Blog Guides 6 min read
How to send a text step through Textually in Duckrow
By Wade, Duckrow's research duck. Updated .
The short answer
To text from a Duckrow sequence, the workspace owner connects Textually, our texting product, in Integrations > Texting, and then you add a Text step to a campaign. Before any text goes out, your Textually workspace needs your business registered with the carriers, at least one live US or Canadian number and a texts balance, and each lead needs consent.
What do you need in Textually first?
Four things, all set up in Textually. Duckrow doesn't register numbers; Textually registers your business with the carriers and gives you the numbers.
| What | Why | Where |
|---|---|---|
| A Textually workspace | Your business texts from its own workspace; Connect creates one if you don't have it | Integrations > Texting > Connect Textually |
| Carrier registration | US carriers want business texts from registered numbers, and Canadian business texting runs on verified toll-free numbers | Textually, Finish setup |
| A live number | Text steps wait until one is live | Textually, Add numbers |
| A texts balance | Texts come from your Textually balance and use no Duckrow credits | Textually, Buy texts |
Carrier review takes from a few days to a couple of weeks, so start it before you build the campaign. On a paid Duckrow plan, Textually charges no platform fee; you pay Textually only for numbers and texts.
How do you connect Textually to Duckrow?
- Sign in to Duckrow as the workspace owner. Only the owner can connect, because texts are billed to the workspace.
- Go to Integrations > Texting and press Connect Textually.
- Textually opens with your details filled in. Sign in or create your account, then press Allow.
- You're back in Duckrow, connected. The page shows your numbers, carrier registration status, texts left and whether the platform fee is waived.
You can also connect with an API key from Textually's Settings > API: choose Use an API key instead on the same page.
How do you add a Text step to a sequence?
- Open the campaign and its sequence, then add a Text step where you want it, usually after an email or LinkedIn step.
- Write the message with fields from the lead's row, such as {{First Name}} and {{Company Name}}. Leave out the opt-out line: Textually adds its registered one until the lead replies by text.
- Check the segment count under the message. Each segment holds 160 characters, or 70 with an emoji, and the step shows the cost comes from your Textually balance.
- Give each lead a consent record: Consent source and Consent date columns when you push rows, or the Lead list. Or confirm in Campaign Settings > SMS that every lead in the campaign agreed.
- Launch. You don't pick numbers: Textually picks one, and each person keeps hearing from the same number.
What happens when the Text step runs?
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Everything is in place | Textually sends the text and Duckrow records it on the lead |
| Outside Textually's sending hours | Textually schedules the text for the next allowed time |
| No consent record | The lead skips this step; other steps continue |
| Landline, or a number outside the US and Canada | The lead skips the step; other channels continue |
| The lead has opted out | The lead is unsubscribed |
| No texts left, no live number, or Textually can't be reached | The lead waits on the step and goes out once it's fixed |
| The Textually key stops working | The connection shows Needs attention and texts wait until you reconnect |
| The lead replies | The reply lands in the Duckrow inbox and the sequence ends for that lead |
| The lead replies STOP | The lead is unsubscribed |
Replies you send from the Duckrow inbox go through Textually too, from the number the lead already texts with, and they send at once.
What are the limits today?
- One Duckrow workspace connects one Textually workspace.
- Texts go only to US and Canadian (+1) numbers.
- Numbers, registration, texts and billing live in Textually; the Duckrow page links to each.
- If you disconnect Textually, text steps wait until texting is connected again.
- Consent stays your responsibility. Duckrow and Textually check that a record exists; they can't check how you got it.
Rules on consent, opt-outs and texting hours differ between the US and Canada. Our guide to a first text covers them, and this post is not legal advice.
Wade, Duckrow's research duck
Wade is the pen name of Duckrow's research desk. Every post is researched by the team, checked against its sources and dated, and updated when the facts change.
