The Outbound Flows plugin for OpenVBX is a very powerful tool especially when you also install the subscriptions plugin.

Essentially, it allows you to use OpenVBX like an autoresponder for phone numbers.  You can schedule outgoing texts and manage a list of customers or potential clients.

So rest assured that the few extra minutes you’ll spend configuring this plugin will be time well spent.

The hard part of getting this plugin configured is setting up the cron job.  Setting up a cron job can seem intimidating at first if you’ve never done it before – I know I felt intimidated to try it and didn’t do it right the first several times I tried it.  Fortunately the support team at my web host was able to fill in the details I was missing.

Hopefully this video will do the same for you.

Note:  Not all web hosts will allow you to run a cron job every 5 minutes.  (For example, Hostgator will allow you to run it a maximum of every 15 minutes).   If that’s the case, you can either host this program with a different hosting company or just follow their rules – every 15 minutes is still okay, but much longer than that would probably be a deal breaker.

In this tutorial you’ll learn how to properly configure the Automatic Upgrade Plugin for OpenVBX.

This plugin will take all the pain out of manually upgrading OpenVBX every time a new version is released.  It’s a real time saver.

It takes a couple extra steps to get it configured but after you’re done watching this video, you should be able to get it working in 60 seconds or less.

In this tutorial you’ll learn how to install the OpenVBX plugins that’ll really take this program to the next level.

There are some pitfalls you may encounter along the way so if you’re having trouble getting the plugins to work properly, go back and watch the video again just to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

Hope this helps – enjoy.

Gary

In this tutorial I show you how to get numbers from Twilio and connect them to your OpenVBX account.

I also show you how to clear your cache in case a number you purchased from Twilio isn’t immediately showing up in your OpenVBX control panel.

It’s a simple process but will save you a lot of frustration in case you’re wondering where the heck your newly purchased phone number is.

Enjoy!

Gary

In this video tutorial I run through how to install OpenVBX on your server.

Note:  If the video is too small or grainy, just click on the 360p text in the bottom right corner and change it to 720p – then make the video full screen (it’s the icon in the far bottom right corner) – you’ll see everything in excellent detail then.

The video shows specific instructions for how to install the program if your server is running cPanel – keep in mind cPanel isn’t required – as long as you can create a MySQL database, it doesn’t matter what kind of control panel your server runs.

Resources:

OpenVBX Download

Twilio

OpenVBX Forum (official) 

Tools Used:

7 Zip (free, open source)

Filezilla (free, open source)

Software used to record the video - Camtasia (I get asked this question so often with other videos that I thought I’d just assume a few of your were curious too)

If you have any questions, feel free to use the contact form above or just post a comment below.

SMS Short Codes vs Long Codes in Twilio and OpenVBX

I thought I’d put together this post to help you guys learn what the differences between SMS short codes and long codes (i.e. phone numbers) are and the advantages of each.

Cost

When it comes to price, there is no comparison.  A long code (I’ll also use phone number interchangeably) can be acquired for just $1/month from Twilio and it’s available to use immediately.

On the other hand, a short code requires an 8-12 week application process and costs $3,000 a quarter.  ($1,000/month – you’re billed on a quarterly basis, however).

Throughput

When I say Throughput, what I mean is how fast can the number process your text messages and get them out to your list.

Perhaps more than any other area, this is where the short code has a major advantage.  I’ve contacted Twilio for an official answer and here’s what they told me:

We have an upper rate limit of 1 SMS per second per number. Twilio SMS from standard 10-digit phone numbers have a rate limit because carriers monitor and filter for spam very rigorously. A high volume of SMS from a single phone number may trigger carriers’ spam filters and blacklist your app.

By contrast, SMS from short codes are made for bulk SMS and have a much higher send rate. There is an application process to acquire an SMS short code, but once yours is approved, you have the ability to send thousands of SMS messages at once. There is more information on short codes and how to apply to them here: http://www.twilio.com/api/sms/short-codes

If you want to do the math, that means you can send at most, 3600 text message an hour with a long code.

I’ve heard of others combining several long codes together to substantially increase throughput.  For example, if you could distribute your message equally over 5 phone numbers, you’d be able to send out over 15,000 text messages an hour for a fraction of the price.  The only problem is that solution would require substantial custom programming as I’m not aware of any off the shelf tool plugin that can do it.

If someone wants to chime in with the solution, just post it in the comments… or if you’re available for coding this functionality for OpenVBX, I’m sure my readers would like to hear from you as well.

Keywords

One thing I like about offering phone numbers to clients is that I never have to worry about a keyword being taken – the can use any keyword they like and can even reply to a blank text message.

Since most short codes are shared among a lot of people (they’re expensive so a third party typically works as a go between to keep it affordable for everyone), desirable keywords tend to get gobbled up right away.

There’s also the issue that not everyone understands how to send a message to a short code.  Everybody who knows how to send a text message understands what a phone number is – they’re familiar with it and understand how to send a text message to a phone number.

Which to Get

If you’re just getting started with OpenVBX and Twilio, then you’ll start off with long codes.  Getting your own short code may be something worth considering if you or your clients start having lists over 10,000 people as it just isn’t feasible to manage and message that many people using a single long code.

OpenVBX is able to handle both short codes and long codes so I wouldn’t be in a big hurry to get a short code unless you plan on selling services to a lot of Fortune 500 companies.

Start with long codes and switch to short codes when its necessary.