This function has been designed to simplify the sending of personalised SMSs to large numbers of mobile recipients.

It has been tested and shown to be stable with over 65000 recipients in a single bulk message. A typical 100 character SMS sent to 5000 recipients represents a total e-mail file size of 145k.

To use our Bulk SMS functionality, click the Bulk button on the SMS composition window. This displays a series of sub-options that allow you to import lists, insert tokens, control the number of SMS splits and set an alphanumeric Sender ID.


Importing files

As a source of mobile recipients and token values, you can use your existing Outlook distribution lists, contacts or you can import Excel files, text files and Comma Separated Value files (CSVs).

To illustrate this process, we have chosen to import a Text (Tab delimited) file.

. Step 1 - Click the Import List button on the toolbar. A browser window will
open to enable you to select a TXT file. (Hint: If you use Microsoft Excel, this
is a common format for saving and exporting data. Use the Excel 'Save As'
function to create a TXT (Tab delimited) file of your existing mobile numbers).





. Step 2 - Choose a data type. As we are importing a TXT (tab delimited) file, select the 'Delimited' option and click Next.

. Step 3 - On the second 'Bulk Import Wizard' screen you are asked to define
your type of file delimiter. For this example, select Tab. You are also asked
to qualify how you wish to define your columns. In this example file, we have
included the column headings as the first data row. To use these labels select
Treat Top Row as headers. Click Next to continue.






. Step 4 - On the third and final 'Bulk Import Wizard' screen, you are presented
with the option to rename your columns. To rename a column, click with your
mouse on a column and either Choose a name or select Other and enter
your description. We have also included the option to enter a Default Value.
Use this option to automatically insert a value into a missing field.

During this stage, it is important to define where your mobile numbers appear.
outlook will not let you complete this step and import a file until your
mobile number column has been defined.

After you have completed these steps, click Finish to return to the
outlook message window.

Hint: if you are importing from Excel, your mobile number column must be
formatted as TEXT. Our recommended file 'scrubbing' tool is UltraEdit. This
program has powerful macro and replace functions to easily remove spurious
characters in your file, such as dashes, pluses, spaces etc.

Composing a bulk message

At this point your TXT (Tab delimited) list has been imported into outlook and appears as a distribution list in the To: field.

The next step is to write a 'personalised' message using the data that we have just imported. This is similar to doing a 'mail merge' in a word processor.





outlook uses the term 'tokens' to represent the name of the field data that you plan to merge. These tokens were defined in Step 4 (above) where we chose a name (token) for each data column.

To create a personalised message that uses 'tokens', type your message and position your cursor where the token is to appear. Select a token from the drop down menu (to the right of the button named Insert) and click Insert. Our example is shown below:

In this example we have inserted tokens for the customer's NAME and remaining SMS credit BALANCE.

There are two other important parts associated with creating a personalised bulk message:

SMS Limit: This function allows you to define a cap on your message size. Each increment represents 160 characters. Because the data in a field may differ in size (i.e. the name Rosemary is larger than Bill) this can force your SMS message size to be extended. Because outlook supports concatenation, it will automatically send a message in multiple parts. The SMS Limit function provides a fixed message limit.

Sender ID: This allows you to enter an alphanumeric string of up to 11 characters to identify your message. This will appear as part of the message header when you send a message. Note that this function will only work with our single-way messaging option.

Hint: Some mobile operators do not support the Sender ID function. Check before sending.


Previewing your message

This function provides a preview of your SMS message prior to despatch. It's especially useful for previewing the formatting of your bulk messages that contain merged data.

To access this function, click the Preview... button on your menu bar in the 'New outlook Message' window.





On the preview screen, your distribution list appears down the left-hand window pane. The recipients are grouped according to distribution lists, any duplicate entries are automatically removed.

Clicking on a name shows a preview of the final SMS in the right hand window pane. Your data is substituted for each of the token markers and the number of SMS splits is shown.

Use the Previous and Next button to navigate through the names or click on anyone in the list.

To close the Preview window, click the Done button at the base of your screen.


Summarising your SMS broadcast

This feature provides you with a summary of your broadcast message. It allows you to determine the quality of the list that you have imported and the final number of SMS messages that will be despatched.

In addition to viewing a summary, you can also effect changes (i.e. you can adjust the SMS Limit function) prior to the despatch of your broadcast.

To use the Summary function, click the Summary button on the menu bar. This can be seen in the 'New outlook Message' window.





This window is divided into three parts: Recipients, SMS Splits and SMS Info.


Recipients

Number of recipients: This is the number of people tagged to receive your SMS message.

Number without mobile: This is the number of recipients who do not have a mobile number associated with their entry. To correct these omissions, go back to your original list (CSV file, Excel, Outlook Distribution list) and add mobile numbers against each entry.

Number with other missing details: This is the number of recipients who are missing details for the 'tokens' that you inserted into your message. Again, to correct this situation, go back to your original list and check that the data is complete for each entry.

Hint: You can still send to people who have 'missing details' by marking the checkbox.


SMS Splits

The longest SMS needs to be split into: This shows how many parts are associated with the longest SMS.

SMS Limit (per recipient): This allows you to modify the split limits associated with your current list. If you change this limit, outlook will automatically update the summary screen.

Hint: You can still send to people who are listed to receive a message that exceeds the maximum number of splits. Mark the box that says Send to people over the SMS limit. Depending on the SMS Limit that you define, this can be a full or partial message.


SMS Info

This provides a dynamic summary of the SMS message that is about to be sent. This information updates automatically if changes are made in the Recipients or SMS Splits sections.

Refer to this section for a summary of:

. how many recipients do not have mobile phones associated with their contact
details.

. how many recipients will receive a message with missing details (if you choose
to send to recipients over the SMS Limit) or how many people will not receive
the message because their message size exceeds the character limit

. how many SMS messages exceed your SMS Limit and what is the active
SMS split limit

. how many recipients will receive a partial message (if you elected to send to
send to people over the SMS Limit) or how many people will not receive
your message because their messsage exceeds the SMS spit limit

. a total of the SMSs that are about to be sent (including splits) and your total
number of recipients.

Hint: To accept your changes or to leave the file as it is, click the Apply button. These changes will remain unless you choose to modify your list. Click Cancel if changes are not required and you wish to return to your New outlook Message window.


Dispatching your SMS broadcast

By clicking the Apply or Cancel buttons on the Message Summary screen, outlook will return you to your message window.

To despatch your SMS broadcast, click the Send button on the menu bar.

Hint: Prior to the despatch of a large broadcast, always check that you have sufficient SMS Credits remaining in your account. Either contact your company's SMS Administrator or go to the SMS Administration Page to review your account details. Additional SMS credits can be purchased online at the Power of Messaging Online Store.


Tracking your SMS broadcast

outlook allows you to track the status of your SMS broadcast. This status page provides a summary of each bulk message. Access to this feature is from the Your outlook Account button on the Outlook menu bar.





Click View your bulk messages to obtain an onscreen summary of your SMS broadcast. This page shows:

. The message recipient and their mobile phone number

. The current status of the message (our delivery status indicates when it was
sent to your local mobile operator's SMS gateway)

. A summary of the message that was sent.

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