Online Text Blast Service: Broadcasting SMS Text Messages From Your PC

By Lee Simonson

Online text blasting services are available to broadcast SMS text messages from your PC, to hundreds, even thousands, of people at once. The online

technology is available today and businesses, schools, and organizations can manage their texting programs without the need for any hardware or software

(SMS stands for short message service).

Start up costs are inexpensive and you can begin your texting program almost immediately. There are text service bureaus available that can be accessed

online that will let you tap into their portal and established broadcasting systems and allow you to share their "shortcode." If you don't want to outsource,

you can always create your own system, however, establishing a privately owned texting system is very expensive and time consuming, and can cost

hundreds of thousands of dollars and months of regulatory approvals and red tape.

There are many ways texting is being used commercially in marketing programs, and there are new text applications popping up everyday in the education,

sports, arts and non-profit sectors. Here are some basics you should know before you begin texting online:

1) The first thing you'll need to build a successful texting program is a list of mobile cell phone numbers of people who have opted-in to receive your

messages. The operative words here are "opt-in." No one is allowed to text blast a message to anyone who hasn't already consented to receive a message

from you, and there is no such thing as a list you can buy from a third party source that you can upload to your account to begin texting messages to.

People have to give you permission to be on your list, period. There are three ways to compile your list of mobile numbers. You can collect them online, on

hard copy forms that give you express permission, or you can have people text a keyword to your text account by using a short code.

2) Short codes are 5 or 6 digit numbers that are assigned or purchased by private texting system operators for the purposes of enabling mobile phone

owners to request information, vote, or join a text list. If you work with a texting service bureau, you can "share" their shortcode and pick unique keywords

that you can use for your business and organization. For example, let's say you owned a restaurant that specialized in hotdogs. You could reserve the word

"HOTDOG" and then couple it with the shared shortcode from your service provider. Then, you could include a promotion in your advertisements that says,

"To get our instant 2-for-1 hotdog coupon, just text the word HOTDOG to 12345." (12345 is the sample shortcode.) People see the ad, text the word to that

number, and instantly get a pre-programmed coupon from you that they can show the waitress at your restaurant. Meanwhile, once they opt-in, you can

also send them future coupons as well.

3) Be very careful on how you manage and use your list. It is strictly illegal for marketers using any automated system, such as autodailers, to call or text

mobile phone numbers. The restrictions are ironclad and the penalties are severe. In fact, if the cell phone carriers, such as T-Mobile, Sprint or AT&T,

discover a text blaster is abusing their customers they will immediately close access to their subscribers. The federal FCC may assert itself as well. The legal

process in the courts can be costly, and worse yet, the fines can be devastating. Everyone entering the mass texting arena is admonished to make sure that

every mobile cell number on their lists have been provided by someone who has consented (with backup proof) to be included.

4) Texting can be extremely effective in sending timely information because unlike email or voicemail, the vast majority of cell phone users actually read

their text messages, usually immediately. Moreover, unlike email, texting has been saved from junk texts sent by spammers, so when a person receives a

text message they consider it relevant or important. Surveys indicate that email is less important than texting with the younger generation, which considers

email "too slow."

Overall, sending text messages to customers, patrons, and fans, will increase significantly and will become part of the text culture of instant information and

communication.