SmsPod.ru - mobile groups

In the summer, I had a habit of watching collections of stories on CNN in the morning. Before each video a short advertisement was broadcast, from which Suzuki motorcycles and tatango.com service were especially remembered. In one sleepless August night, I thought that the time had come to implement a new service. I needed an idea, and then I remembered the advertisement of Tatango and their slogan “Group SMS done right”. I could not remember the similar service in RuNet. Illumination - here it is! I drove into the tantango.com browser and became more familiar with what and how they sell to users.

In fact, Tatango is an SMS messaging service, which is very numerous in the Russian segment of the network, however, there are significant differences. It was these differences that did not allow me to immediately identify competitive services in Russia. In all domestic mobile newsletter services there is not enough of what I liked so much from Tatango - serving the service to a wide audience due to the simplicity of the interface, thoughtful design and flexibility of tariff plans.

Concept

Before embarking on coding, I sketched out a general concept and a list of all functions. True, what is now on SmsPod is somewhat different from the original version. Initially, four user groups were identified that the future mobile mailing service is focused on:

• Retail and services (shops, fitness centers, beauty salons, etc.).
• Recreation and entertainment (tour agencies, night clubs, restaurants, etc.) for sending announcements of parties, information on burning tours, special offers.
• Corporate clients . Organization of private mailings for effective business management.
• Individuals . For any groups of users who need a convenient way to quickly exchange information.

The main provisions of the concept were developed based on the needs of the target audience. So.

The concept of "mobile group"
The term “mobile group” was introduced to clearly identify the brand among the rest of the SMS distribution services. In the context of smspod.ru , a mobile group is understood as a set of subscribers united into a group for the rapid exchange of information.
')
Each subscriber is a full user of the system . A new subscriber added to a mobile group automatically becomes a non-activated user smspod.ru . By registering, the subscriber activates his account, gets access to the list of groups in which he is included, can edit his profile, as well as create his own mobile groups. All this is possible due to the fact that the user's login in the system is his mobile phone number.

Independent connection to the group . One of the distinguishing features of the service is the ability to independently connect subscribers to the mobile group. Thus, the administrator, having placed the information on his website, will be able to attract new users interested in his product.

Separation of powers . Each group subscriber can get one of four roles:

• Reader Access to message history as well as the ability to reply to messages.
• Editor Creating messages in the group + reader options.
• Moderator . Managing your contact list, creating subgroups, editing group settings + editor features.
• The administrator , of course, has unlimited rights within the group.

Rates . The basis for tariffs was a monthly fee, which includes a certain set of functions and a fixed number of SMS credits. If the user needs to send a larger volume of messages, he can quickly replenish his SMS balance.

Security and methods of dealing with spam . Any subscriber can disconnect from the group, temporarily stop receiving SMS messages, or completely block the mobile group. The automatic spam filter blocks the user's account after several attempts to send a message containing spam. In case of loss or theft of the mobile, the subscriber can block the ability to recover the password using the phone number.

Main functions

• Mobile groups
  • Create an unlimited number of mobile groups.
  • Selection of arbitrary name of the sender.
  • Editing the group description.
  • Loading logo.
• Contact management
  • Adding contact through the form.
  • Bulk add subscribers through import.
  • Independent subscriber connection (via the form on the group page or by sending an SMS to a short number).
  • Creating subgroups.
  • Distribution of powers between users of the group.
• Sending messages
  • Sending to the whole group.
  • Sending subgroup.
  • Age and demographic targeting.
  • Private messages.
  • SMS Scheduler.
  • Sending using SMS group name or your number as the sender. In the case of using the number, subscribers will receive an SMS message as if you sent it from your mobile phone.

Screenshots

affiliate program

For those who want to earn money in the framework of the SmsPod project, there is an affiliate program . The commission of payments of connected subscribers is 16%. In addition, 10% of referral income. All subscribers and referrals are permanently attached to the partner, having connected the user once, he will receive income from all his subsequent payments.

Development process

The development of the service has been going on since September 2009, in its spare time. The basic functionality was ready by 2010, after which refinement and optimization were carried out.
At creation own PHP-framework, MySQL, jQuery was used.
Currently, preparations are underway to launch an advertising campaign and connect priority partners.

In conclusion, I would like to say, developing SmsPod, I set two tasks: to create the basis of a profitable business, and also to make the service convenient and useful for the user.

I hope there are many who want to try smspod.ru in action.

Thanks for attention!