How to launch a premium rate SMS service in Kenya using bulk SMS

Why you should start a premium rate service to send text messages to subscribers

More than 16 million people use mobile phones in Kenya. You can reach millions of people who are looking for information and are willing to pay you for it through bulk SMS . You would be earning more than Kes 2.78 shillings per SMS which, when you add up the numbers, is quite a return.

How to send SMS using premium rate SMS How to send text messages using premium rate SMS

Let’s say we’ve set it up and show you how to send SMS Gujarati language lessons to your subscribers:

(a) To introduce a customer to your service, simply ask them to text your chosen keyword, say “Gujarati”, to 5242.

(b) Once your customer texts the word “Gujarati” to 5242, they will be automatically registered to receive the daily Gujarati text messages you provide;

(c) you will have provided us with a list of SMS text messages of Gujarati lessons (say 30 SMS text messages, 1 SMS text message lesson per day for 30 days);

(d) Each morning your client will receive a lesson via SMS text message for the rest of the month;

(e) Depending on the volume of SMS text messages per month, you will earn more than 2.78 Kes for each SMS text message your customer receives;

(f) For example, if you have 5,000 customers, you will send 5,000 SMS text messages per day. At a rate of 3 kes per SMS text message, you will earn 15,000 kes per day or 450,000 kes per month. Kenya has more than 16 million mobile users. It is not difficult to get more than 10,000 users for your service. Do the math;

How to send SMS Business Tips using the premium rate service or bulk SMS

Market advice for companies

Kenyans are becoming more and more entrepreneurial with what is unfortunately called “the informal sector” which dwarfs corporate business in total transaction volume and claim on the Kenyan population.

With an unemployment rate of 40% (a figure I think is a gross underestimate, especially when self-employment is considered unemployment by the authorities), many Kenyans want, second to getting a job, to get an education.

The richest Kenyans are not employees but politicians with business interests and businessmen with or without political interests. Therefore, Kenyans are in love with business one way or another. This makes them very hungry for advice on how to succeed in business.

Outside of formal education books, the best-selling titles on the book market are what is called management and self-help literature. As Kenyans get busier, suggestions on what they would have read from these books. There is a huge gap between the desired business knowledge and the one possessed. You can fill this gap by using premium rate SMS.

Configuration of the premium rate SMS channel

1. The first step is to contact a premium rate service provider.

2. In the early stages of completing the online registration form, you will be asked to provide a keyword of your choice. If you’re sending premium rate text messages containing business tips, you should select a relevant keyword like “Business” or “Tips”, or something that indicates what the service is about. This is the word that subscribers would be texting to the short code that we will provide if they want to subscribe to your service.

3. The second stage of the online registration process would be to read and understand the terms and conditions of the Premium Rate Service Provider. These are very important as they establish how you will relate to Viva as an agent. Importantly, at the bottom of these terms and conditions is the table detailing the revenue share you would receive. Section 4 of the terms and conditions provides for two ways in which you can be paid. Please read them carefully so that you can understand them.

4. The third stage of the online registration process is to contact the Premium Rate Service Provider.

5. Once the Premium Rate Service Provider confirms that you are available, you will pay the monthly fee for your first month.

6. Once the payment is made, Viva will proceed to link with our premium rate service provider to configure the keyword in our shared short code. The assemblies are usually done on Mondays and Thursdays.

7. Once the keyword has been set in the short code, we will send you an email to confirm that the keyword has been set. We will also ask you to send us an email in MS Excel with 14 – 30 SMS text messages that you would like us to start sending from the short code. Each message must not exceed 160 characters (including spaces). We will also provide you with an online platform where you can monitor who has subscribed to your service, the number of subscribers, the number of SMS text messages sent daily and other important data.

8. The next step is marketing. You need to start advertising your short code and keyword to the public. For example, you could run print ads that say “SMS Biz to 5242 to get a daily inspirational learning from the New Testament.”

9. There are many forms of advertising, including radio, newspapers, classified ads, television, or pay-per-click advertising.

10. When people see your ads, they will text the keyword to the short code and the short code system will record their numbers.

11. Every day, the system will send a text message (or two, as desired) to all numbers registered in the premium rate SMS system.

12. At the end of the month, you calculate the amount of money owed to you by visiting the successfully delivered messages section of your online platform. Once you get the number of successfully delivered messages for the month in question, multiply it by the amount per SMS you are owed. This amount per SMS varies from Kshs 2.78 to 3.89 depending on the volume.