diff --git a/lib/custom-ping.js b/lib/custom-ping.js
index 3bcb7e5..525ebe7 100644
--- a/lib/custom-ping.js
+++ b/lib/custom-ping.js
@@ -88,8 +88,13 @@ const pingSender = async () => {
     if (mutex.tryLock()) {
         const msg = `PING ${xid}`;
 
+        bot.send(config.username, msg);
+
         const partnerCount = config.custom_ping.send_to.length;
         for (let i = 0; i < partnerCount; i += 1) {
+            // eslint-disable-next-line no-await-in-loop
+            await sleepMs(1000);
+
             const partner = config.custom_ping.send_to[i];
 
             if (config.custom_ping.verbose) {
@@ -101,9 +106,6 @@ const pingSender = async () => {
             }
 
             bot.send(partner, msg);
-
-            // eslint-disable-next-line no-await-in-loop
-            await sleepMs(1000);
         }
 
         mutex.unlock();