Using a text message (SMS) platform for your marketing? Read the ten questions to ask a text message provider before you sign up with them.

1. 10
Ques(ons
to
Ask
Before
You
Sign
Up
for
a
Text
Message
Marke6ng
Plan
STATEOFTEXT

2. Text
Message
Marke(ng
is
Tricky…

3. …and
the
m a n y
SMS
packages
can
be
even
trickier
to
decipher.

4. If
you
don’t
ask
the
right
ques(ons…

5. …You
can
end
up
in
hot
water.

6. Use
our
handy
guide
to
help
guide
you
on
your
path
to
working
with
a
reliable
text
message
marke(ng
vendor.

7. The
market
is
crowded
with
poten(al
companies,
and
we
encourage
you
to
research
and
ask
ques(ons

8. Start
with
these
10
and
see
if
you
can
come
up
with
more
of
your
own.

9. 1.
What
kind
of
support
will
I
get?
•
Is
this
text
messaging
service
100%
automated?
•
Once
you
sign
up
can
you
contact
customer
support
and
work
with
a
dedicated
account
manager
or
are
you
on
your
own?
•
What
happens
if
you
don’t
understand
their
system,
or
have
ques6ons
about
scheduling
or
bill
payment?
Our
answer:
When
you
sign
up
with
State
of
Text
you
will
be
given
a
dedicated
account
manager
that
will
walk
you
through
the
setup
process
and
remain
with
you
throughout
the
length
of
your
contract.
We
walk
you
through
the
in’s
and
outs
of
seLng
up
your
account,
give
you
6ps
and
tricks
specific
to
your
industry
and
work
with
you
directly
on
all
aspects
of
your
text
message
campaigns.

10. 2.
How
many
messages
does
this
price
include?
•
Will
I
get
unlimited
messages?
•
How
are
the
messages
monitored?
• Does
the
price
include
messages
I
send
out
in
addi6on
to
people
who
text
in?
Our
answer:
At
State
of
Text
we
are
always
100%
up
front
with
you
about
the
prices
of
your
text
messaging
packages.
We
do
not
“upcharge”
you
if
your
customers
work
with
obscure
carriers
or
phone
carriers
who
happen
to
charge
a
premium
for
SMS
messages
(like
Sprint
does),
and
if
you
have
VERY
large
campaigns
–
we
always
offer
unlimited
packages
for
your
enterprise
needs.

11. 3.
How
many
keywords
does
this
package
include?
•
Do
I
have
to
request
keywords
in
advance?
•
What
if
the
keyword
I
want
is
taken?
•
What
if
I
want
to
change
my
keywords
or
transfer
them
to
a
new
keyword?
Our
answer:
With
every
account
you
can
have
up
to
25
keywords
in
use
at
any
6me!
Since
we
limit
the
number
of
customers
we
use
on
our
shortcodes,
this
means
that
you
don’t
have
to
fight
or
get
on
a
wait
list
for
popular
keywords
that
you
may
need
for
your
business.
We
encourage
you
to
use
as
many
keywords
as
you
need
for
your
business
and
your
campaigns
so
we
also
offer
unlimited
keyword
packages
too!

12. 4.
What
happens
if
I
go
over
my
set
number
of
messages?
•
Is
there
a
penalty
if
I
go
over
my
monthly
text
limit?
•
How
much
will
I
have
to
pay?
Is
there
a
set
fee
or
am
I
charged
per
text?
•
How
do
I
know
if
I’ve
gone
over
my
limit?
Will
someone
alert
me
if
there
are
too
many
in
the
system?
Our
answer:
Some
providers
require
you
to
pay
he]y
fines,
or
a
flat
fee
for
every
overage
of
a
text
message.
When
you
have
a
campaign
star6ng
out
it
can
be
hard
to
determine
how
many
people
your
message
will
reach.
Each
of
our
plans
have
generous
cushions
to
help
prevent
you
from
going
over
your
limit,
and
if
we
do,
we
only
charge
you
a
penny
per
overage.
If
you
are
very
concerned,
you
can
always
use
our
unlimited
packages
and
you
won’t
receive
any
penal6es.

13. 5.
What
regula(ons
are
in
place
with
mobile
marke(ng?
•
Do
you
follow
all
regula6ons?
•
What
risks
are
included
with
mobile
marke6ng?
•
Can
you
help
me
comply
with
all
mobile
marke6ng
regula6ons?
Our
answer:
We
help
ensure
that
you
follow
all
regula6ons
and
best
prac6ces
with
SMS
Marke6ng.
From
making
sure
your
messages
pushes
aren’t
accidentally
sent
out
at
2am
(except
in
case
of
emergency),
to
following
proper
regula6ons
for
calls
to
ac6on
and
subsequent
messages.

14. 6.
Can
I
pre-­‐schedule
my
messages?
•
How
do
I
know
when
my
message
have
gone
out?
•
Can
I
preschedule
the
date
and
6me
of
their
delivery?
•
Can
I
view
how
many
people
subscribed
or
unsubscribed
as
soon
as
I
send
a
message?
Our
answer:
Our
plaaorm
allows
you
to
pre-­‐schedule
all
of
your
text
messages
in
advance,
so
you
don’t
have
to
send
them
out
at
the
exact
6me
they
need
to
be
delivered.
You
can
view
subscriber
ac6vity
in
real-­‐6me
and
view
any
pending
or
scheduled
messages
in
your
dashboard
console.

15. 7.
How
many
other
customers
will
use
this
shortcode?
•
Is
this
shortcode
used
by
lots
of
other
customers?
•
Can
other
customers
using
this
shortcode
delay
the
delivery
of
my
own
messages?
•
If
a
shortcode
becomes
too
popular
with
another
campaign,
is
it
possible
that
it
could
hurt
my
own
marke6ng
efforts?
Our
answer:
We
purposely
limit
the
number
of
clients
we
allow
to
use
any
given
shortcode.
In
this
way
we
allow
our
customers
to
have
freedom
to
pick
from
a
variety
of
keywords
and
also
free
up
space
for
many
clients
to
send
and
receive
messages
without
clogging
the
system.
If
you
are
interested
in
having
a
shortcode
that
you
don’t
share
with
others,
we
can
lease
you
your
own
specific
shortcode.

16. 8.
How
long
have
you
been
in
business?
•
Have
you
been
around
a
long
6me?
• Is
your
company
compliant
with
MMA
and
CTIA
guidelines?
•
What
happens
to
my
database
if
you
suddenly
go
out
of
business?
Our
answer:
State
of
Text
is
one
of
the
pioneers
in
text
message
marke6ng
and
has
partnered
with
billion
dollar
restaurant
chains,
cable
providers
and
major
mo6on
pictures
to
produce
successful
mobile
marke6ng
campaigns
for
over
six
years.
We
are
not
a
“fly
by
night”
opera6on
that
will
charge
you
pennies
for
your
campaign,
only
to
disappear
with
your
en6re
mobile
database
of
numbers
a
few
months
later.
We
are
in6mately
familiar
with
all
of
the
regula6ons
and
best
prac6ces
of
the
industry
and
will
help
educate
you
so
all
your
campaigns
run
above
board.

17. 9.
What
does
your
soXware
look
like
and
what
else
does
it
offer?
•
What
kind
of
repor6ng
do
you
offer?
• Can
I
run
contests,
polls
or
set
reminders
for
individual
people?
•
What
if
I
want
people
to
opt-­‐in
to
the
mobile
database
online?
Our
answer:
We
have
a
very
robust
system
that
not
only
allows
you
to
schedule
and
send
messages,
but
you
can
create
custom
web
pages
where
you
can
direct
online
traffic
to
sign
up
for
your
mobile
database.
You
can
create
contests,
vo6ng
and
polls
and
we
offer
real-­‐6me
repor6ng
of
subscribers
and
unscubscribers
to
your
database.
Want
to
use
a
QR
code
or
push
your
SMS
messages
to
your
social
media
accounts?
That’s
all
included
free
of
charge
in
our
system
too!

18. 10.
Can
I
have
a
free
trial?
•
Do
you
want
to
try
before
you
commit?
Ask
if
they’ll
let
you
take
the
system
for
a
spin.
Our
answer:
We
offer
free
trials
of
our
so]ware!
Let
us
know
how
we
can
help!