Creating text subscription lists by topic

You may have a need to create a list so that you can text people on a specific topic. Most of the time we do this by creating subset lists that contain the people who need to know about the topic. Sometimes, however, you may want this list to be something people subscribe to instead of starting from an existing list of contacts. Here is how you can create lists for people to add themselves to via text.

1. Establish a dedicated phone number

The first step has to be defining a phone number whose sole purpose is to receive these opt-in messages on your behalf. To do this contact support at gettechsupport@brightarrow.com and we will purchase a phone number for you. By default we purchase a phone number in your area code. Some of you service multiple area codes or maybe you have a reason to use a different area code. If so just let us know and we'll get the phone in the area code of your choosing.

Is there a cost for this phone?

We will purchase 1 phone number for each customer at no charge. After that first phone is purchased there is a small fee for each additional number. The cost is the same as we pay for the number, no profit is made by us for the purchase of these numbers.

Why would I need more than 1 phone number?

We have several different services that would require a special phone number just for you. Sometimes you can reuse a phone number for multiple services, but sometimes a service needs a number that is only for that specific service. While these services don't have their own fee, if you need multiple dedicated phone numbers the fee is only for the purchase of the numbers after the first one.

You may also want a dedicated number specific to different groups within your organization such as 1 per city you are located in, 1 per school at your district, or 1 per department at a hospital. For some its important to have separate dedicated numbers because of their own business logic. In these scenarios we would have one per division as you saw fit.

Can I use one of my own numbers that isn't assigned for any other use?

We need to own the number so that we get the responses it receives. For this reason it's likely not an option to use one of your phone numbers.

2. BrightArrow Settings

Once we have your phone number(s) we have to turn on the Text Opt In portal for your account. If it is not on for you the next steps will not appear for your lists. If you think it should be on but don't see the same options let us know and we'll verify your customer setup.

We also have to register your dedicated number to your account. This ties that number to your customer account and only your customer account.

3. Create a list to store the opt-ins

After your phone number is establish and registered and text opt-ins is enabled for your account you are ready to make topic based opt in lists. Start by creating a new list for your first topic. For this example lets say you want people to opt in to receive text messages about PTA matters. Create your list with a list name that makes sense for what people will be opt-ing in to.

4. Turn on opt-in for the new list

Now that you have the list that will hold the opt-ins we need to set the list to receive this information.

1. Go into the list settings for your new list.
2. Find the "Portal for recipients to update contact information" section and check the box
3. Enter the settings for this list
   
   1. Keyword: What keyword will the user text to opt into the list
   2. Phone #: The dedicated phone number that will receive the opt-in from step 1 above
   3. Portal type: Make sure "Text opt-in portal" is the one selected
      * If you do not see Text opt-in portal as an option contact support

5. Inform others how to opt in

Now that your opt-in list is set up you can let people know how to opt in. This may be via your website or an email blast or whatever method makes sense for your situation. Make sure to tell the what phone number to text and what word to use to opt-in. Based on the screenshot above we'd tell people to opt into PTA information by texting 555-123-4567 with the word "pta"

If you set up multiple list you may reuse the same phone number with different keywords. Continuing with the school example you may want to tell people to text 555-123-4567 and send the word "pta" for PTA announcements, "football" for football announcements, "closures" for school closure announcements. Be sure to include directions to send each opt in separately.

6. Lists are created and people are opting in, now what?

Now that your lists are created you can use them to text anytime you have a message to send that pertains to the opt-in topic. If you go into the list you'll be able to see the phone numbers that have opted in. The first name will be "Self Registered" and the last name will be the date and time they opted in using the format YYMMDD_HHMM

In the above example the phone (not shown) was registered on June 2, 2022 at 7:08AM Pacific Time

Will messages sent to the opt-in lists appear in other portals?

The only place you'll see the message sent history for these lists is the reports area. They do not tie back to any specific contact from other lists so messages sent to these lists will not show up in the message history section of other public portals. 

Do Opt-Ins count as minutes?

No, opt-ins do not count as minutes for billing purposes.