chat.
- Compose a new message and add contacts to the thread.
- Tap Send to create a group message.
Remember: all replies and responses to your message will notify everyone in the thread, which could be good or bad depending on your use case.
Why group and mass texts aren’t the best way to reach multiple people
Can you send group texts for business purposes? Yes.
Are they the best way to build relationships with customers? Definitely not.
If you’re using group and mass texts to communicate with customers, there are a few drawbacks to consider:
You’ll be constantly glued to your phone
This is especially true when you send texts to multiple people without a group message where customers reply to you separately. It will take longer for you to respond, making it difficult to disconnect after work when you know customers still need help.
You’ll have to use your personal number for work
You probably don’t want customers to have direct access to your personal number, but when you send a group text from your phone, you won’t have much of a choice. Beyond the risk of after-hours messages making it harder to switch off from work, sharing your personal number can also be a privacy risk. Someone could use it to find personal details like your home address, making it important to limit who you share it with.
You can lose track of conversations and miss key messages
Maybe there’s a lead in your group text who’s ready to convert, but their message gets buried in a sea of other conversations. Or maybe someone opts out of your business text messages, but it gets lost in the thread and they keep getting unwanted messages. This might lead to awkward follow-ups, frustrated customers, and potential compliance issues.
You won’t be able to use automations that would save you time
Traditional methods of mass and group texting from your personal cell phone typically don’t integrate with your tech stack. In other words: be prepared to do most of the legwork yourself. If you currently own a CRM, logging all call activity will require you to switch between tabs. Plus, you won’t have easy access to texting automation features like auto-replies, text message templates, and scheduled texts.
You’ll feel forced to text from a single device
With traditional group and mass texting, you can’t easily access the same messages across different devices. For example, you can’t switch between your work and personal phone or text from different numbers (like a local number versus a toll-free number).
Sending texts to multiple people from your personal cell phone can help you reach customers in a pinch, but for most growing businesses, it’s not professional or practical. The better solution is to use a shared phone number where you can split responsibility for texting as a team.
Here’s how shared numbers work in Quo:
- Everyone on your team receives the same text notifications. That way, reps can instantly see if you’ve received responses from the people you sent texts to, letting you reply as a team without the customer knowing.
- Everyone on the number has access to the same conversation history. A shared SMS inbox makes it easier to keep conversations from slipping through the cracks. Plus, it provides a single source of truth for conversations, with texts, calls, voicemails, and call recordings in the inbox so you don’t have to dig for more context.
- Keep your personal details private. You can set business hours and team member hours to stop getting notifications while out of the office. It’s an easy, guilt-free way of recharging outside of work — because even when you’re not available, someone else on your team can help pick up the phone.
- Send messages from anywhere and on any device. With a virtual SMS number, you can send and receive texts on any device connected to the internet. You could send replies on your phone, read messages in your browser, or compose new texts from your laptop — no more feeling chained to a smartphone.
- Automate background tasks. Gone for the day? Use scheduled texts to send messages during business hours. Out of the office? Use auto-replies to let customers know and give them a timeline for when you’ll respond. You can also connect with third-party tools like Zapier, Make, and the Quo API to automate VoIP texting for appointment reminders, birthday greetings, and more.
- Collaborate from anywhere. In Quo, every member of the number can write contact notes or create internal threads so any member of your team can pick up where they left off.
- Make it easier to help your coworkers succeed. Let’s say you listen to a team member’s call recording and spot coaching opportunities you’d like to bring to their attention. With shared phone numbers, you can quickly leave comments under specific recordings and tag team members in the thread to grab their attention.
- Easily send group texts from a shared phone number. You can send group messages to up to eight people in Quo, then continue the conversation via two-way SMS. That way, you can easily coordinate meeting availability, send reminders, share post-call summaries, and more.
Ready to send texts to multiple people with Quo?
Business texting shouldn’t feel like the family group chat — which is why hundreds of businesses are switching to shared phone numbers instead.
With Quo’s shared numbers, you can easily stay connected with customers and colleagues from any device and WiFi connection. You get all the functionality of your native texting app as well as business-focused features like integrations and auto-replies.
All it takes to get started is $15 per user per month.
Sign up for a free seven-day trial today and start sending texts to multiple people with Quo.
FAQs
In your WhatsApp account, select New Broadcast to create individual messages for up to 256 contacts. Keep in mind they will only receive your message if they have your number saved in their phone’s address book.
The best way to send a mass text without creating a group chat is to get a virtual phone number with an app like Quo. However, if you text hundreds of people per week and are worried about getting marked as spam, you may need to upgrade to a mass texting service like SimpleTexting, which is designed for high-volume messaging.
BCC in texting stands for ‘blind carbon copy.’ BCC allows you to create group text messages that hide the names and numbers of other recipients.
Not necessarily — you can play around with settings in your native SMS app or use third-party software like WhatsApp. However, this is definitely not the preferred method for businesses, and depending on your volume, carriers might mark your number as spam. You can also use Quo for peer-to-peer texting using a shared inbox
For personal use, you can use your native iPhone or Android apps or third-party software like WhatsApp or Messenger. If you’re doing this for business purposes, you’ll need a dedicated phone solution like Quo.
If you have a Canadian number and only want to text other Canadians, you can start sending group texts pretty much right away. But if you have a US number or plan to text US numbers, you’ll first need to complete carrier registration (which can take anywhere from five to 30+ days, depending on your business).
Here’s how to send a group text from an iPad:
1. Sign in to iMessage with your Apple account.
2. Open Messages and tap Compose.
3. Type the names of the people you wish to text (or tap Plus (+) to add contacts from your phone).
4. Type your message and hit Send.
