by Denis ONeil | Jul 7, 2023 | cURL, How To, Simple API
EmailToVoice.Net has several delivery methods to deliver phone communications from your business applications. Using any simple email delivery method is the most common. However, there are programming methods, as well.
Alternative Delivery Methods for Business Communications
These are the alternative methods to integrate business communications with your critical business applications.
- Email To Phone Business Communications
- Use Email to make a phone call or send an SMS, even a rich text SMS that is password protected.
- cURL Command to phone communications
- You can use a cURL command within your application to invoke a phone call or an SMS message.
- Simple API for phone communications
- Use our HTTP API to develop a Web form in your application to make phone calls or send SMS messages.
Simple API for phone communications
Make a voice phone call or send an SMS using a Simple API through HTTP from any business or blockchain application.
EmailToVoice.Net has a simple HTTP API designed for rapid SMS and Text to Speech job submissions. This method can also return the status information of a submitted job. Any programming language capable of issuing HTTP POST requests can use this API.
- Username: The user name created during the SIgn Up (Always preceded by etv/)
- Password: The password used to sign on to the Customer Portal
- JobType: Text-to-Speech; or SMS; or 2Way SMS; or 2Way TTS
- Message: The text message that will be converted based upon the JobType: For Text-to-speech, the text is converted to a voice and then played when the recipient answers or left on voicemail if the recipient does not answer. For SMS, the message is converted to an SMS and sent to the recipient’s phone
- Recipients: The phone number of the recipient. If the number is in the USA or Canada, then the format would be 5551231234. For any number outside of the USA or Canada, specify the country code, like +615551234 or 0011615551231234. If you want more than one recipient, use the | as a separator, for example, 5551231234|5552343456
- version: Always specify 3
This will work with any business or blockchain application capable of issuing a cURL command, like Chainlink for blockchain applications or just about any programming language for traditional business applications.
cURL Command to phone communications
Communication Enable Your Blockchain and Business Applications through the simple method of using a cURL command.
Our service allows any application that can perform a cURL command to send a one-way or two-way SMS or a Voice phone call to any phone in the world.
Make a voice phone call or send and SMS using a cURL command from any business or blockchain application. A cURL Command can convert text into a voice or an SMS. We then call the phone number or send an SMS message. The message can be sent to any phone in the world. The cURL command can be a GET request or a POST request. But POST is recommended for production implementations.
This is a URL example for having a program make a voice phone call or send an SMS using the cURL Command.
https://portal.emailtovoice.net/htmlapi.asp?Username=etv/user&Password=password&JobType=Text-to-speech&Message="this is a test for blockchain making a voice phone call"&Recipients=5551231234&version=3
- Username: The user name created during the Sign Up (Always preceded by etv/)
- Password: The password used to sign on to the Customer Portal
- JobType: Text-to-Speech; or SMS; or 2Way SMS; or 2Way TTS
- Message: The text message that will be converted based upon the JobType: For Text-to-speech, the text is converted to a voice and then played when the recipient answers or left on voicemail if the recipient does not answer. For SMS, the message is converted to an SMS and sent to the recipient’s phone
- Recipients: The phone number of the recipient. If the number is in the USA or Canada, then the format would be 5551231234. For any number outside of the USA or Canada, specify the country code, like +615551234 or 0011615551231234. If you want more than one recipient, use the | as a separator, for example, 5551231234|5552343456
- version: Always specify 3
This will work with any business or blockchain application capable of issuing a cURL command, like Chainlink for blockchain applications or just about any programming language for traditional business applications.
Use Email to make a phone call or send an SMS, even a rich text SMS that is password protected. We transform an email message into a phone call or an SMS
For TTS, we dial the number in the TO field of the Email, which looks something like 5551234567@tts.message-service.org (international calls require a +CountryCode in front of the local number) The recipient will receive a call on their phone. The text in the email is converted to a nice-sounding voice. If the recipient answers, they will hear the message right away. If they do not answer, the message will be left on their voicemail system. You can also send to a list of recipients. The recipients on the list can either be called all at once or called sequentially stopping when one acknowledges receipt of the call. This is called an Escalation List.
If you want to send an SMS, the content of the Email will be converted to an SMS text message and sent to the recipient’s mobile phone.
In Summary
There are many advanced features of EmailToVoice.Net. We love to share our many years of experience in this industry and provide easy delivery solutions for your workflow communications needs. Do not hesitate to Contact Us.
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
by Denis ONeil | Aug 28, 2022 | How To
Update February 4, 2024, (All Messages)
EmailToVoice.Net is a powerful communication tool that allows users to convert emails into voice messages or SMS messages. In a production environment, it can be very prudent to establish limits on the number of alert messages that can be sent within a set timeframe.
The situation that makes this feature useful is in the case of a catastrophic event. Sometimes, monitoring software will send alert messages out until the issue is resolved. EmailToVoice.Net provides a safeguard for excessive alert phone calls being made during a catastrophic event.
This feature applies to Text-To-Speech, SMS, Enterprise SMS (LinkInSMS), and Prerecorded messages.
Customer Portal Setting
This feature is available in the Customer Portal / My Details / EtoB – Send Limit cutoff . The customer can enter the number of messages that are acceptable within a selected timeframe.
In Summary
There are many advanced features of EmailToVoice.Net. This is merely one of them. We love to share our many years of experience in this industry and provide easy no-code solutions for your workflow communications needs. Do not hesitate to Contact Us.
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
by Denis ONeil | Aug 29, 2021 | Customer Portal, How To
EmailToVoice.Net provides a seamless way to make alert voice phone calls and to send rich content SMS messages. This is done by merely sending an email. However, it is important to not disregard how easy it is to send TTS, recorded Voice, and SMS messages using the Customer Portal in EmailToVoice.Net.
Customer Portal
QUICK SMS
You can send Quick SMS messages to a list of phone numbers by using the Customer Portal.
- Step One: Enter the cell phone numbers that are to receive the message. The only field that must be filled in is the Mobile Number field.
- Step Two: You can optionally enter an SMS reply number. This is for International (not USA or Canada) numbers. If you need an SMS reply number for the USA or Canada, Contact Us
- Step Three: Enter your messages. Your SMS message can be a maximum of 1071 text characters. Messages between 160 and 306 characters will be charged as two messages; each extra 153 characters after that will be charged as an extra SMS message.
On the next screen, you can merely hit SUBMIT if you want the message to be sent out immediately. However, there are other options available for you to schedule the job to be released on a specific day and time.
Create Escalation or Sequential Lists – SMS, TTS, Recorded Voice, Email, and FAX
You are able to use the Customer Portal to set up lists. These lists can be simultaneous or sequential escalation lists. You can have the messages sent to all recipients in the list at effectively the same time. Or you click the ‘escalation list’ box and have the messages sent one at a time until a person answers and listens to the message for 10 seconds. The Escalation lists are for TTS and prerecorded voice messages.
Send to Lists – SMS, TTS, Recorded Voice, Email, and FAX
You can send a new message broadcast to a predefined list in the Customer Portal. You will be guided through the setup step by step. The message can be SMS, TTS, Recorded Voice, Email, and FAX.
Features of the Customer Portal
The Customer Portal has many useful features for an enterprise to manage a no-code solution for business messaging. For instance, you can see the real-time status of jobs submitted through EmailToVoice.Net, change details in Customer Profile settings, create distribution lists, and much more.
Here is a quick summary of the capabilities of the EmailToVoice.Net Customer Portal
- View All Jobs: The customer can view summary and detailed information on messages that have been sent through EmailToVoice.Net. Specific date ranges or a specific job number can be specified.
- Manage Personal Lists: The customer can setup distribution lists, which are then referenced by the LISTS tag in the content of the email for sending TTS or SMS messages to a group of recipients.
- New Broadcast: The customer can send a TTS, SMS or Email messages to one or more recipients directly from the Portal
- Quick SMS: A customer can send a Quick SMS message, one-way or two way, to one or more recipients directly from the Portal
- Manage Opt-Outs: The customer can specify a phone number that is never to be sent through the customer’s account. This is useful for phone numbers that have changed and should no longer be used. This is useful when an employee leaves the company and their personal cell phone number remains in lists.
- My Details: The customer can change profile settings, such as company address, email address or main account phone number. This includes the customer’s account password. To learn more about the very useful fields in the profile, refer below.
More than Email To Voice
EmailToVoice.Net does more than send Voice and SMS messages via an email interface. You can use the Customer Portal to quickly send SMS messages or you can create Lists and use the Customer Portal to send email, Fax, SMS, TTS, and prerecorded Voice messages. Explore the Customer Portal and learn about the advanced capabilities of EmailToVoice.Net. Or just Contact US and let us know what you want to do. Our Solutions Architects will get on the phone with your project coordinator and work out all the details. We want you to be successful and we can help you achieve that.
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
by Denis ONeil | Apr 25, 2021 | How To, List Management
Customers of EmailToVoice.Net send alert phone calls or text messages to their employees. Sometimes, those employees leave the company or go on vacation. In these cases, the messages should be stopped permanently or temporarily. The most preferred method to stop calls from going to a specific phone number is to remove them from all lists. But, adding their number to the Opt Out List may be faster and more efficient.
The most expedient way to stop messages from being sent is to add the phone number to the account’s Opt Out List. The administrator can even set a time period.
Opt Out List
The Opt Out List is managed through the Customer Portal.
The administrator is provided with a list of message types on the OptOut Lists Management page. The choice should be made based upon what type of messages were being sent. The following can be used as a reference:
- Choose Phone if the message was sent to PhoneNumber@tts.message-service.org
- Choose Mobile if the message was sent to PhoneNumber@sms.message-service.org or PhoneNumber@linkinsms.message-service.org
- Chose FAX if the message was sent to PhoneNumber@fax.message-service.org
The OptOut List will work if you are sending messages individually or if you are using the different methods available in EmailToVoice.Net for multiple destinations. There are many ways to send to multiple users in a single message.
Using Lists in EmailToVoice.Net
To learn more about sending to multiple destinations, read our Blog Post “Three Ways to Send to Multiple Recipients Through EmailToVoice.Net“.
Multiple Destinations in the TO Field
Multiple destinations can be specified in the TO field by separating them with a “#”. IE;:
2145551234#2145551235#2145551236@tts.message-service.org
OR, multiple destinations can be entered as multiple full email addresses:
“2145551234@tts.message-service.org, 2145551235@tts.message-service.org”
NOTE: When stringing destinations in the TO field of the Email, there is a standard general length restriction of about 64 characters for the TO field.
Multiple Destinations in the Email Content
Multiple Destinations can be In the body of the message in the following format:
<Numbers>
2145551234
2145551235
2145551236
</Numbers>
NOTE: The destination phone numbers are included in the body of the message. So, the TO field should be: msg@tts.message-service.org
Multiple Destinations Using a Pre-Loaded List
Multiple Destinations can be through pre-setup lists by using the format:
<Lists>
My First List Name
My Second List Name
</Lists>
Business Communications using EmailToVoice.Net
EmailToVoice.Net is rich in features and capabilities for your Business Communications needs.
Make a voice phone call from any email interface
We convert your email content to voice so the recipient of your choice receives an easy-to-understand voice message on their phone – plus many more valuable features. We do not require that the receiving phone number be registered with us. You can send a phone call from your email to any landline or cell phone. No software to install. No expensive complicated Apps. Nothing new to learn.
Send Rich content SMS messages from any email interface
EmailToVoice.Net provides the ability to send a large amount of formatted data (16MB) using LinkInSMS to a cell phone as an SMS from monitoring software or business applications. Messages with the formatting requirements of an HTML Web Page can be automatically sent to just about any cell phone in the world as easily as sending an email using simple SMS, which is available everywhere in the world.
Contact Us if you would like to learn more.
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
by Denis ONeil | Mar 25, 2021 | Escalation Lists, How To, List Management
Changes to distribution lists used for alerts and business communications are necessary when employees leave the company or change positions. However, sometimes an administrator of EmailToVoice.Net will get the following error message when trying to make a change to a List in EmailToVoice.Net.
Sorry, this list is currently locked and cannot get modified as it is in use for job nnnnnnnn
Updating a list that is currently in use by messaging jobs is easy. It merely entails
- downloading the list,
- making the changes,
- uploading the list under a new unique name,
- renaming the production list to something new,
- renaming the new list to the name of the production list.
Following are the steps in more detail
Login into the Customer Portal. Choose Manage Personal Lists in the menu on the left. Download the production list that needs to be updated
The downloaded file will be a comma-delimited file that can be updated in Microsoft Excel. Make the required changes to the downloaded file.
In the Customer Portal / Manage Personal Lists, click on Add List… Make the name of the list unique. Remember to click on the “This List is an escalation list” box if the recipients in the list are to be called in sequence until one answers. Learn more about our escalation list feature in our Blog Post “Escalation Lists Support Sequential Calling for Alerts in EmailToVoice.Net“
Import the updated comma-delimited file into the new list
Select Modify List Details and rename the old production list to something unique. Then click on the Modify List Details for the new list and name it the exact same name as the old production list.
Now, the updated list is the current production list.
You can learn more about List Management and the use of the Customer Portal in articles published in our Blog.
TIP: Alternative to Modifying the List
As an alternative to making a change to the list, you can in EmailToVoice.Net put the employee’s number that has left the company in the Opt-Out List. Then that number will never be called even though it is in distribution lists.
Business Communications is Critical to Effective Business Processes
EmailToVoice.Net makes it easy to implement mission-critical solutions for business communications. Sending a message from monitoring software or directly from an IoT device to a phone requires a specialized hardware and software solution to be installed in the client’s central data center. Connections to smart devices, CRM, PCS or ERP systems need to go through complex API’s or propriety software gateways. EmailToVoice.Net makes this all as easy as sending an email. The EmailToVoice.Net service does the hard stuff. It converts the text of the email message into a genuine-sounding voice (Text to Speech), then dials the phone, handles voice mail, and much more. All of this is done without the need to install hardware or use APIs. We also can facilitate the delivery of rich communications SMS messages with the need of RCS. Learn more in our article “Comparing Enterprise SMS using LinkInSMS to RCS and MMS”
There are many more features in EmailToVoice.Net. Let us know if you would like to learn more. Contact us. We love to share our experience in workflow processes, industrial communications, and alerts.
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
by Denis ONeil | Mar 19, 2021 | Escalation Lists, How To
Escalation Call Lists are needed when an emergency alert must be received and acted upon. EmailToVoice.Net provides the customer the ability to create a list of recipients that will be called sequentially until a person is reached and listens to the alert message.
We have added an additional feature to our Escalation List. The customer can now set a default amount of time that occurs between the sequential calls. The customer signs into the Customer Portal and goes to MY Details. The field is called ‘Escalation List Delay’. This field sets the time between each call that was not answered in an escalation list. The setting is the delay duration in minutes.
List Management
EmailToVoice.Net has long provided List Management so that a customer can send a message to multiple recipients, such as an email to a voice phone call. This is done in the Customer Portal under the menu item Manage Personal Lists.
Escalation Lists are a feature of the List Management capability in EmailToVoice.Net.
Escalation Lists are used to sequentially send a text-to-speech (TTS) message to a list of phone recipients. The messages are sent one at a time until a person answers or takes an action to accept the call. The acceptance of the call is based upon specific criteria set by the administrator that created the list. This is unlike the standard list type, where the message is sent to all the recipients at one time.
The purpose of an escalation list is to find a recipient who can act on the message. Examples of such a message might be:
- Perform an urgent maintenance job for a piece of equipment that has failed
- Fill a shift vacancy for someone who has called in sick
- Get a courier to urgently pick up a package and deliver it
Send a Message to an Escalation List
You send your TTS message using this list in EmailToVoice.Net. For example,
- send the email message TO dmy@tts.message-service.org
- in the body of your message, include:
<Lists>*My New Escalation List Name*</Lists> (* * replace with your list name)
The message must be picked up (not by voice mail) and listened to for at least 10 seconds, otherwise, the next recipient in the list is called. Once someone listens to the message for the required length of time, the job stops there.
If you send a two-way TTS, the recipient must press 1 on the phone’s Dialpad to accept the message. Otherwise, the next recipient in the list is called. In this case, it doesn’t matter how long the person has listened to the message. Making a TTS message a Two Way is done by merely adding the tag <TwoWay> on a separate line in the content of the email.
More Features
EmailToVoice.Net is rich in features while being simple and effective to use for business communications and alerts. We transform an email message into a phone call or enterprise Text Message with no need to program APIs or install any hardware or software. You can send a voice phone call (TTS), Enterprise Text SMS, FAX or prerecorded Voice Message from any email program interface through your monitoring software, CRM, or Dispatch System. Contact Us and let us assist you in meeting your mission-critical business communications needs.
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
