This is the routine for anyone replying to contacts in Ellipsend. Inbox & Messaging covers every part of the inbox in full.
What You're Looking At
Your Spotlights sit behind the lightbulb icon at the top left. Search, Bulk Actions, and Filters are in the bar above the contact list. The open conversation is in the middle, with the message box at the bottom.
The panel on the right is the contact. It shows who they're assigned to, their campaign and stage, their activities, labels, and notes. The Stages dropdown at the top right moves the open contact to another stage.
If you can read conversations but can't reply, you aren't an Inbox Agent yet. I Can Read the Inbox but Can't Reply explains the fix.
Work From Two Spotlights
A Spotlight is a saved set of filters. Most teams work their whole day from two.
New Lead. Last Message From set to Contact, Availability set to 7 Day, and Pipeline Stage set to New Lead. These are new contacts waiting on a first reply. It's also where you sort out the ones that don't belong, like spam or someone who isn't a fit.
Primary. Last Message From set to Contact, Availability set to 7 Day, and the stages for contacts still in a conversation, like Engaged Lead and Lead Qualified. Leave out stages where the work is done, like Call Booked.
Both only show contacts who messaged last and can still be messaged, so nothing waiting on you gets buried. Inbox & Messaging has the steps to build them under Proven Spotlight Workflows. If your admin already shared them with the team, they're waiting for you behind the lightbulb.
Reply and Move the Stage
Reply from the message box. Type / to drop in a Saved Response.
Then move the contact on with the Stages dropdown, like to Engaged Lead once you're in a real conversation. If the new stage has an activity mapped to it, a window opens for that activity's details. Fill it in and save. Closing the window without saving puts the contact back in their old stage, because the activity is what Reports count.
To log another activity without moving the contact, like a sales video you just sent, click the edit icon on their campaign in the right panel and add it there. Set Up Your Pipeline and Activities explains how stages and activities work together.
When You Can't Message Someone
Meta only lets a business message someone within 7 days of their last message. After that, the message box is locked for that contact. That's why both Spotlights filter to 7 Day.
If you need to reach someone outside the window, you can message them from Meta Business Suite. Do it sparingly to avoid restrictions on your account. What Is the 7-Day Messaging Window? has the details.
Send Links as Buttons
Send every link as a Button Message, not pasted into the text. The button is what lets Ellipsend tie a booking or a sale back to the post the contact came from.
Save your booking link as a Saved Response with the Button Message type, so it's one shortcut away. How Tracking Works explains what the button does.