Outbound Message Log: See Exactly What Happened to Every Text You Sent

You sent a mass text to 500 people announcing the Easter service time change. But how do you know which messages actually went through? Did Mrs. Johnson’s phone receive it? What about the volunteer who texted you last week saying they never got the reminder? Without a way to drill into the details, you’re left guessing. A few failed deliveries might seem minor, but they can mean missed connections—a family that didn’t know about the event, a volunteer who showed up at the wrong time, or a donor who never saw the giving appeal.

From Schedules to Individual Messages

The Outbound Message Log is a drill-down view that lives inside Send Mass Text. When you create a scheduled campaign and it goes out, the system creates one record per recipient. The Outbound Message Log shows you every single one of those records for that campaign. You see the recipient’s phone number, the message content, when it was scheduled to send, when it actually went out, and the delivery status. It’s the difference between “we sent 500 texts” and “here’s exactly what happened to each of those 500 texts.”

Why This Matters for Troubleshooting

When someone says they didn’t get a message, the Outbound Message Log is your first stop. You can search by phone number to see if their message was delivered, pending, or failed. If it failed, the Response column often shows the carrier or system error that explains why. Invalid numbers, carrier blocks, and opted-out subscribers all leave traces here. That visibility helps you clean up your lists, follow up with people who didn’t receive critical announcements, and improve deliverability over time.

In this article, we’ll overview the OnlineGiving.org Outbound Message Log feature.

Outbound Message Log User Guide:

The Outbound Message Log is a schedule-specific drill-down page that shows every individual text message sent for a single mass text campaign. It provides a paginated, sortable table of recipients, message content, timestamps, and delivery status. Access requires the Text Marketing Admin role. The log is reached by clicking into a schedule from the Send Mass Text (Schedules) list and selecting “View Message Log” from the schedule’s actions menu.

Key Takeaways

• Schedule-Specific: Shows only messages for one scheduled campaign at a time.
• Individual Message Details: Each row is one recipient—phone number, message text, scheduled date, sent date, response, and status.
• Sortable & Paginated: Sort by any column; default is Message Sent (newest first). Paginate at 10, 20, 50, or 100 per page.
• Filterable: Filter by scheduled date range, message sent date range, phone number, message text, response, or status.
• Delivery Status: See which messages were delivered (sent), pending, or failed.

Table of Contents

1. Overview
   • How to Access
   • Roles and Permissions
2. Reading the Message Log
   • Table Columns
3. Sorting and Pagination
4. Delivery Status
5. Troubleshooting Failed Messages
6. Frequently Asked Questions

Overview

The Outbound Message Log is a sub-feature of Send Mass Text. It gives admins granular visibility into what happened after a mass text campaign was sent. Instead of viewing aggregate stats, you see every individual message record for that campaign.

How to Access

To open the Outbound Message Log:

1. Log in to the control panel.
2. Click “Text Marketing” in the left navigation menu.
3. Click “Send Mass Text” (or navigate to the Schedules list).
4. Locate the scheduled campaign you want to inspect.
5. Click the actions menu (three dots or dropdown) on that schedule row.
6. Click “View Message Log”.

The page title will show the schedule name followed by “Outbound Message Log.” The breadcrumb trail is: Text Message Marketing > Phone Number schedules > Outbound Message Log.

Roles and Permissions

Access to the Outbound Message Log requires the Text Marketing Admin role. If you do not see the Send Mass Text menu or the View Message Log option, contact your domain administrator to verify your role.

Reading the Message Log

The message log displays a table where each row represents one individual text message sent to one recipient as part of the selected schedule. The table is filterable and sortable.

Table Columns

Use the filter row below the column headers to narrow results by date range, phone number, message text, response, or status. Press Enter in any filter field to apply. Active filters appear as removable chips above the table.

Sorting and Pagination

Click any column header to sort by that column. The default sort is Message Sent descending (most recent first). You can sort by Scheduled Date, Message Sent, Phone, Message, Response, or Status. Click the same header again to toggle between ascending and descending.

The table paginates at 10, 20, 50, or 100 rows per page. Use the “Results Per Page” dropdown to change the page size. The total count of messages for the schedule is shown. Use the Previous/Next pagination links to move through pages.

Delivery Status

Each message has a status that indicates its delivery state:

• Sent: The message was successfully delivered to the recipient.
• Failed: Delivery failed. Check the Response column for error details (e.g., invalid number, carrier block, opted out).
• Pending: The message is queued and waiting to be sent.
• Queued: The message is in the send queue.
• Sending: The message is currently being processed.
• Paused: The schedule was paused before this message could be sent.

For troubleshooting, focus on Failed status messages. The Response column often contains JSON or plain-text error information from the carrier or system that can help you understand the cause.

Troubleshooting Failed Messages

When a message reports Failed status:

1. Check the Response column: It may contain error codes or messages such as “invalid number,” “opted out,” or carrier-specific codes.
2. Verify the phone number: Ensure the number is valid and in the correct format. Disconnected or ported numbers often fail.
3. Review subscriber list health: If many messages fail for the same campaign, consider cleaning up your subscriber list. Remove invalid numbers and respect opt-outs.
4. Cross-reference with Sent Messages Report: For a broader view of delivery performance across all campaigns, use the Sent Messages Report under Text Marketing > Reports. It aggregates delivery rates and highlights problematic campaigns.

OnlineGiving.org cannot resend individual failed messages from this screen. If you need to reach a specific person who failed to receive a message, you may need to contact them through another channel or add them to a follow-up campaign after ensuring their number is correct.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get to the Outbound Message Log?

Go to Text Marketing > Send Mass Text. Find the schedule you want to inspect, open its actions menu (dropdown), and click “View Message Log”. The log is specific to that one schedule. You cannot view messages from multiple schedules at once.

What do the statuses mean?

Sent means the message was delivered. Failed means delivery failed—check the Response column for details. Pending, Queued, and Sending indicate the message is still in the pipeline. Paused means the schedule was paused before the message could be sent.

Why did a message fail?

Common causes include invalid or disconnected phone numbers, carrier blocks due to spam complaints, subscribers who opted out before the send, or numbers that have been ported to a different carrier. The Response column often contains the specific error. Use the Sent Messages Report for broader failure analysis and AI-powered delivery intelligence.

Can I resend a failed message?

The Outbound Message Log is a read-only view. You cannot resend individual messages from this screen. If you need to reach someone who didn’t receive a message, verify their phone number in your subscriber list and consider adding them to a new campaign or contacting them through another channel.

How far back does the log go?

The log shows all messages for the selected schedule, regardless of when they were sent. There is no automatic retention limit for the Outbound Message Log. Use the date range filters (Scheduled Date or Message Sent) to narrow results to a specific time period.

Need help setting up or interpreting the Outbound Message Log? OnlineGiving.org offers courtesy setup assistance. Contact us at support@onlinegiving.org or (615) 206-4000.