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6. How to use advanced Features

6.1. Enable Purge failed numbers

6.1.1. Enable Purge failed numbers

6.1.2. Purge failed numbers from your groups

6.1.3. Delete purged numbers

6.2. Enable Scheduling

6.3. Receive Delivery summary report

6.4. Enable Mobile2Group sending

6.5. Enable Credit Sponsor and Credit Transfer

6.5.1. How to sponsor a BulkSMS account

6.5.2. How to accept the primary account as your credit sponsor

6.5.3. Transfer credits

6.6. Enable Auto response

6.7. Enable your opt-in Group

6.8. Disable advanced features

6.1. Purge failed numbers

This can be used to maintain your phonebook groups by allowing you to purge numbers in your phonebook based on a chosen number of consecutive SMS delivery failures. Upon running this feature, the numbers are moved to a special ‘Failed number’ group for future deletion or correction as needed. To keep your phonebook up to date follow the instructions below.

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6.1.1. Enable Purge failed numbers:

Step 1: Log in to your BulkSMS account and go to your ‘My Accounts’ page

Step 2: Click ‘Other features’ under the ‘Advanced features’ section

Step 3: Tick 'Purge failed numbers'

Step 4: Click 'Update' button.

Step 5: Click the 'My Account' link at the top of the page to return to your account home page.

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6.1.2. Purge failed numbers from your groups:

Step 1: Log in to your BulkSMS account and go to your ‘My Accounts’ page

Step 2: Click ‘Phonebook Groups'

Step 3: You will see a group called 'Failed Numbers (update)'. Click the 'update' link.

Step 4: Specify the number of consecutive failures that you would like to use to classify numbers as permanently 'failed'. I.e. how many times you would like to try sending to the customer, and thereafter no more attempts must be made. (Note: Take into consideration how often you send to the group and that failed messages will be charged for.)

Step 5: Tick 'Group names' to purge the mobile number from that group.

Step 6: Click 'Purge' button (Note: The total number of purged numbers will be displayed near the top of the page.) Repeat as desired.

Step 7: Click ‘My Account’ link, at the top of the page, to return to your account home page.

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6.1.3. Delete purged numbers:

Step 1: Go to ‘My Account’

Step 2: Click 'Phonebook Groups'

Step 3: Click 'update' link from 'Failed Numbers (update)'

Step 4: Click 'Clear old numbers'

Step 5: The screen will change, Click 'Delete' to completely remove all of the previously purged numbers from the 'Failed Numbers' group. Remember: “All failed numbers which you previously purged will now be completely removed, including their associated individuals.”

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6.2. Enable Scheduling

With scheduled messaging you can set messages to go out at the exact date and time you want them to. This is very useful if you know that a message needs to go out at a certain time, and you are unable to physically send it at that time. To enable the ‘Schedule a message’ functionality, follow these easy steps:

Step 1: Log in to your BulkSMS account, go to the ‘My Account’ page and click on 'Other features' in the 'Advanced Features' section

Step 2: Tick the checkbox next to 'Scheduling'

Step 3: Click on the 'update' button.

You are now set up to send scheduled messages.

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6.3. Delivery summary report

To receive a weekly summary email detailing the number of messages sent and received along with a break down of how many messages were delivered you will need to:

Step 1: Log in to your BulkSMS account and go to your ‘My Accounts’ page.

Step 2: Go to the ‘Advanced Features’ section and Click ‘Other features’.

Step 3: Click ‘Delivery Summary Report’

Step 4: Tick the ‘Receive the weekly email summary’ box

Step 5: Choose which day of the week you would like to receive the report

Step 6: Enter the email address that the report needs to go to

Step 7: Click ‘Submit’ to save the data

Step 8: Click ‘My Account’ to go back to the main menu

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6.4. Enable Mobile2Group sending

^{(only available in South Africa and the United Kingdom)}

This feature makes it possible for you to become truly mobile by allowing you to send SMS text messages to your BulkSMS phonebook groups using a mobile phone. Once enabled you will be able to send an SMS text message to 32018 in South Africa and 077 978 03200 in the UK and this will be forwarded to a specified BulkSMS phonebook group.

To enable this feature:

Step 1: Log in to your BulkSMS account and go to your ‘My Accounts’ page

Step 2: Go to the ‘Advanced Features’ section and Click ‘Other features’

Step 3: Tick the 'Mobile2Group' box

Step 4: Click the 'Update' button.

Step 5: Click on the 'My Account' link at top of page to return to your account page.

You can now send a message from your mobile phone to a group

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6.5. Credit Sponsor And Credit Transfer

6.5.1. How to Sponsor a BulkSMS account

It is possible to sponsor credit usage on other BulkSMS accounts from your BulkSMS account. An example of where this is useful is if you have a business in which several people have BulkSMS accounts, and you want to manage the purchasing and usage of credits from one central BulkSMS account. This feature is called the Sponsor feature. This means that the central/main account will sponsor the use of credits on sub-accounts.

Each of the people who need to send SMS text messages in the business will need to have opened their own BulkSMS account. The credits used on these accounts are deducted from one central account. A quota for each sponsored account can be set on the primary account. The Primary account can also see the message history of the sponsored accounts. The assumption is made that the BulkSMS accounts that you want to work with are already in existence.

Setting up the Primary account:

Step 1: Log in to the BulkSMS account that will be the primary account, which would sponsor the sub-accounts.

Step 2: Click on 'Other features', under the 'Advanced Features' section.

Step 3: Tick 'Credit Sponsor' box

Step 4: Click on 'Update'

Step 5: Click on 'My Account' at the top of the page to return to the main menu

Step 6: Click on 'Sponsor Credits' under 'Commerce Centre'.

Step 7: Click ‘click here’ on the link shown to add consumers/sub accounts to the list of accounts you wish to sponsor.

Step 8: TYPE in the BulkSMS account username that you wish to sponsor. Note that it is case sensitive. Select the number of credits per month that you would like to sponsor this account, and type a message to the account holder if you wish.

Step 9: Click on the 'Offer' button.

If you want to add another sub-account, Click on ‘Add consumer’ at the top of the web page and repeat steps 6-9 above

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6.5.2. How to accept the Primary account as your Credit Sponsor

Step 1: The owner of the account to be sponsored should log into his/her BulkSMS account. There will be a new link shown on the 'My Account' page called 'View Credit Sponsor'.

Step 2: The information on the sponsorship is shown. ACCEPT or REJECT the sponsorship as desired.

The sponsored account can now start sending.

Please note the following:

The agreement to sponsor/consume credits can be revoked at any time by either the Primary account holder or the Sponsored account holder.

If an account accepts a sponsorship, the message history on that account is visible to the primary account.

The monthly quota set by the primary account holder can be changed at any time.

If a sponsored account uses up credits to the level of the monthly quota and the quota is not increased by the primary account, it can purchase more credits in the normal way by clicking on the 'Buy Credits' link on the 'My Account' page.

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6.5.3. Transfer credits:

Step 1: Log in to your BulkSMS account and go to the ‘My Account’ page

Step 2: Go to the ‘Advanced Features’ section and Click ‘Other features’.

Step 3: Tick ‘Transfer credits’

Step 4: Click ‘Submit’

Step 5: Click on 'My Account' at the top of the page to return to the main menu

Step 6: Click ‘Transfer Credits’ under the ‘Commerce Centre’ Section

Step 7: Enter the username of the Account to which you want to transfer credits

Step 8: Enter the user ID of the account to which you want to transfer credits (this can be found under the ‘Update your profile’ link under the ‘My Profile’ section on the ‘My Accounts’ page of the BulkSMS account you wish to transfer credits to)

Step 9: Enter the number of credits you wish to transfer

Step 10: Enter a comment (if needed)

Step 11: Click ‘Transfer’

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6.6. Enable Auto response

This feature allows you to send automated messages to a mobile user as a response to an incoming message. It is usually created for Premium Rated short code campaigns (only available in South Africa and the United Kingdom). You need to set up a default response message and choose other responses as necessary.

The cost of an automated response message is the same as sending a normal message. ie. if one message equals 1 credit, 1 response message will equal 1 credit.

Step 1: Log in to your BulkSMS account, go to the ‘My Account’ page and Click 'Other features' in the 'Advanced Features' section.

Step 2: Tick the checkbox next to 'Auto Response'

Step 3: Click on the 'Update' button. You are now able to set up an automatic response.

Step 4: Click ‘My Account’ at the top of the page to return to the main menu

You will not need to go through steps 1 to 4 again. If you would like to change your auto response at any time, simply follow the steps from step 5.

Step 5: Click ‘Auto Response’ under the ‘Folders’ heading.

Step 6: Enter a message to be sent to the customer should the response that they send be invalid (i.e. not a response that has been requested).

Step 7: Enter the email address that you would like ALL responses to go to.

Step 8: Enter a key word or phrase that the consumer needs to send in order to receive the next message

Step 9: Enter the message that the customer will receive once they have sent the key word or phrase above. (e.g. thank you for your response. You have sent the correct key word, you will now be entered into the draw).

Step 10: You can have up to ten keywords with various responses. The rest would be entered in the same way as Step 8 and Step 9, under the 'Rule' blocks.

Step 11: Click Save

Step 12: Click ‘My Account’ at the top of the page to return to the main menu.

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6.7. Enable your opt-in Group

This feature enables the people to whom you want to send SMS messages to automatically add their number to your web based BulkSMS address book by sending an SMS from their cellphones.

The typical process of adding numbers to your address book is to ask people for their numbers, write them down, type them up in a spreadsheet, and then manually upload the spreadsheet to your online BulkSMS phonebook group. By using the Opt-in Group feature you can simply ask people to send an SMS to join your group.

To set-up your opt-in group, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log in to your BulkSMS account and go to the ‘My Account’ page

Step 2: Click on Other Features (under Advanced Features).

Step 3: Click on Opt-in Groups.

Step 4: Give your service a name

Step 5: Give your service a brief description

Step 6: Click ‘Enable’ to create your Opt-in Group

Instructions for joining your group will be shown.

You can then tell the people who want to join your group how to do so through announcements, notices, adverts etc.

The Opt-in group with members is shown under your Phonebook Groups and you can send an SMS to the group as you normally would.

Note that each new member will pay R1 for the SMS message sent requesting the group membership. This is slightly more than the cost of sending a standard rate SMS and the extra revenue is used to send a reply message to confirm to the new member that he/she has joined the relevant group. There is no cost to you to send this joining confirmation message.

There are no costs to your group members to receive your messages. SMS messages that you send to these group members cost you the same as other SMS messages sent from your BulkSMS account.

This service only works on South African networks. Opt-in Group members, as with all recipients of your messages in South Africa, can at any time remove themselves from your address book by replying STOP to any message that you may send to them. This SMS will be charged at the standard SMS rate.

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6.8. Disable Advanced Features

To disable any of the Advanced features:

Step 1: Log in to your BulkSMS account and go to the ‘My Account’ page

Step 2: Go to the ‘Advanced Features’ section and Click ‘Other features’.

Step 3: Untick the feature that you would like to disable (i.e Purge failed numbers, scheduling, allow for Mobile2Group sending, transfer credits and/or Auto Response)

Step 4: Click ‘Update’ to disable the relevant feature.

Step 5: Click ‘My Account’ at the top of the page to return to the main menu.

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