Creating Your Own Broadcast / Newsletter

Use a broadcast when you want to control exactly when a message goes out without building a multi-step campaign workflow.

In Customer.io, the most common broadcast type is a Newsletter — a single message sent immediately or scheduled for later.

When to Use a Broadcast

Use broadcasts for messages like:

• Company updates or announcements

• Policy changes (hours, closures, terms)

• One-time promotions or service updates (weather-related closures or new clinics opening)

• Communications tied to a specific date or event

If you need multiple messages over time, use a Campaign instead.

Step 1: Create a Broadcast

1. Go to Broadcasts

2. Click Create Broadcast

3. Select Newsletter (single send)

Step 2: Choose Your Recipients

You can send a broadcast to:

• Everyone in your workspace, or

• People matching conditions (recommended)

Common recipient filters include:

• Segment membership

• Patient attributes (location, status, payer, etc.)

• People who did or did not receive a prior newsletter

• People who did or did not receive a specific message

If your audience is a specific list, you can also upload recipients (CSV) by creating a manual segment first.

Step 3: Set Subscription Preferences

Broadcasts respect subscription and opt-out settings.

If a person is unsubscribed (or has opted out of SMS), they won’t receive the message through that channel.

Only send to unsubscribed people for critical notices, like a required policy update.

Step 4: Write Your Message

Choose the channel (email or SMS) and create your content.

You can also:

• Personalize messages using patient data

• Create an A/B test to compare variations (recommended for email subject lines)

Step 5: Review and Send (or Schedule)

You can:

• Send immediately, or

• Schedule the broadcast for a future date and time

Important notes:

• Recipients are calculated at send time, so the final count may change.

• If sending a large broadcast, consider limiting send rate to protect deliverability.

• You can pause a broadcast while it is still sending if you need to fix a typo, but you cannot recall messages already sent.

Quick Rule of Thumb

• Use a broadcast when you want to send one message at a specific time.

   

• Use a campaign when you want an automated workflow over time.