Nowadays it's not uncommon to receive SMS messages on one's cell phone from companies marketing their products or services. A telling sign that the message is from a company is the length of the number it comes from, often an extra 4 digits longer than a normal cell number. Some may wonder how they do this, especially when it becomes evident that the SMS message has bent sent out to thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people, all at once! Let's explore how difficult or easy it is to do this.
A search on Google for ‘send bulk sms' will reveal many companies advertising their SMS services and punting cheap or even free SMS services, but beware, all is not as it seems. To cut a long story short, it takes time to investigate these companies and try out their products, but that is beyond the scope of this article, just don't go for the cheapest ones you find, because they will always have another way of taking more money from you, do your research and know what you are getting into.
Most reputable SMS companies will have at least one way of sending bulk SMS, but most will have two ways of sending SMS messages in bulk; either through a web interface or a desktop client application, which is basically SMS software that you install on your PC.
I personally prefer using a desktop application because you have more control over your contacts and messages. You can get everything ready while you are in "off line" mode and then connect and send when you are ready. I also don't like leaving all my contacts on someone else's web server.
So now I've found a good SMS company and I've installed their SMS software on my computer. I have also registered an account with them which provided me with some free SMS credits so I can try them out. This is always a good sign when looking for a SMS company, the fact that they offer a few free credits so you can try them out, sort of like a free trial, that way you've got nothing to lose by trying out their services.
All I have to do now is either manually add my contacts into this software, but that would take forever if I've got a long list of numbers, or I can import them from an Excel spread sheet. Being able to import and export from any program should be one of the basic features, it makes life so much easier, and quicker. Once I've loaded my contacts I select the ones I want to send a text message to and click on send. Within seconds this piece of software has sent out thousands of SMS messages, and it was one of the easiest things I have done on a PC. No complicated procedures, no problems installing the software (anyone could do it) and no problems registering an account.
This is the kind of experience you should look for when getting started with a bulk SMS company, and I am happy to recommend a company that although operates mainly in South Africa, their service is excellent and their software is easy to use. In a nutshell, they make it really easy to send bulk SMS messages from your PC, so I have no hesitation in recommending WinSMS.co.za to my friends and work colleagues.
Find out how easy it is to
send SMS messages from your PC at
http://www.winsms.co.za
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