Overview:
Text Clubs allows you to create an outbound-primary texting campaign. Listeners/end users can subscribe to your campaign by texting a specific keyword to your number. This approach ensures compliance with the FCC's Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), safeguarding against unsolicited messages and potential hefty penalties. Each station can have as many Text Clubs as necessary, and there is no limit to how many members can be in each Text Club.
Text Clubs are a one way texting service, as in one message being sent to many people. Members of a Text Club can not message each other, and if a Text Club Member were to respond to a message they receive from your Text Club, that message would appear in your inbox on your Main Sender Page.
How Text Clubs Work:
Once an Opt-in Keyword has been set, the end user must text that word to your number. Our system will automatically confirm consent with the listener, and once consent is confirmed, you can send mass messages to them (and everyone else in the Text Club) within the terms of the campaign. Our system will automatically maintain and reconfirm the consent of the listener as required every 18 months and allows a simple interface for Text Groove Users to send mass messages out.
How to Set Up a Text Club:
Your station decides on an opt-in keyword and the maximum number of texts to send out monthly (we typically recommend around 12, but depending on what the club is for, this could be more). You'll also need a designated website/contact email for 'HELP' replies - this could even just be your email address or any sort of promotions/info email.
If you'd like to set up a Text Club(s), please send an email to
support@textgroove.com with the subject line '[Your Station Call Letters] Text Club Activation' and include the following information:
- Name of your Text Club (IE, "CALLs Text Club" or "News Alerts")
- Your chosen opt-in keyword
- Station Website / Brand URL (for HELP messages)
- Contact email for the Text Club (for HELP messages)
- Maximum monthly messages for the campaign
Typically we can have the club up and running within 1-2 business days.
Once the first Text Club has been setup for you, you are able to create your own Text Clubs as well. Go to the Left Side Menu under Apps, click "Text Club", on the following page, click the green button on the top left of the screen that says "+ Create Club", and fill out the information forms for your new Text Club.
Building your Text Club:
Encourage your listeners to text a keyword to your station's number. This action triggers an automated Double Opt-In response, asking for their confirmation to subscribe by replying 'YES' and informing them about the maximum monthly messages.
We recommend including a call to action in your Station Signatures, Auto Replies, and Keyword Auto Responders. Turn your Auto Reply from "Thanks for texting" to "Thanks for texting. Reply JOIN to subscribe to our Text Club for updates".
Compliance and Ongoing Communication:
Once listeners opt in, they can receive messages as part of your campaign. Our system ensures ongoing consent in compliance with legal requirements by sending a opt-in confirmation every 18 months to subscribed Text Club Members.
Messaging Text Clubs:
Once a Text Club has been created, it's time to start sending messages. Text Clubs messages are currently hard-limited to 160 characters max, and you are unable to send MMS Messages (images, gifs, audio, or video). Each Text Club message send will automatically add "Txt STOP to opt-out" to the end of each message and this counts towards your total character count, furthermore, if you include a URL in your Text Club message send, "Msg&Data rates apply." will also be automatically added to your messages. These are both built in compliance features to prevent your messages from being blocked by the carriers.
Text Clubs currently have a max message cap per month built into your contract with Text Groove. The defaults are:
Sending a Message in Text Clubs:
In the Left Side Menu under Apps, click "Text Club". This page will display all of your current Text Clubs in this Organization. To send a message, click the green SMS icon under the Options column beside the Text Club you want to send a message to.
On this page you will see two tabs at the top of the screen, "Send Message", and "Schedule Message". To send a message instantly, type your message in the Message Box below. You can see your message preview, and character count below the Message Box. Once your message is composed and ready to send, click the blue "Send Message to Text Club".
If you would like to schedule a message to a Text Club, click the "Schedule Message" tab at the top of the screen. The work flow is the same as above, but you can select a specific date, and time to have the message send.
Viewing Sent and Scheduled Messages:
You can view previously sent messages, as well as scheduled messages by clicking the grey calendar icon on the main Text Club page next to a specific Text Club. On that page, you will see two tabs at the top of the screen, "Sent Campaigns", and "Scheduled Campaigns". The Sent Campaigns tab will display the Send Date, Message, and number of Messages sent. The Scheduled Campaigns tab will display the Scheduled Date of the message send, the message, and if it was sent. You can also delete a message to cancel it from sending.
Modify A Text Club:
You can Modify the information for a Text Club, by clicking the yellow "Modify Text Club" icon next to the Text Club you want to edit. You can update the name, trigger word, brand URL, Max number of messages, Terms and Conditions URL and contact email address. Click save to update.
View Subscribed Members of a Text Club:
You can see a list of all subscribed members of a particular Text Club by clicking the blue members icon next to that Text Club. On this page you can see all members who have successfully subscribed to that list. You can sort contacts by Name, Email, and Join Date, you can also search for contacts, or delete contacts.
To download a Subscriber List, click the blue "Download Subscriber List" at the top of the page. This will download the full list of people who ahve joined that Text Club as a .CSV file for use in Google Sheets, or Excel.