How Supporters Sign up to Receive Texts

There are three different ways it is possible for your members to opt in to receive text alerts sent from your association. 

• signing up while taking action
• sending a keyword to 50457
• you loading a list of previous opt-ins

Signing up While Taking Action

The first and most common option is for users to enter their mobile number in the text box provided on the user profile. Your supporters will see this whenever they do something in your action center (sign up for your contact list, send messages via an advocacy campaign, sign a petition, etc...) As soon as the user enters their mobile number into that box and continues, they will receive a text confirming their subscription to receive text alerts. The user will be added to the list of recipients when you choose to send a text message through the system.

Sending a Keyword to 50457

The second and most popular option would be to have advocates text a “Keyword” to the shortcode 50457. The keyword is set up on our end and can be whatever you would like (so long as another client has not already claimed that particular keyword). Most groups will keep it short to make it easy for their advocates. When a user texts the keyword to the short code, they will receive a customized response text letting them know that have been successfully signed up to receive text alerts. You also have the ability to direct your users to a specific campaign or to any other actionable item in the system.

Please note that the customized response is only available once you have completed the SMS Carrier Registration process.

• Until then, users who sign up via keyword will receive a simple acknowledgment that they signed up to receive text messages. A record with their mobile number will be saved in the VoterVoice database, but that record will not be able to include the user's name, address, and email. 
• Once the SMS Carrier Registration is complete, the customized response can direct users to the registration form or an advocacy campaign, allowing them to also enter their name, address, and email. 

You Loading a List of Previous Opt-Ins

If you have a spreadsheet of users that includes mobile numbers that are confirmed to be opted-in, please contact support at [e-mail]. We can help you get those uploaded into the system.

Please note that the FCC requires that every contact to whom you send text alerts have a verifiable opt in specifically for texting. For this reason, it is not possible to load a list of mixed home and cell numbers that you may have collected in another context, and it is not possible to simply assume that people who have given you permission to send them email have also given you permission to text them. 

Mobile Number Compliance

When the Mobile Number field is mapped in the upload process, you will now see a new step where you must agree to three checkboxes before you can proceed. You can see a screenshot of the page here as well. 

If Support is providing assistance with uploading any contacts that include mobile numbers to your VoterVoice system, they will email you the compliance requirements which will need to be agreed upon prior to the upload being completed. 

When updating your contact list into Votervoice, all contacts MUST be previously opted-in from your previous SMS carrier to be fully accepted into VoterVoice. You are not permitted to upload contacts that have not previously selected to opt-in to SMS messaging. VoterVoice is not responsible for any violations to the SMS policy for broadcasting if contact numbers are uploaded outside this criteria.