Short Code SMS Business : How To Set It Up and Make Money From It

ShortCode SMS business simply involves setting up a system that allows you to use a "short code" to provide variety of mobile content through text messaging. People that subscribe to your "shortcode" are billed automatically by their network provider and you get your own share from it.

     What is a Short Code?
 Well, it is a 5 or 6 digit phone number which GSM users can send some information to. You can get it from companies or sites that offer short code services in Nigeria. You cannot get it directly from MTN, Glo etc

The way people that text a shortcode are billed is different from the way they are billed when they text gsm numbers. Shortcode have the following tariff, N30, N50, N100. The tariff is the airtime value that will be deducted whenever anyone respond to the code.

Big Brother Africa, Nigerian idols are examples of TV programs that use "short code" for SMS voting. It can also be used for SMS competitions, Text 2 Win promotions, charity sms donations and can also be used to provide information services eg health tips etc

If you set up a shortcode, you can make money in partnership with the company that issued the code to you, while you also have access to the phone numbers of the short code subscribers for other marketing purposes.
There are basically two types of gsm short codes: the dedicated short code and the shared short code.

 Dedicated Short Code vs Shared Short Code

A dedicated short code is leased and exclusively used by only one brand. All of the setup costs and fees associated with a dedicated short code are the responsibility of that one brand, which can make the option of buying a dedicated short code out of reach for some.

Shared Code is used by multiple brands, which share the setup costs and fees, making it affordable to smaller brands. Keywords makes it possible for brands to share one short-code. It is the keywords that partitions each user to his own account without interference of other people sharing that code.

The keyword is what your prospects will type first before any other information you want them to send to the code. Eg. Send ‘vote’ space ‘contestant name’ to 33811″.

The keyword in the example above is ‘vote’ while the shortcode is 33811′

How Much Can I Make From ShortCode Business in Nigeria?

The N30, N50, N100 airtime value is what you will share with network providers eg MTN and the company that issued the short code to you.

Below is how much each GSM network will deduct:

Tariff (NGN)	Visafone	MTN	Airtel	Glo	Etisalat
30.00 NGN	10.930	8.851	14.781	9.851	13.210
50.00 NGN	21.088	18.702	22.018	13.623	21.043
100.00 NGN	30.233	35.334	48.501	24.939	40.340

 NB: The charges above might have changed by the time you will be reading this.

How much you make from a short code depends on the agreed sharing percentage between you and the issuing company.  On a neutral ground, the issuing company gets 50% while you get 50% too.

Once a GSM user responds to your GSM short code, lets say with an MTN number, MTN will deduct their own money immediately according to the table above. The remainder is now what you and the issuing company will share based on your agreement during the set up process.

The number of people that respond to your short code, will determine how much you make from the business.

How To Make Money From SMS Short Code Services in Nigeria

Firstly, you have to acquire your own shared gsm short-code.

Secondly, you need to get people to respond to your shortcode. The more people respond to the code the money you rake into your account. Meaning it’s game of volume.

Typical campaigns like health tips, educational tips, relationship tips etc. will be a very profitable venture because they are niche almost everyone have a particular need for.

Here is a typical campaign you can promote with your short-code,

“Health is wealth. In order to live healthy you need to constantly stay inform with daily health tips. Send ‘health’ to ’33810′ to receive sms three times weekly. SMS Cost N100″.

The campaign above can rake in good income from a large number of mobile phone users. Because nobody wants to die. Hence, such campaign can easily attract people to respond. Another topic is News/Alert.

But then, you have to get this message of yours out to the public before people can start responding to it. This can be done by promoting your short code offline with fliers, posters etc, via radio or tv stations. You can also buy gsm database and use bulk sms sites to promote your short code offer to the phone numbers.


I hope this helps and you;ve learn a thing or two about SHORT-CODE business. If you have any question please contact me or drop your comments below. Thanks.

 

Jumia Market (Kaymu) Affiliate Program Pays You N500 When You Sign Up and N300 Per Affiliate You Refer

After rebranding itself as Jumia Market, Kaymu - Nigeria’s largest online social marketplace, has rolled out an affiliate program which not only rewards affiliates for driving sales, but also reward them for referring affiliates. Besides that, you will earn N500 instantly if you sign up as an affiliate and your application is approved.

So, this simply means you can earn money online in three ways as a Jumia market affiliate marketer :

1. When you sign up for Jumia market affiliate program (N500)
2. When you refer anyone to buy from Jumia market and the person buys via your unique affiliate link (N700 per sale) 
3. When Kaymu approves an affiliate that joins the affiliate program through you. (N300 per referred Affiliate)

According to the Jumia market affiliate manager, you will earn flat commission of N700 per product you sell through your affiliate link irrespective of the price of the item sold.

More so, if you get more than 100 valid Sales in one week, you will earn N1,500 per transaction generated the following week.

You can easily get the codes of the banners & links for your promotions via the 'Promotion' tab on the affiliate dashboard.

Minimum payout of Jumia market affiliate program is N5,000 but the Jumia market affiliate manager informed me this morning, that it has been reduced to N3,000 to enable more young bloggers raise money and make money online in Nigeria.

The affiliate program features "Sub-Signup Stats" which allows you to view the downline of affiliates signed up under you as well as sales statistics of your sub-affiliates.

If you would like to earn N300 per affiliate you refer, you will have to recruit affiliates by making use of your unique sub-affiliate signup referral link.

You can get it by navigating to "Promotion' > "Advanced Tools" > 'Sign Up Sub-affiliates" after you signed in to your affiliate account.

Copy, shorten it and start promoting it on your blog and your social media channels.



Click this link to sign up for free   https://market.jumia.com.ng/?a_aid=netcom

Don.t forget me when the pay start rolling in. lol

How to Check your Bank Verification Number - BVN Via Phone

 Bank Verification Number- BVN is an initiative of the CBN to ensure transparency, security and easy assessment of data in accordance with best
practices in developed countries. 

In my own opinion, i love the whole idea except for the fact that i now have Eleven (11) digits more to memorize. Well, that won't be a problem since we can now get the BVN Number anytime through our mobile phone even without Internet connection.


To Check your Bank Verification Number on your mobile phone, simply dial *565*0# from that particular line you used for registration at the bank.  

Try it and relay your feedback to the comments section. Enjoy!

How to turn your old Android device into a security camera

 Do you have an old Android smartphone or tablet lying idle somewhere? Chances are it has a pretty neat camera on it, so why not put it to good use by transforming it into a security camera?

Don't worry, this isn't complicated at all, and doesn't require you to root your device or know any coding. Just let an app do the work.

There are quite a few apps out there that can do this for you, but the two names that keep coming up are SalientEye Home Security Alarm and Alfred. Personally, I prefer SalientEye because there's a remote control app available that allows you to stop and start recording, get push notifications, and even see what the camera is seeing.

Installation is a snap -- download the app, run it, go through the initial setup (there's no need to provide an email or log in via Facebook or anything, which is nice -- don't worry though, the camera is password-protected) and you're ready to go. The app supports motion sensing, so it will only start recording when something in the camera's field of view changes. When that happens, you'll be sent a notification via email or SMS (charges apply).

The photos are also stored online so you can go through them later.
SalientEye is free for 7 days, after that there's a variety of in-app purchase options for you to choose from.
Here are some tips for you to get the most from your Android security camera:

• While the battery can provide up to 10 hours of usage, adding a power cord makes it a good 24/7 solution.
• Remove any phone cases so your device doesn't overheat.
• If you want a wider coverage, fit a fisheye lens over the camera.
• You don't need to spend money on expensive phone mounts -- I find that you can do the same by placing the phone into cups or mugs, or use plasticine or Blu Tack to hold it up or keep it pointing in the right direction.

SimpleLink Lets ATM Card Holders Pay For Your Goods & Services Via a Link

I am pleased to introduce SimpleLink to you.

SimpleLink, a product of SimplePay; is a payment solution that allows you to receive payment with a link.

As the Pioneering Link Payment Solution in Nigeria, SimpleLink is design to make it easy for small businesses to receive payment for their goods and services with a link. The payment link can be sent to customers as SMS, on Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram etc.

It is ideal for social media and offline merchants. Our objective is to make payment simple and to power social media commerce in Nigeria.

How Does SimpleLink Works?

1. Signup on SimpleLink.ng.

2. Enter your product or service.

3. Generate payment link and share to customers via SMS, Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram etc.

4. Customer clicks on the payment link you shared.

5. Checkout page pops up with items the customer is paying for, customer enters card details, delivery address and makes payment.

6. On payment customer receives invoice via email and you (merchant) receive notification of payment and delivery address by email.

BENEFIT

1. Sell with a link anywhere, no website needed.
2. Zero setup fees.
3. Send automated invoice to customer.
4. Less transaction service charge compared to other payment solution.
5. Forget about technology and focus on gaining traction for your business.
6. 24/7 customer service.
7. World class security in compliance with PCI Security Council standards.

NB: 

It is free.  No registration fee. CAC registration not compulsory. Vaild ID is required (Drivers license, International passport) .  Fixed service charge of 1.5% + N10 is applicable.