The Most Frequently Asked

Can we get a message sending today?

Absolutely! We request a 2 hour lead time from when you schedule the message to when you want it to start sending. We can usually get messages sending in as little as 15 minutes (with a rush fee).

How long does it take to sign-up?

Most customers can create and account and get their first message scheduled in as little as 20 minutes. After you've scheduled your first message, most customers can schedule additional campaigns in as short as 5 minutes!

Visit our Guide if you need help signing up

How do I use RoboCent?

We operate a Self-Service platform that allows our users to schedule their messages within their account. For assistance in learning how to use the RoboCent platform, we have created this Guidebook to assist customers with some of the technical questions they may have.

Visit our Guide to learn everything you need to know about our Self-Service app

How many characters can my Text Message include?

Every text message includes 160 Characters for your message. Links, emojis, disclaimers, and Opt-Out verbiage all count towards the limit. For an additional 2¢/text, you can increase the character limit by 160 additional characters. The max limit for a text message script is 1,500 characters.

Picture & Video Messages include 1,500 Characters with their base cost.

When creating a script in the platform, our live character counter will show exactly how many characters are entered and how much each text message will cost.

Do you charge based on total messages or successful connects?

RoboCent’s pricing structure is based on a per attempt rate. Billing on a per-attempt basis also allows us to collect payment before sending, which eliminates risk and allows us to keep our pricing low. It also does not incentivize us to “juke the stats” and falsify success (unlike some of our competitors) since we collect payment regardless of the results.

Learn more about our transparent pricing and the RoboCent Mission.

What time should I send my message for the best success rates?

This question depends on the type of message you will be sending and the type of response you're looking for. For Voice campaigns, including RoboCalls, Transfer Calls, and Surveys, you can reach either a Voicemail Answer or Live Answer. A voicemail answer means we reach a Voicemail answering machine and leave a message for your contact to listen to at a later time. A Live Answer targets a human pickup that will listen to your message live as it plays.

Voice Campaigns

Live Answers: Weekdays between 6PM and 8PM

Voicemail Answers: Monday-Saturday between 10AM and 3PM

Text Message Campaigns

Anytime. People always have their phones in their pocket and pull them out when they vibrate.

Do you call Cell Phones?

Absolutely not. Calling a mobile phone with a pre-recorded message is a violation of the TCPA and FCC regulations with a fine of $16,000 per violation. RoboCent takes this very seriously. Our complementary Phone List Scrubber will identify the landline and mobile numbers on your list to ensure your RoboCall is only going to Landlines and that your Text Message only goes to Mobiles.

Does RoboCent clean/scrub my list before we contact anyone?

Yes! We provide a complementary list scrubbing with every file upload. Before returning the total number of landlines or mobile on your list, RoboCent will complete a complementary list scrub to remove malformed, invalid, disconnected, and duplicate phone numbers. This ensures we leave only the highest quality phone numbers on your list – and ensures that we do not charge our customers for bad numbers.

Learn more about our complementary list scrubbing here: Phone List Scrubber

Can I use my own contact list, or does RoboCent provide the list?

Either option works for us! You can provide a list of phone numbers that you would like dialed or we can provide a quote to purchase a new list of voters.

Learn more about how to purchase data with RoboCent here -> How To: Request Voter Data

What Phone Number should I use as the Caller ID?

RoboCent does not recommend using your home, cell, or office number as the Callback Number. When sending many RoboCalls at once using an autodialer, your number will likely receive 10%-15% return calls and could be ringing for several hours. We also recommend using a new caller id number for every 2,000 outbound RoboCalls. Any phone number used for RoboCalls has the risk of being labeled as "spam" by the carriers, due to the volume of messages being made at once.

What is an Ringless Voicemail and why are they suspended?

An RVM is a Ringless Voicemail Drop used to target mobile phone without ever ringing the device.

In early 2021, RoboCent temporary suspended our Ringless Voicemail Service. While RVMs for political messaging are legal and completed in compliance with all federal regulations, there are nefarious actors outside of the RoboCent platform that use RVMs for spam and scams. This has caused increased political and regulatory scrutiny that RoboCent does not want to be associated with. Until these bad actors are shut down and there is more regulation in the industry to match the RoboCent standards, we have suspended our RVM services.

RoboCent will continue to monitor the situation from a legal perspective; should RVMs again become a safe way to contact voters, we will reinstate our Ringless Voicemail services.

In the meantime, Text Messaging is a 100% compliant and responsible way to contact voters on their cell phone. Consider scheduling a Text Message to ensure all your voters hear your message.

Are disclaimers required on outbound calls?

Yes, a disclaimer is required on any RoboCalls, RVMs, Surveys. This must include a 10-digit callback number at the end of our message. You must also introduce who is authorizing the call at the start of the message.

Example: “Hi, this is John with John for Congress. [message, bio, vote for me, etc.] Thank you for your time this evening. This call has been paid for and authorized by John for Congress. 555-555-5555.”

Learn more about our disclaimer policy here: Identification Requirements for Automated Calls

Does the disclaimer at the end of my audio count towards the total message length?

Yes. Any airtime on your audio file counts towards the total message length. Because the carriers that deliver your message from RoboCent to the recipient round up, we do as well. A message that is 30.6 seconds long will be billed at the 30-45 second bracket.

Is a disclaimer or opt-out verbiage required on text messages?

Every initial Text Message sent through the RoboCent platform must include Opt-Out language.

Examples:

• Reply STOP to END

• STOP to Unsubscribe

• Opt-Out? Reply STOP

• STOP to Opt-Out

• stop=end

A paid for by disclaimer is not required on Peer-to-Peer texting since RoboCent uses live human messaging.

When will my Text Messages reach the voters phone?

Typically, we expect the text message to reach the contact's phone within 60 seconds. However, the delivery time of text messages is dependent on a few main factors:

• Throughput - the carrier assigned limit for how many text messages per minute your brand is approved for. This is assigned by the carriers based on your brands verification status. Typically, verified brands are allocated upwards of 200,000 messages per day although we have not yet experienced carrier filtering when brands exceed this volume.

• Agent Sending Speed - how fast can the agents send. Since all text messages are human initiated, the speed at which the messages are sent from RoboCent to the carriers is determined by how fast the agents click the "Send Message" button. The faster agents click, the faster we send the messages to the carriers.

Once the messages have been sent to the carriers, the delivery is out of our hands. Some carriers use a queue system, where they send messages in order that they were received with a short time between messages. Others simply send them immediately once they pass the approval algorithm.

While most messages are delivered to your contacts shortly after the agents hit the "Send Message" button, some scenarios exist where the messages can be delayed for a few minutes to several hours. These issues are outside of RoboCent's control and are not covered by our refund policy.

Why is your pricing so low? Do you cut corners to save money?

RoboCent has the most beneficial formula for your political campaign. We don’t cut corners on delivery, spending the extra resources to ensure high-success rates. We have low overhead, which means we can keep our prices low to accommodate both small and large campaigns – without sacrificing quality.

Cheaper Phone Messaging Providers are, simply put, not very high quality. They cut corners on delivery (shorten the dial time so less people answer which makes it cheaper for them), minimize drops to Voicemails (by waiting a very short time on an answering machines before failing the call), and not using the highest quality delivery methods. We know because these are all the things we avidly avoid. This equals a cheaper price for the consumer, but for a lower quality product.

For those companies that are charging more than us, you will be hard pressed to notice a difference in quality. The additional costs they charge are paying for their large marketing budgets and huge support teams that still haven’t returned your call.

How long does it take to set up your service?

That's one of the best things about the RoboCent service. Our self-service platform is incredibly easy to set up, especially if you have to spin up the campaign right away! There's no need to go through all of the other things that make other platforms a chore (contracts, negotiation, monthly commitments, minimum volumes, etc.). With RoboCent, you're ready to go with your messaging once you're signed up. We can get you started on making your vital campaign calls right away (in as little as two hours after you sign up for the service).