SMS Integration (Telnyx)

SMS is one of the most direct ways to reach your fans. With a 98% open rate (compared to 20-30% for email), a text message is almost guaranteed to be seen. Fanaura’s SMS integration, powered by Telnyx, gives you your own dedicated phone number for 2-way conversations, campaign blasts, and automated flow messages.

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What This Integration Does

• Your own phone number: Provision a toll-free or local phone number that belongs to your artist brand.
• 2-way conversations: Fans can text your number and you can reply directly from Fanaura.
• SMS blasts: Send text campaigns to your opted-in fan base.
• Flow actions: Add SMS messages to your automated flows.
• High-throughput sending: Toll-free numbers support 1,200 messages per minute for large-scale campaigns.

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Number Types

Fanaura offers two types of phone numbers, and the choice matters significantly:

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Toll-Free Numbers (Recommended)

Why toll-free is recommended: If you have more than a few dozen fans, you need the throughput. Sending to 15,000 fans takes approximately 13 minutes with a toll-free number. With a local number, the same campaign would take over 125 hours.

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Local A2P (10DLC) Numbers

When to choose local: Only if you specifically need a local area code for personal connection (e.g., Nashville artists wanting a 615 number) and you will only ever text a small number of fans individually.

Bottom line: Choose toll-free unless you have a very specific reason to go local. The throughput difference is 600x.

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Provisioning a Number

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Toll-Free Number

1. Go to Integrations in the left sidebar.
2. Find the SMS section.
3. Click Get a Phone Number.
4. Select Toll-Free.
5. A toll-free number is provisioned immediately.
6. Your number appears on the Integrations page with its status.

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Local Number

1. Go to Integrations in the left sidebar.
2. Find the SMS section.
3. Click Get a Phone Number.
4. Select Local.
5. Search by area code: Enter the area code you want (e.g., 615 for Nashville, 310 for Los Angeles).
6. Fanaura searches available numbers and shows you options.
7. Select a number and click Provision.
8. The number is activated immediately.

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After Provisioning

Your number is immediately active for both sending and receiving. However:

• Toll-free numbers: Need verification for full carrier approval. Until verified, some carriers may filter your messages. Complete the verification form as soon as possible.
• Local numbers: Need 10DLC registration. Until registered, throughput is limited.

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Toll-Free Verification

After provisioning a toll-free number, you will need to submit a verification form:

1. Fanaura will prompt you to complete the verification.
2. You will provide:
   • Your business name and type
   • A description of your messaging use case (e.g., “Artist-to-fan marketing and tour updates”)
   • Sample message content
   • Website URL
   • Opt-in method description
3. Submit the form.
4. Carrier review typically takes 1-5 business days.
5. Once approved, your number has full carrier trust and maximum deliverability.

Tip: Be honest and specific in your verification form. “Music artist sending tour updates, new release announcements, and exclusive content to fans who opt in via our website” is a great description.

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2-Way Conversations

Once your number is active, fans can text you and you can text them back:

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How Fans Text You

• Fans text your number directly from their phone.
• Their message appears in the Conversations section of the Fans page.
• You see the fan’s name (if they are in your database), their message, and a timestamp.

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How You Reply

1. Go to the Fans page.
2. Open the Conversations tab.
3. Find the fan’s conversation.
4. Type your reply and click Send.
5. Your message is sent from your Telnyx number.

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Automatic Fan Matching

When an inbound SMS arrives, Fanaura matches the sender’s phone number to your fan database:

• If the number matches a known fan, the message appears in their conversation thread.
• If the number is unknown, a new fan record is created with the phone number.

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Campaign Sending

Toll-free numbers unlock high-throughput campaign sending for large fan bases:

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How Campaign Sending Works

1. Create an SMS blast or flow action with your message content.
2. Select your target audience (all fans, a specific list, or a segment).
3. Send the campaign.
4. Fanaura queues the messages in the sms_campaigns table.
5. The campaign processor sends messages in batches of 1,200 per minute (toll-free rate limit).
6. Each message is logged individually in sms_campaign_messages.
7. After each batch, the processor waits one minute before sending the next batch.
8. This continues until all messages are sent.
9. The campaign is marked as completed.

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Campaign Math

Compare this to local A2P numbers at 2 messages/minute: The difference is staggering. Toll-free is the only viable option for campaigns.

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Webhooks and Inbound Messages

When a fan texts your number:

1. Telnyx receives the message.
2. Telnyx sends a webhook to Fanaura’s SMS webhook endpoint.
3. Fanaura processes the webhook:
   • Identifies the fan by phone number.
   • Stores the message in the sms_log table.
   • If the message matches a keyword trigger, kicks off the associated flow.
   • If the fan texts “STOP”, they are automatically opted out.
4. The message appears in the Conversations UI.

Important: The webhook must be properly configured in your Telnyx messaging profile. Fanaura handles this during provisioning, but if inbound messages are not appearing, check that the message.received event is enabled in Telnyx.

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Opt-In and Opt-Out

SMS marketing requires explicit fan consent:

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Opt-In

• Fans opt in when they provide their phone number on your smart link and check the SMS consent checkbox.
• Only opted-in fans appear in your SMS audience for blasts and campaigns.
• The fans table tracks opt-in status via the sms_opt_in field.

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Opt-Out

• Fans can text STOP to your number at any time.
• Fanaura automatically processes STOP messages and marks the fan as opted out.
• Opted-out fans are excluded from future SMS campaigns.
• You cannot re-opt-in a fan who texted STOP — they must re-subscribe themselves.

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Cost

The phone number cost is separate from per-message costs. Your plan includes a monthly SMS allowance, and overages are charged at $0.01 per additional text.

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Troubleshooting

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SMS not sending

• Number provisioned? Verify your phone number is active on the Integrations page.
• Fan opted in? Check the fan’s profile for sms_opt_in status.
• API key valid? Confirm your Telnyx API key is correct in your environment settings.
• Throughput limit? If using a local number, you may be hitting the 2 msg/min cap. Switch to toll-free.

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Inbound messages not appearing

• Webhook events enabled? In your Telnyx messaging profile, verify that message.received is enabled (not just the webhook URL).
• Webhook URL correct? The URL should point to your Fanaura instance’s SMS webhook endpoint.
• Check logs: Review your Activity Logs for any SMS-related errors.

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Fan says they did not receive the text

• Check the SMS log for the fan’s phone number.
• Verify the phone number is in E.164 format (+1XXXXXXXXXX).
• Carrier filtering can block messages, especially from unverified numbers. Complete toll-free verification.
• Some fans have SMS filtering or do-not-disturb enabled on their phones.

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Toll-free verification taking too long

• Typical turnaround is 1-5 business days.
• If it has been more than a week, check for any verification form rejections or requests for additional information.

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Best Practices

• Always use toll-free for campaigns: The throughput difference makes local numbers impractical for any marketing at scale.
• Complete verification immediately: Do not wait. Submit your toll-free verification form as soon as you provision the number. Unverified numbers have lower deliverability.
• Respect opt-outs: Never manually re-add a fan who texted STOP. This violates TCPA regulations and can result in significant fines.
• Keep messages concise: SMS has a 160-character limit per segment. Longer messages are split into multiple segments (and cost more). Write tight.
• Include your artist name: Fans might not recognize your phone number. Start messages with your name: “Hey, it’s [Artist Name]! Your new single drops Friday…”
• Time it right: Do not text fans at 3 AM. Use Fanaura’s scheduling to send during reasonable hours (typically 10 AM - 8 PM in the fan’s timezone).
• Monitor conversations: When fans reply to your SMS, they expect a response. Check the Conversations tab regularly or assign a team member to monitor it.
• Save the number: In your first SMS to fans, encourage them to save your number: “Save this number as [Artist Name] so you always know it’s us!”

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What Happens Next

After provisioning your number and completing verification:

1. Start by sending a test SMS to yourself.
2. Build an SMS action into one of your flows.
3. Plan your first SMS campaign — keep it short, valuable, and timely.
4. Monitor the Conversations tab for fan replies and engage with them.

SMS is the highest-touch, highest-impact channel you have. Use it wisely and your fans will love hearing from you.