Picture this: a world where text messaging knows no bounds, and you have the freedom to communicate effortlessly with your entire congregation. Sounds fantastic, right? Well, there's a plot twist here - even the enchanting idea of "unlimited text messaging" has its limits.
It's a tantalizing phrase that conjures up visions of never-ending connectivity and zero worries about running dry in the middle of an important message. Sadly, though, that's not entirely true. Many providers are simply using these words as a deceptive, yet enticing marketing tactic.
Let's face it - all companies, even the well-meaning ones, need to maintain a balance between keeping you satisfied and making a profit. So, they're left with the task of setting certain boundaries behind the scenes, ensuring you won't be bombarding their customer support every time a message goes missing in action.
So how do companies which offer unlimited texting or unlimited minutes on a voice plan (unlimited voice broadcasts or calls) recoup their expenses so they can give you a great deal AND make money?
#1: Limiting your contacts.
These companies allow you to text your contacts as much as you want…but only up to a certain number of people. Let’s say you have 100 active people in your database. With an unlimited plan, you are going to lock in a rate for 100 contacts.
But what about your new visitors or those church members who are not ‘active’ but still members? Each time you increase your people you would either need to negotiate a price for a higher amount or pay per contact to add others.
#2: Annual contract
To make it worth their while, the unlimited texting services typically lock you into a one-year contract. One thing we know: situations change. Found a better texting platform? Have to cut back due to budget issues? Sorry, tough luck.
PastorsLine has researched the unlimited texting / voice messages option thoroughly…
...and we have opted out.
We prefer to:
Offer you unlimited contacts—we want churches of all sizes to be able to use our platform to spread God’s word. And as they do, we believe they will grow. We want to partner with them as they journey forward.
Give you monthly AND annual options—you choose what you are most comfortable with and you can cancel at any time.
Be fair about costs—Sure, we are also in business but that doesn’t mean we can’t be upfront about things. Think about it: unlimited texting is like insurance. You are paying for something which you may or may not use. With some insurance, you have to. With texting, you don’t. You have the option to pay for what you really need. With PastorsLine, you can always buy more texting when you need it. (We use a ‘credit’ system and you can always buy another bucket of credits.)
We have clients on the basic plan who are texting champions and don’t even use up all their credits each month. We also have clients on the basic plan who have got 50-75-100,000 contacts in our database.
How much is this basic plan? Only $15 a month.
Get more info about our pricing at this link.