UPDATE – April 4, 2018
- Sub-Accounts – We have now added the ability for a user account(parent) to create their own sub-accounts with permissions on what they have access to inside the parent account. A sub-account can basically access the parent account(with their own username and password), but with different permissions based on how a parent account sets it. You may have team members that you want to delegate work on different modules within the platform and only give them access to specific features, you now have that ability! Each pricing level we offer comes with a set number of sub-accounts each parent account can create.
- Dynamic SMS gateway User Routing – A HUGE REQUEST and question we always get is whether you can use Twilio, Plivo, and Nexmo at the same time within the script or if you can only use 1 gateway for all users across the entire platform. Previously that’s how it worked as you could only use 1 gateway for all users. Now we have added Dynamic SMS gateway user routing so each user can use a different gateway! Here’s how it works: In the admin panel, you can associate different countries with different SMS gateway providers. Each gateway may have different rates for purchasing numbers and sending SMS for each country, so you have the flexibility to now associate a gateway to a specific country depending on their rates. This is very useful if you are marketing in multiple countries.
When a user creates an account through the platform and selects the country they are from on the sign up form, it will automatically associate that SMS gateway to their user account according to how you have it configured. You also have the ability to override that and choose different gateways for each user account if you choose, so if you are only using it for 1 country you can still associate each user account with a different SMS gateway. Maybe one of your clients wants to use MMS to send images, you can associate Twilio to their account since Twilio offers MMS capability, but for all other user accounts you want to use Plivo, you can now do that as you have much greater flexibility than ever before!
- Plivo Intelligent Message Queuing – Like Twilio, Plivo has now added their own rate limiting & message queuing system for outbound SMS. What this means for the script is MUCH FASTER PERFORMANCE when sending SMS at the fastest(default) throttle setting because you can now send over SMS messages to Plivo at a greater speed and they handle the queuing/sending rate on their end. Previously, the script needed to handle the rate limiting and could only send Plivo the messages at a rate of 1 SMS/Second per long code. If you attempted to send them messages any faster than that, it would error out. Now, when leaving the throttle at “1 SMS Every 1 Second Per Long Code”, it actually sends the messages to Plivo at a rate of about 15-20 SMS per second which means script execution time is about 15-20 times faster than before! This doesn’t mean messages are delivered at this rate, it simply means they are sent to Plivo at this speed and they in turn handle the sending rate on their end.
NOTE: Sending to international numbers outside the US and Canada will actually deliver messages at a rate of 10 SMS every second. Keep the throttle at the default setting for that rate.
- Improved Contest Feature – We have improved the contest module and added a few additional features to it. Here’s some of the features at a glance:
- Anyone Can Participate – Previously only your current subscribers could participate in a contest as a way to keep them engaged. Now, anyone can join your contest! This is a fantastic way to grow your list because now if someone texts in the contest keyword and they are not already on your list, they will be automatically added to the group specified in the contest. It has now become a great tool to build your list while still offering your current subscribers an effective way to keep them interested.
- Start and End Dates – Added contest start and end dates. You can now specify when you want the contest to start and end and no one can join outside of those dates.
- Max Entries – A new “Max Entries” field has been added that will allow a participant the ability to enter the contest multiple times(from 1-10) by texting in the keyword depending on how you have it set. This would give a participant a greater chance at winning if they enter multiple times.
- Voice Broadcast IVR Forward to Number – On the voice broadcast feature, we now have added the ability for the contact to forward the call to the number you specify by hitting 1 on their phone when the broadcast ends. The number could be a call center that you want them connected to after the voice broadcast if they hit 1 on their phone. If you don’t have a forwarding number set, it will not prompt them to enter 1 on their phone to speak with a representative.
- Alphanumeric Sender ID Opt-Out Number – Some countries have the ability to send messages via an alphanumeric sender ID, however if a contact wants to unsubscribe, they can’t send back STOP since incoming SMS doesn’t work with alphanumeric sender IDs. Now, when sending messages via an alphanumeric sender ID, the appended message contains the actual number to text STOP to be removed from the list. Since our platform also requires obtaining an actual number, this is the number they can text STOP to and it will have that small disclaimer tacked on at the end of the message.
- Extra Permission Settings – We have added a few more user permission settings that you can control for each user account inside the admin panel. Send SMS, logs, reports, affiliates, groups, contact list, and make purchases have been added so you can turn these on or off for individual user accounts as needed. Keep in mind that user accounts wouldn’t be able to give a sub-account permission to a feature it also doesn’t have access to.
- Close Account Button – A user can now easily close their own account from inside the “Account” page accessed from the top right menu drop down. If they close their account, it will automatically release all their numbers from use inside the platform and at the gateway(saving you time from doing this yourself) as well as immediately cancel any current credit card subscriptions they have. NOTE: If they have any PayPal subscriptions, they will be prompted they must cancel these from inside their own PayPal account.
- Issue Fixed/SSL Conflict – Occasionally an issue was occurring for clients that had SSL installed on their site. When they tried to schedule SMS from the calendar/scheduler or appointment reminders from the appointment list, the popup window wasn’t displaying the message box or allowing you to click the “recurring” checkbox to display extra fields required for recurring events. This has now been fixed.
- Minor Admin Panel Changes – We have made some minor cosmetic changes to the admin panel, added a sub-accounts button to the users module so the admin can view all of the user’s sub-accounts, and added the country/SMS gateway config section. If you previously requested access to the admin panel or are a current client and want to upgrade, you will need to clear your browser’s cache to see the cosmetic changes.
- Terms and Privacy Policy Content – We have added content to the terms/conditions and privacy policy pages. We previously left those pages empty for you to fill in yourself, but since those 2 pages are pretty common across the board we decided to populate them with some standard content saving you time to do this.
Image courtesy of Plivo
