Skoop! | FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions - Text Message Services

What is Skoop.com?
Skoop.com is a full service mobile marketing/messaging website dedicated to bringing the power of text messaging to your business. Whether you are a
small, medium or large size company, whether you have an IT department or not, Skoop.com has an affordable and effective text marketing plan for you.
Team up with Skoop.com and your campaign can be up in minutes. We offer low cost entry into the exciting and effective world of mobile text advertising,
connectivity to all major US cellular carriers, real time reporting and analytics.

How do I begin using Skoop.com?
Getting started with Skoop.com is fast and easy. Just Contact Us to establish an account. After your credit card has been validated, you will choose a
unique username and password, and be ready to set up and run your mobile marketing or messaging campaign using our Client Portal.

What do I need to use Skoop.com?
All you need is a computer and an internet connection. Our software is completely web-based, so there is nothing to download. You can use a PC, a Mac,
or any other computer - Skoop.com will work on any system.

Which credit cards does Skoop.com accept?
Skoop.com accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover Card.

How do I cancel my account?
You can cancel your account by deleting your credit card information in the Manage Account page, and your account will be canceled at the end of the
current billing period. No refunds are given for partial billing periods. When you cancel your account, all of your subscriber data is also deleted.

How does the Bulk Message Purchase feature work?
The Skoop.com Monthly Plan does not include any messages. So, when you sign up for a Skoop.com account you need to purchase a block of Bulk
Messages. The blocks come in various sizes, tailored to the needs of any business and campaign. Whenever a new subscriber opts in, or when you send a
text message to a subscriber, the Bulk Message block is reduced by one or more messages, depending on how you set up your campaign. When your
block of Bulk Messages is reduced to zero, you need to purchase another block. Unused Bulk Messages roll over month-to-month for 12 months.

How does the Auto-Purchase feature work?
With Auto-Purchase set to "on" you never have to worry about your messages not being sent out due to insufficient messages. For Example: Let's say you
have 200 Bulk Messages remaining and you send out an alert to 500 of your subscribers. Your 200 Bulk Messages are used first and then the
Auto-Purchase feature purchases a new block to send out the remaining 300 text messages. The size of the block that is automatically purchased is
pre-set by you.

Do you charge for incoming text messages?
No. We do not charge you for incoming text messages.

What does SMS stand for?
SMS is an acronym for "Short Message Service", often called text messaging, and is a means of sending short messages to and from mobile phones.

Can my phone receive text messages?
Nearly all phones purchased after 2000 are capable of sending and receiving text messages.

What is the advantage of using text messaging?
Text Messages are a brief, effective, inexpensive means of communication. Most people carry their mobile phones with them wherever they go, so unlike
email, text messages can reach people when they are away from their desks.

What is a Keyword and how does it work?
A Keyword is a unique term (letters and or numbers), that your customer texts to our short code (75667). When they text your unique Keyword to our short
code, our software adds their phone number to your subscriber list. For example: You register the Keyword PIZZAKING from us, which we will link to our
short code. Your customers can then send a message containing the Keyword PIZZAKING to 75667 to automatically join your campaign. Our system will
respond to them with a message confirming that they have joined (opted into) your campaign.

Can I have any Keyword that I want? Are there any limitations?
As long as the Keyword you want is available, you can register it for use with a specific campaign of yours. You can use any combination of letters and
numbers.

Once I register a Keyword, for how long do I own it?
Your registered Keyword is exclusively yours to use as long as you maintain a Skoop.com account in good standing.

Are Skoop.com Keywords case-sensitive?
No. "Pizza" is the same as "PIZZA".

What is a short code? What is 75667?
A short code, officially called a Common Short Code, is a short number, generally 5 or 6 digits long, to which a text message can be sent from a mobile
phone. Short codes are useful because they save you from having to memorize an entire 10-digit phone number. For example, to opt into your campaign,
your customer would send a text message to 75667, with the only word in the message being your Keyword. Skoop.com's short code is 75667.

Do I have to use the Skoop.com short code of 75667?
No. 75667 is the default short code for our services. However, Skoop.com does offer services that would allow you to purchase your own short code, giving
you access to all possible Keywords. Contact Us for more info.

Will Skoop.com work with my service provider?
Skoop.com currently supports all major U.S. carriers, as well as with over 440 international carriers. Presently, our US carrier list includes: AT&T, Verizon
Wireless, Sprint/Nextel, Alltel, Dobson, Boost Wireless, Midwest Wireless, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile, US Cellular, Cellular One, Cincinnati Bell, Bluegrass,
Centennial, ECIT - Cellular One of East Central Illinois, EKN - Appalachian Wireless, Immix - PC Management, Inland Cellular, VC - Illinois Valley Cellular,
Revol, West Central Wireless, ACS Wireless, All West Wireless, Cambridge, FMTC, Nex-Tech Wireless, NNTC Wireless, Silver Star PCS, Snake River
PCS, South Central, Syringa Wireless, UBET Wireless, Unicel, United.

Depending on the destination, costs to send messages outside the US may be substantially higher than sending inside the US, so Contact Us to discuss
your international text messaging needs and we will optimize a plan for you.

How long does it take to create a campaign?
Within 10 minutes, you can easily create a new campaign and have it ready to broadcast.

How many characters can I send in a text message?
140 characters is the limit.

Can I send a link to a mobile web page?
Yes, you may include a URL within your text message. This will allow for phones with data plans to access feature rich info. However Verizon and US
Cellular prohibit the ability to click on URLs sent via a text message.

Can I re-use my subscriber list for a new campaign?
You must delete all your subscribers if you change a campaign to be different from what the current subscribers are opted in for. For example: you're a Real
Estate Agent, you are advertising the Keyword HOME for a property at 555 Main St., and all your alerts pertain to just this property with Keyword HOME. If
you sell this property and want to use Keyword HOME for another property, you must delete all subscribers who were opted into the original HOME
campaign before you use it for the new campaign. If you do not delete the subscribers who were opted into the old campaign, you are in breach of our Terms
of Service as well as the Mobile Marketing Associations Best Practices (www.mmaglobal.com), and your account could be deactivated.

What needs to be in my first message?
Skoop.com sends the mandatory instructional and confirmation "opt-in message" to all new subscribers to a campaign. Example:
U joined the "company name" alerts campaign. Up to "20" msg/mo. StdMsg&DataChrgsMayApply. txt STOP 2end, HELP 4info, www.Skoop.com

Who owns my data?
You own your data. We will never contact the people on your subscriber lists, nor will we do anything else with your data without your consent.

Will you send advertisements via text message to my subscribers?
No. We will never send messages (including advertising) to your subscribers.

Is my list of subscribers secure? How do you protect my privacy?
Your subscribers are kept in strict confidentiality. We do not share, rent, or sell the subscribers belonging to our clients with any third parties. Data
(including subscribers) in your account belongs to you, and you alone.

Can I collect numbers on my website?
Yes. We provide you with an HTML signup widget that you can place on your website, which is linked back to your campaign on Skoop.com.

How do I upload subscriber phone numbers that I already have?
You may upload your legally obtained subscribers as a text file.

I own a website and I would like to provide text messaging services to my users.
Skoop.com offers solutions for all of your text messaging needs through our API. Please Contact Us to get a copy of our API specification.

What needs to be in my advertising collateral material?
Clearly indicate that end-users are opting into an alert subscription and provide opt-out procedures for your campaign in all promotional material (web,
in-venue, radio, TV, print, etc.). Direct your subscribers to your website to answer any questions they may have. You must indicate it's a subscription and
include "Standard Messaging Rates Apply" and "text STOP to end, HELP for info."

Do my customers need Internet access on their phone to use Skoop.com?
No. You can use Skoop.com with any mobile phone that can send a text message (almost any cell phone will work).

How long does it take to for my customers to get their text message?
After sending a Keyword to opt in, subscribers should receive a text message back from us within seconds of sending their request. Sometimes there is
latency in the wireless providers' networks, which might cause their response to be delayed.

How do subscribers opt-in to my campaign?
Subscribers may opt in by texting your Keyword to our short code 75667, or by entering their mobile phone number and carrier info into a web widget hosted
on your website.

How can my customers stop receiving alerts?
If a customer wants to opt out of your campaign they simply reply with the word 'STOP' to our shortcode 75667. This will opt them out of the last Skoop.com
campaign from which they received a message.

Can you guarantee delivery of every text message that I send?
No. As text messaging is dependent on third party systems such as cellular carriers, it is impossible to guarantee delivery of a text message.

Do I pay for text messages that my recipients do not receive?
Yes. As we are charged every time we pass your message through our SMS Gateway, we charge you for one message every time our system sends a text
message on your behalf.

Do you safeguard the content of the message?
We have a content filtering application that checks every message for content that is against our Terms of Service and acceptable-use policy. If we find such
content in your message you will be notified via email and the offending content will be deleted from your message. You will receive one warning, and if
breached again, your Skoop.com account will be terminated and no refunds provided.

What do you consider inappropriate content?
The content types listed below are not allowed.
> Content that contains anything that is obscene or indecent or anything with strong sexual, explicit or erotic themes or that links to such content
> Content that contains hate speech
> Content that contains excessive violence
> Content that contains profanity
> Content that contains misleading or fraudulent claims
> Content that promotes or glamorizes alcohol abuse, illegal drug use or use of tobacco products

Will Skoop.com create a custom website with this technology fully integrated?
Yes, please Contact Us with your requirements.

What if my question isn't answered in the FAQ?
If your question isn't covered in the FAQ, feel free to Contact Us.

How can I contact Skoop.com about partnership opportunities?
Please fill out our Contact Us form and someone will get back to you shortly.