A step-by-step guide on how to add yourself to your different types of campaigns so you can test the timing, message content, and overall patient experience before going live.
✨ When You Need This Guide
This guide is for you when you've finished building a campaign and want to see it in action. Use this if:
You've built a new campaign and want to test it before activating it for patients.
You want to see what the text messages or emails in your campaign look like when they are received.
You need to verify that the timing of your campaign steps is correct.
You're not sure how to trigger different types of campaigns for testing purposes.
Why Testing is Important
Testing your campaigns on yourself is the best way to experience your automated workflow from a patient's perspective. It allows you to catch errors, check for typos, and make sure the timing feels right before any patient ever sees it.
What This Covers (And What It Doesn't)
✅ This article explains how to trigger and test the different types of campaigns on yourself.
❌ It does not cover how to build the campaigns or edit the steps. For that, please see our guides on A Guide to Campaign Types and How to Add Steps to a Campaign.
You'll Need:
An active Campaign that you are ready to test.
Your own contact profile saved in Aloha with your personal cell phone number.
✅ How to Test Each Campaign Type
The way you start a campaign for testing depends on its trigger. Find the type of campaign you built below and follow the steps.
For Manual Campaigns
Go to CONTACTS > Show Contacts.
Search for your own name and click View to open your contact profile.
Scroll down to the "Campaigns" section.
Use the dropdown menu to select the campaign you want to test and click Star
t.
For Appointment or Missed Appointment Campaigns
The only way to test these is to create a real appointment for yourself in your main scheduling software.
Go into your EHR/PMS.
Schedule an appointment for yourself using the exact appointment type that is set to trigger the campaign (you can set the campaign to trigger for an appointment type not often used for testing).
To test a "Missed Appointment" campaign, simply wait for the appointment time to pass without marking yourself as "Attended."
For Event Campaigns
This is the easiest to test.
Using your own cell phone, simply send a text message containing the campaign's exact keyword to your office's main textable number.
For Tag Applied Campaigns
Go to CONTACTS > Show Contacts.
Search for your own name and open your contact profile.
Go to the "Tags" section.
Select the specific tag that triggers your campaign from the dropdown menu and add it to your profile. The campaign will start automatically.
💡 Common Questions
What You Might Notice | Why It's Happening | What to Do |
I triggered the campaign, but I didn't receive the first message. | There could be a delay built into the first step of the campaign, or the campaign may not have triggered correctly because the conditions weren't met exactly. | First, check the timing of the very first step in your campaign. Is it set to send "0 minutes Into Campaign," or is there a delay? Second, double-check that you used the correct trigger (e.g., the exact right appointment type, keyword spelling, or tag). |
I finished testing and now I want to make changes. | Editing a campaign is done on the campaign and template editor pages, not from the testing workflow. | To edit the timing or actions of the steps, go to CAMPAIGNS > Show Campaigns and click Edit. To edit the wording of the messages, go to CAMPAIGNS > Show Templates (or the appropriate template page). |
How do I stop a campaign for myself after I'm done testing? | You can manually remove yourself from a campaign to stop receiving further steps. | Go to your contact profile (CONTACTS > Show Contacts > Your Name). In the "Campaigns" section, you should see the active campaign listed. Click the Pause button next to the campaign name to remove yourself from it. |
🎉 You'll Know It's Working When:
You successfully enroll yourself in the test campaign using one of the methods above.
You begin to receive the text messages or emails from your campaign on your personal phone/email according to the schedule you built.
💬 Need Help? We're Here!
If you have other questions about testing your campaigns, our support team is ready to help. Contact us at 800-563-0469 or support@getaloha.com.