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Twilio SMS and MMS set up

Interested in using Twilio for your SMS and MMS needs? Here are some steps to help you get started::

  1. Sign up for a free Twilio account at Twilio. You will need to verify your phone number and email address, and agree to the terms of service.
  2. Once you have an account, you can access the Twilio Console, where you can manage your projects, phone numbers, messaging services, and billing. You can also explore the Twilio documentation, tutorials, and support resources.
  3. To send SMS and MMS messages, you will need to purchase a Twilio phone number that is MMS-enabled. You can do this from the [Phone Numbers] section of the Console. You can search for available numbers by country, area code, capabilities, and features. The price of each number varies depending on the country and type of number. For example, a US local number costs $1 per month, while a US toll-free number costs $2 per month1.
  4. After you purchase a Twilio phone number, you can configure its settings, such as the voice URL, SMS URL, and status callback URL. These are the webhooks that Twilio will use to communicate with your application when someone calls or texts your number, or when your message is delivered or fails. You can use any web server that can handle HTTP requests to host your application logic. You can also use Twilio Functions, a serverless environment that lets you write and deploy your code without managing any infrastructure.
  5. To send your first SMS or MMS message, you can use the Programmable Messaging API, which allows you to send messages using HTTP requests. You can also use one of the [Twilio Helper Libraries] to send messages using your preferred programming language, such as Ruby, Python, PHP, Node.js, Java, Go, C#, or curl. You will need to provide your Twilio Account SID and Auth Token as authentication credentials, which you can find in the [Dashboard] section of the Console. You will also need to provide the following parameters in your request: From, To, Body, and optionally MediaUrl if you want to send an image or other media file1. For example, using curl:
curl -X POST https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/$TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json \
--data-urlencode "From=+15557771212" \
--data-urlencode "To=+15559991111" \
--data-urlencode "Body=Ahoy! This message was sent from my Twilio phone number!" \
--data-urlencode "MediaUrl=https://demo.twilio.com/owl.png" \
-u $TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID:$TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN

 

  1. To import the 18,000 phone numbers you have in a text file, you can use the [Bulk SMS] feature of Twilio Programmable Messaging. This feature allows you to send messages to a large number of recipients in batches using a CSV file or an API request. You can also use a Messaging Service, which is a higher-level bundling of messaging functionality around a common set of senders, features, and configuration. A Messaging Service can help you increase your message delivery rates, use consistent and recognizable numbers, send more messages faster with short codes, and match numbers to your recipients’ country2. To create a Messaging Service, you can go to the [Services] section of the Console and click on the plus icon. You will need to give your service a name, choose an inbound request URL and a status callback URL, and add one or more phone numbers or short codes to the service’s pool2. To send messages using a Messaging Service, you can use the same API or Helper Libraries as before, but instead of providing a From parameter, you will provide a MessagingServiceSid parameter with the SID of your service2. For example:
curl -X POST https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/$TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json \
--data-urlencode "MessagingServiceSid=MG9752274e9e519418a7406176694466fa" \
--data-urlencode "To=+15559991111" \
--data-urlencode "Body=Ahoy! This message was sent from my Twilio Messaging Service!" \
-u $TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID:$TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN

 

  1. To pay for the service, you will need to add funds to your Twilio account balance. You can do this from the [Billing] section of the Console. You can choose to pay with a credit card, PayPal, or wire transfer. You can also set up auto-recharge, which will automatically add funds to your account when your balance falls below a certain threshold.
  2. To get an estimate for what it will cost, you can use the [Pricing Calculator] tool, which allows you to enter the number of messages you want to send, the destination country, and the type of number you are using. The tool will then calculate the total cost based on the current Twilio pricing. For example, if you want to send 18,000 SMS messages to the US using a US local number, the total cost would be $900 ($0.05 per message). If you want to send 18,000 MMS messages to the US using a US local number, the total cost would be $1,800 ($0.10 per message).
  3. The cost of sending messages to the same list will depend on how often you send them, and whether you use SMS or MMS. You can check the [SMS Pricing] and [MMS Pricing] pages for more details on the rates for different countries and types of numbers. You can also check the [Usage] section of the Console to see how many messages you have sent and how much you have spent in a given period.