Account Setup Guide
Follow these steps to set up your Bulky SMS account and start sending messages.
Verify Your Account
After submitting phone number, you'll receive a verification code. Enter verification then proceed with registration.
Tip: Make sure you have your phone with you and has not been used before.
Set Up Sender ID
Go to Sender ID → Apply to register your preferred sender name.
- 3 to 13 letters and numbers (A–Z, 0–9) — no spaces or symbols
- Must be your business or brand name. Generic words (INFO, PROMO, ALERT) and other companies', banks', networks' or government names are rejected
- Econet and NetOne approve each sender ID separately — allow up to 7 working days
Add Credits
Purchase SMS credits from the Billing section to start sending messages.
Payment Methods
- Ecocash
Pricing
- Local SMS: $0.02 per message
- Bulk discounts available
Sending SMS Messages
Learn how to send single and bulk SMS messages with Bulky SMS.
Sending a Single SMS
- Navigate to Messages → New Message
- Enter Campaign name
- Select Sender ID, If your sender ID is not yet approved you can use the system sender ID SMSPoP
- Type your message — 160 characters fit in one SMS. Longer messages are split into 153-character parts, and each part is charged as one SMS.
- Click "Create Campaign"
- Click "Run Campaign"
Upload CSV with Contacts
Upload a CSV file with phone numbers and optional personalized fields.
NB: make sure you have a column with his title 'phone_number'.
Note: 160 characters fit in one SMS. Longer messages are split into 153-character parts, and each part is charged as one SMS. Accented letters, curly quotes or other non-standard characters switch the message to Unicode: 70 characters in one SMS, 67 per part. The editor shows the live part count before you send.
Sending Bulk SMS
Sending Bulky SmS is exactly the same as sending
Important: Always preview your message and check recipient count before sending bulk SMS.
Managing Contacts
Organize your contacts into groups for easier bulk messaging.
Creating Contact Groups
- Go to Contacts → Create Contact
- Enter the phone number
- Select the Campaign to be associated with
- Click "Create"
Create contact option is used to add one contact to a campaigns.
Importing Contacts
You can import contacts from a CSV or Excel file:
- Prepare your file with columns for phone labeled phone_number
- On creating a campaign import to associate your contacts with a Campaign
- Click Create then Run
Message Billing
Buying Credits is so simple
Adding credits
- Navigate to Billing
- Enter your ecocash number
- Select number of credits from the dropdown
- Click Pay
NB:
Enter Ecocash Pin on your phone to confirm the payment
Frequently Asked Questions
One SMS holds up to 160 characters. A longer message is split into parts of 153 characters each (the other 7 carry the information that joins the parts on the phone), and every part is charged as one SMS — so 161 characters costs 2 SMS, 307 costs 3. A few symbols (^ { } [ ] ~ \ | €) count as two characters. Any character outside the standard alphabet — accented letters, curly quotes, non-Latin scripts — switches the whole message to Unicode: 70 characters in one SMS, 67 per part. Emojis are removed before sending.
Sender IDs may be rejected for several reasons:
- It's a generic word (INFO, ALERT, PROMO, SMS, BANK) rather than your business or brand name
- It uses or resembles another company's, bank's, mobile network's or government body's name
- It doesn't match the business registered on your account
- It isn't 3 to 13 letters and numbers, or contains spaces or symbols
- Network or regulatory policy restricts it
Contact support if you need help with your sender ID approval.
Zero tolerance for fraud: sender IDs used for scams, phishing, impersonation or money-transfer fraud are revoked and the account suspended immediately.
- Messages are typically delivered within 2-5 seconds, though delivery times may vary slightly depending on the network and carrier.
Note: Delivery reports may take a few minutes to update after sending.