How to Setup Bulk SMS Business in Nigeria – Step by step guide

A Table Comparison of the Four Bulk SMS Portal Components/Scripts

As someone who has experience with all the four listed components/scripts, I can only recommend just one choice for you and that’s Jeema SMS. Don’t be shocked because of my straight face. I’m recommending this because of one major reason, ‘license’.

How will you feel if you wake up one day and notice that your bulk SMS platform is no longer working properly all because of a failure in license authentication from your bulk SMS component/script server? Very bad! This has happened to me twice with SMS Portal Creator (SPC 4), in fact, as we speak now, their official website is down because of hosting issues. How unprofessional? Secondary, for the past 5 years, they have refused to ship out updates for us the users. It’s so painful.

Sendroid Ultimate and Ultimate SMS also work the same way when it comes to licensing. The license of your bulk SMS business depends on their servers to work. That’s so bad that if any of them should close shop (go out of business), you too would go out of business. So disastrous!

But only Jeema SMS gives you the power you need to be unlimited. There is nothing like licensing on their server. You will have total control of your business. You can customize the system anyhow you want it. You can use it on an unlimited number of websites. With Jeema SMS, you are a superman. I’m using Jeema SMS on SMS.com.ng and that’s one of the best decisions I made this year 2019. You too should go for Jeema SMS.

To get started, you first need to learn how to create a Joomla website. Please refer to this documentation https://www.joomla.org/about-joomla/getting-started.html

After that, kindly refer to the documentation of Jeema SMS at http://www.support.jeema.net

Note: The most important pages you need for your bulk SMS website main menu are ‘Home, Send SMS, About, Pricing/Payment, API, Reseller, Blog and Contact’.

You can always contact me (08066017971) whenever you face any issue.

7. HOW TO DELIVER BULK SMS TO DND NUMBERS IN NIGERIA – IF YOUR BULK SMS PLATFORM DELIVERS TO DND NUMBERS, YOU HAVE MADE IT

On July 1, 2016, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) mandated the telecommunication operators in Nigeria to implement Do-Not-Disturb (DND). Since then, there has been a serious issue with bulk SMS delivery to DND numbers in Nigeria. This issue is as a result of the introduction of the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) service by the GSM Network operators which allows their customers to opt-out of receiving promotional messages for 3rd Party services (Bulk SMS, VAS promos, etc.)

Because of this, the bulk SMS delivery rate reduced from 99% to about 80% and customers became furious. Some customers decided to stop using bulk SMS services since the delivery rate had become so poor. Even some bulk SMS business owners were frustrated and they closed shop.

But all that was then. Now, we have found an everlasting means to send bulk SMS to DND numbers in Nigeria through what is called SIM Hosting. A hosted SIM is like your normal SIM card hosted online. As a normal phone number, it bypasses all the restrictions from Network Operators. We used to use what is called corporate route to deliver to DND numbers but that does not work again unless you are a CAC registered financial institution.

This is how the Hosted SIM delivery to DND numbers work; when you send out a bulk SMS, your bulk SMS portal will receive a response from your SMS gateway; if the response code matches the one for DND numbers, your bulk SMS portal will resend the message to that number using another route (Hosted SIM). In this case, the recipient will receive the message with the Hosted SIM number as the sender.

As I said, I will never hide anything on this post, and the last time I checked, the only trusted company that offers SIM Hosting service is SmartSMSSolutions.com. They are the biggest bulk SMS Company in Nigeria. I’m using them for my SIM Hosting service, and since then, my life changed for good. More super and bigger customers because I now deliver to DND numbers without extra charges.

8. HOW AND WHERE TO PURCHASE YOUR OWN BULK SMS UNITS (SUPER APIS) AT AN INCREDIBLY LOWER PRICE, YET VERY RELIABLE

You see, I’m not here to tell you to start using my API for your bulk SMS business. I don’t want to do that. I want you to purchase from where I also purchase so that you can make so much money. If you start purchasing from me, I may add a little amount on top of what I buy and sell to you. I don’t know, but people still choose to buy from me personally instead of going directly to where I buy from.

There are lots of companies were you can purchase bulk SMS units from and integrate their premium bulk SMS APIs. These companies have direct connections and links with all the GSM operators in Nigeria and other countries. They sell in Naira, Dollars and Euros and you can pay online from their websites or make a bank transfer because most of them have branches in Nigeria. There are incurred charges each time you make payment.

Below are some international bulk SMS gateways you can use.

(i) Infobip – www.infobip.com

They are originally from the Netherlands, but they also have an office in Ikeja Lagos, Nigeria. They are super reliable, but there pricing model for a starter seems high. Except you want to be selling at NGN 2.50 per SMS, which is very OK and that’s what I sell too. There are people selling at that price and their clients are still buying from them. In bulk SMS, delivery is the king, not the price. A client will be ready to pay you NGN 3.00 per SMS as long as the SMS get delivered within seconds and you guarantee a 99% delivery rate. If you want to use them, you can go to their website and send them a message. They will reply to you and an account manager will be assigned to you and from there, you can start using their service.

Infobip Pricing:

Airtel = NGN 1.65

9mobile (Etisalat) = NGN 1.70

Glo = NGN 1.70

MTN = NGN 1.75

(ii) RouteMobile (formerly RouteSMS) – www.routemobile.com

RouteMobile is an Indian company. They are very good at what they do. They have direct connections (promotional route & corporate/transactional route) at a moderate price. I used them for about 3 years before I made a switch.

RouteMobile Pricing:

Airtel = NGN 1.45

9mobile (Etisalat) = NGN 1.45

Glo = NGN 1.70

MTN = NGN 1.75

(iii) Smart SMS Solutions – www. smartsmssolutions.com

Smart SMS Solutions powered by Horlar IT Solutions Limited is the biggest bulk SMS Company in Nigeria based in Abuja. They are the ones I visited their office, and boom, these guys use a mansion all to themselves as their office. They are super reliable and their prices have remained consistent for almost 10 years. I currently use Smart SMS Solutions.

Smart SMS Solutions prices:

Their pricing strategy is different and that’s how your own pricing should look like. They charge from NGN 1.45 to NGN 1.75 per unit/SMS depending on the volume of SMS you are purchasing.

I always buy at NGN 1.45 per unit/SMS because I purchase with Over NGN 750,000. You can also buy at that price or at NGN 1.50 per SMS if you are able to purchase with NGN 150,000. Kindly check their website to see other plans.

When you have chosen the company you want after comparing and asking questions from their support team, they will create your account for you and give some SMS units for testing. You will get their HTTP API URLs and integrate on your bulk SMS website. I can always help you out to solve any issue.

9. HOW TO PRICE YOUR BULK SMS BUSINESS. I WILL SHOW YOU MY BEST PROVEN PRICING STRATEGY

Pricing is one of the most important parts of this business. I had made mistakes in the past and I have learnt a lot already too.

Below are my discoveries about bulk SMS business pricing.

• Many bulk SMS customers do not want ambiguous calculations.
• They want it very simple and straight forward.
• They want 1 unit to send 1 SMS.
• They don’t mind paying higher for better delivery rate and speed.

Anything not related to the above is out of it. You see, some bulk SMS websites offer mouthwatering prices like NGN 0.90 per unit or NGN 1.00 per unit. These websites end up charging their customers about 2.5 units per SMS sent and that means they actually charge NGN 2.5 per SMS.

Many of their customers don’t know about this trick otherwise known as hidden charges, the few that find out always become furious and vow never to use that platform again. You should avoid this trick if you want to be successful in this business. Always state your prices very clear on your pricing page.

Please don’t sell so cheap, instead, improve your services. I was selling at NGN 1.99 per unit/ SMS. I was making NGN 0.50 profit per unit sold. It wasn’t that big, but it was something. I later increased to NGN 2.5 per unit/SMS and none of my customers complained and they kept buying from me and even more. Now, I make NGN 1.00 profit per unit sold.

I continued marketing my brand as the best and only bulk SMS platform that ensures 100% delivery. This branding strategy had brought in many top users including some loan service websites using my API.

The pricing write-up below is from my bulk SMS website, SMS.com.ng.

“We are not cheap, but we are AFFORDABLE. 1 Unit = 1 SMS to all GSM Networks in Nigeria including DND numbers. No Subscriptions! No Hidden Charges! No Gimmicks! Send bulk SMS for as low as ₦1.80. No one else, but SMS.com.ng do this in Nigeria.”

My Bulk SMS Pricing in Nigeria

Note: 1 Unit = 1 SMS including DND numbers

Everyone is ready to buy from me irrespective of the price because they believe I give quality delivery. That should be your target.

10. HOW TO ADVERTISE YOUR BULK SMS BUSINESS WITH LITTLE BUDGET AND GAIN YOUR FIRST 1,000 CUSTOMERS IN 2 WEEKS USING GOOGLE ADS AND A FEW OTHER CHANNELS

You need to advertise your website for people to know about it and give it a trial. The best way to advertise your bulk SMS website and get a quality return on investment (ROI) is using Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords). This is because the people that need your services are on Google searching for the right bulk SMS platform.

You don’t need Facebook or Instagram Ads. Don’t waste money on Facebook and Instagram Ads because the users are there entertaining themselves. Facebook and Instagram Ads are best used for e-commerce products marketing.

I spent less than $75 (NGN 27,450) on Google Ads (AdWords) to gain my first 1000 customers for SMS.com.ng in 14 days of which over 500 of them have made a purchase at an average of NGN 1,300 per person. That’s about NGN 650,000 sale in the first month.

See the screenshot below.

Below is how my ad looks on Google.

I urge you to spend some money on Google Ads and you will never regret it.

© Frank Umeadi