Question 1

Getting started with forms

Accepted Answer

Getting started with Forms

Here’s how to create your first web sign-up form to allow contacts to subscribe to your TextSpot lists.

| Use forms on your website to allow people to add themselves as contacts to your TextSpot lists.

Select “Forms” on the left side of the TextSpot app under “Apps.”
If you have not created a form, select "New Form"
Fill out the form details, including the "Form name" (which is not used publicly) and the list that contacts will be added to when they subscribe through your form (your list name will be public).
Below this section you will see a preview of your form and then a field to edit your "Confirmation text" which is what will be shown to your contacts after they have submitted the form.
Select "New Form" at the bottom to create your form.
You will be redirected to the Forms page where you can get the code to embed your sign up form on a website.
You can either get an iframe of the entire form or a link to embed which will show the form after selecting the button. ![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/90d39746c7605000/code_17aqwx2

Question 2

How to import contacts

Accepted Answer

How to import contacts

Here’s how to import contacts using the TextSpot SMS software:

After you have signed up for a free account or are logged in to your TextSpot account, go to “Contacts” on the left side.
Select “Import Contacts” at the top right (you can also individually add one contact at a time).
A pop up window will appear with directions, including a link to a sample CSV file. The imported file must be a valid CSV or Excel file containing at least one column of phone number values. The second and third columns may be first and last names, respectively. ||| The header columns must be the exact same as in the image below:
Once you have a file with your contacts you can select “Select a file to import” to select the file from your computer.
Then select “Import File.”

Any errors will be outlined.

Imports are limited to 5,000 contacts at a time.

||| Only CSV or Excel files are accepted.

That's it. You've now imported contacts to your TextSpot account!

Question 3

If I pay annually, do I get all of my credits for the whole year right away?

Accepted Answer

If I pay annually, do I get all of my credits for the whole year right away?

Yes. If you pay annually, you'll have access to all of your credits right away.

For example, if you pay annually for the 50 credits account, you'll be able to use all 600 credits (50 x 12 months) right away. You could send all 600 in one message if you'd like, or within 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, or whatever you choose.

If you go over that limit at any time, you'll need to upgrade or pay per additional credit.

Question 4

How to add individual contacts

Accepted Answer

How to add individual contacts

There are two ways to add contacts to TextSpot:

Add individual contacts, one at a time.
Bulk import contacts via an upload.

In this article we'll show you how to add individual contacts, one at a time. This can be done in two places:

When you are composing a new message to send to an individual contact.
If you navigate to "Contacts" on the left side and then select "Add Contact."

Add a contact when composing a new message:

In the message composer, select "Select a contact."
Then select "+ Add a new contact" from the top of the drop-down list.
Enter your contacts first and last name and phone number and then select "Create Contact."

That's it, you've added a contact that will now be available anytime you compose a new message. Search for that contact by first name, last name, or phone number when selecting a contact(s) in the future.

Add a contact from the Contacts page:

From the "Contacts" page, select "Add Contact"
Then select "+ Add a new contact" from the top of the drop-down list. ![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/90d39746c7605000/2022-08-0

Question 5

How to add contacts to a list

Accepted Answer

How to add contacts to a list

In this article we'll show you how to add contacts to a list in TextSpot. Lists are used to send mass or bulk text messages to individuals.

There are two ways to add contacts to a TextSpot list:

Add individual contacts, one at a time.
Bulk import contacts via an upload.

Add an individual contact:

From the "Lists" page, select the list you want to add contacts to.
On the right side, select "Add Contact"
A popup/modal will appear where you can add one or multiple contacts at once to your list.
When you've selected all of the contacts you'd like to add to your list, select "Add to List"

| Tip: After searching and selecting your first contact to add, select the space next to the contact to continue adding contacts.

That's it. You've now added individual contacts to your list.

Question 6

How do credits work?

Accepted Answer

How do credits work?

Here’s how message credits work:

1 credit = 1 sent SMS text (a plain text message with or without emojis) delivered in 1 segment (block of text).

3 credits = 1 sent MMS message (a message with any media, like a video, image, or GIF)

Messages broken up into more than 1 segment cost 1 additional credit per segment.

| The total credits you are about to use before sending or scheduling messages is indicated at the bottom right of the message box (examples below).

What is a message segment?

SMS segments are the blocks of characters (letters, numbers, spaces, punctuation, etc) that an individual SMS message is broken into. Segments are usually 160 characters for the GSM-7 format and 70 characters for the UCS-2 format. GSM-7 is the standard format, but UCS-2 is almost always used if your message contains emojis.

Messages over the character limit will be sent in multiple segments.

||| These rules are set by wireless carriers, not TextSpot.

Examples of credit calculations:

One message to one person is 1 credit:

One message sent separately to two people is 2 credits: ![One message sent separately to two people is 2 credits.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/90d39746c7605000/2022-0

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