Getting started with SMS (USA & Canada)

Hey, everyone. It’s Kevin. I’m gonna show you how you can easily get started with TextMagic. We’ll cover everything from setting up your number to completing the registration process so you’ll be all set to send your first text once your campaign gets approved, all in just a few minutes.

Signing up is quick. No credit card needed. No commitment. You even get free texting credits and a virtual number for texting.

You can sign up with your email address or use your Google, Microsoft, or Apple account. Before we dive in, there are a couple of important things to note. First, TextMagic is for businesses only, so you’ll need a valid EIN and a business email address to get approved. Also, before you can send any texts, your messaging traffic needs to be approved by carriers.

Industry regulators expect you to collect consent. This means that you can only message contacts who have opted in. No purchase lists, no sharing or selling customer data. Approvals are handled by third parties, but don’t worry, TextMagic support team is always here to guide you and help improve your chances of getting approved.

Once you log in, you’ll land here. Think of this as your setup checklist. First thing, grab a TextMagic number by clicking choose number. Now you’ll see two options, toll free and ten DLC.

Toll free is usually the simplest. Faster approval, no changes needed to your terms of service or privacy policy, and it’s perfect for most businesses. Ten DLC gives you a local area code which makes messages look more personal and familiar. The trade off is a bit more set up and you’ll need to update your terms of service and privacy policy to meet carrier requirements.

My recommendation, start with toll free. It’s quicker to set up, easier to approve, and gives you better delivery rates. It also supports mass texting two way messaging with faster sending speeds. And just to be clear, this verification step isn’t a box to tick.

It’s what gives your business number credibility, protects consumers from unwanted messages, and helps make sure your text actually get delivered and trusted. Let’s move forward with the toll free number. So the first month is free, and then it’s ten dollars a month if you decide to keep the number. Next, you can choose from a number of phone numbers you see here.

And once you find one you like, you can hit activate number. Here, you’ll get a bit more info about the regulatory and registration process. Here we just need to fill in our company details and brand information. Next, enter your address, and finally, enter your contact info.

Next, hit save and continue. Now in this next screen, we’re gonna explain how we’re gonna be using text messages, and this is really important as the regulators wanna know that you’re using it for legitimate business purposes. So select your use case. Mine will be conversational and alerts.

And who are you sending messages to and why? So here you wanna enter something like this, and so you can see I’m following up with my subscribers and followers. Next, describe the nature of your messages, and so I’ll be sending short alerts and new tutorials or resources and reminders as you’ll see here. Next, estimate how many messages you’ll be sending a month, and then finally, if you’re also sending traffic to Canada, and I’m gonna say no.

Next, because you’re only sending messages to people who opted in, you need to share where you collected their information and how they actually did opt in. So for me, they completed a sign up form on the solopreneur website, and you can see detailed examples here as well if you wanna know some approved use cases. And along with this, you’ll need to provide a screenshot of the form that you used. So here I am grabbing a screenshot of the form on my site.

If you don’t have a website or landing page with a form already, you can easily create one right within TextMagic in the forms area, and TextMagic will give you a landing page that you can easily use. Next, you can provide some supporting documentation like this, and be sure to include your privacy policy and terms and conditions if you have them. Next, you wanna provide a few examples of the types of messages you’ll be sending. So here, I’m sending a reminder type message.

This one is more of a product update, and this one is more of a welcome message. So just think through the types of messages you’ll be sending and create a few examples. Then hit save and continue. And lastly, you can review all of your entries, edit anything that’s needed, and hit submit form.

Number approval takes about a week. Toll free is usually faster. Here’s how it works. Once you submit your form, TextMagic support reviews it within twenty four hours and gives you recommendations to improve your chances of approval.

After that, the form is sent to the messaging aggregator or the campaign registry for final approval. TextMagic doesn’t control the approval, but their support team is here every step of the way to help if you get stuck. While you’re waiting for approval, you can still get set up. You can import your contacts and organize your list, create SMS automations, check out the shared inbox and connect all your communication channels, and draft message templates.

Keep in mind these templates can’t be used for mass texting until approval, but they’ll be ready to go once you’re cleared. When you’re ready to go beyond the free trial, just add credit to your account. Incoming messages are always free, and everything is fully prepaid whether you’re on pay as you go or a monthly plan. Start with a small top up, and if you ever miscalculate, no worries.

You can buy more or even get a refund if you overpaid. If you text frequently, the monthly plans are great options. They come with a free number and volume discounts. And, of course, you stay in full control of your billing through your Stripe account.

And if you already use a messaging provider like Twilio or Vonage, connect it here to get even lower rates as little as a cent per text. That’s it. Once you’re approved, you’re ready to start texting with TextMagic. Sending is simple.

Just choose your contact list, click send SMS, and you can compose and send your message right here. Or jump into the messenger for one on one chats. Now you’ve got everything you need to start connecting with your audience.