Last night, about 30 startup entrepreneurs visited CallFire HQ for Poker Startups, a monthly invitation-only poker night and networking opportunity for tech founders and employees, execs, and investors. The stakes are kept low “in deference to the bootstrapping startups,” but pride is a hefty price to pay.

Some of the represented companies included ShareSquare, a QR code company, NextSpace, a local co-working space, Kuzic, an online music licensing startup, and Extra Lunch Money, which… well… let’s just say it’s an adult-themed venture.

There were three games of no-limit Texas Hold’Em with blinds increasing every ten minutes. Only two members of team CallFire sat in on the games, and it just so happens they were both girls: Lezlie, our superstar accountant, and yours truly. In fact, Lezlie and I were the only two girls at the whole event, which just means we need more female tech entrepreneurs to step up to the tables!

But not to worry. Lezlie and I represented our gender honorably. Early in the game, I hit a full house three separate times, taking a sizeable portion of the pot. Lezlie opted to slow play, strategically folding good hands to let the other players at the table knock each other out. In the end, Lezlie’s strategy paid off. I was all in with two-pair, and got knocked out by Alex Chen’s flush on the river. There were only three people left at that point, and that’s when Lezlie went in for the kill. In the end, she won heads-up play against Romy Maxwell of ShareSquare.

It was a great night of networking, ping pong, and poker, and we hope to host more get-togethers at CallFire for the Santa Monica tech community. Thanks to Rohit Jain and Phil Yang for organizing, and to all the sponsors who furnished prizes and pizzas. Most of all, thanks to Dinesh, CallFire’s fearless CEO for the beer run. And congratulations, Lezlie! You truly earned the Poker Pro badge, designed by CallFire’s own Natalia Klishina.

Those of us who use Google AdWords love reports, statistics, and metrics. We like knowing who’s clicking our ads, when, where, and even synthesize all that information in order to discern why.

With the introduction of AdWords Phone Extensions (recently renamed Call Extensions), we got to see another metric: how many calls online ads were driving. And for PPC marketers, that’s an irresistable temptation.

Unfortunately, Call Extensions also cause a lot of confusion. And while I don’t claim to be impartial, there’s a few things you should be aware of when configuring your AdWords campaigns:

1) You can use any phone number in your Google AdWords phone extensions. However, these phone extensions only appear on searches from mobile devices with full internet browsers, such as an iPhone or Android. The only way to guarantee your phone number appears in an ad (on mobile, laptop, and desktop devices) is to include it in the ad copy, but including your number in the copy will not make the phone number clickable (like in #2):

2) If an ad displays a call extension on a mobile device, the mobile searcher can click the phone number and immediately call your business. This is known as click-to-call. Standard cost-per-click (CPC) applies. So if you’re paying $1.05 for a click to your landing page, you would also pay $1.05 for a click to your phone number. You can also enable the call-only format, so that there is no landing page option, only a calling option.

3) If you use the Google offering of Call Metrics (at this time, only some US AdWords advertisers have this enabled in their accounts), Google will assign you a Google phone number. Your ads will display the Google phone number, but forward to your business phone number. Google warns that ‘custom phone numbers used with call metrics are a property of Google and may be discontinued or reassigned as needed.‘ But, if you use your own phone number (such as a CallFire phone number), the displayed number and the direct-dial number will be the same.

4) If a person sees the Google phone number but doesn’t use click-to-call, and instead dials the phone number by hand, you will be charged $1 per call. This was a change Google introduced last month.

5) At this time, call metrics through Google offers the following statistics: total calls, received calls, missed calls, average call duration, total call duration, call start and end time, and caller area code. Call metrics through CallFire offers all these statistics, plus a geographic distribution map with real-time view, the ability to tag phone numbers for easier management, and the ability to record and download all incoming calls. You can also configure a CallFire Hosted IVR to make a Google Analytics call every time someone dials your number. In the IVR Designer, click to “Advanced” and you’ll see a tag for “Analytics.” This way your CallFire phone number can interface with the sophistication of Google Analytics, which offers much more information than the current Google Call Metrics offering.

Still confused? I don’t blame you. Leave your questions in the comments. You can also refer to my previous blog post with video, Linking Your Call Tracking Number to Google AdWords.

Update, 7/29/11: Google recently sent this to all AdWords advertisers’ inboxes:

If you currently have a phone number in your ad text or have plans to start adding your phone number in an ad, this is an important notice that in the coming weeks, we will be launching a new enhancement to AdWords ads that will impact charges on clicks to these numbers.

To help our mobile users connect more easily with advertisers, all non-clickable phone numbers displayed in AdWords ad text will be automatically converted into a Click-to-call number. Currently when advertisers enter a phone number directly into their ad text instead of using Call Extensions, the phone number is not clickable and will not generate a call. This can be a frustrating experience for mobile users who attempt to initiate a call to this phone number.

The new Click-to-call enhancement ensures that all phone numbers shown in AdWords ads are clickable and allows users to easily place calls from their mobile device. If your ad text includes a phone number, you will begin to receive clicks and calls on this number once the enhancement is enabled in your account. As with phone calls placed via a Call Extension, you will be charged for clicks on your phone number that result in a call.

Please note that AdWords policy does not allow for phone numbers to be inserted into ad headlines. As with all Click-to-call ads, advertisers will be charged when a user either clicks on the headline or the phone number listed in the ad. Please see below for additional information regarding this change.

Which phone number shows?

If you are currently using both Call Extensions and a phone number in your ad creative, only the newly clickable phone number in your ad creative will show. This is designed to help reduce user confusion from seeing two potentially different numbers. If you would like your Call Extension number to display, simply delete all phone numbers from your existing ad text by following these steps. You’ll also receive an additional line of ad text displaying your phone number if the Call Extension is used.

Measuring results

You’ll be able to review how many calls you receive on the clickable phone number listed in your ad text for each campaign, ad group, keyword and ad on the “Campaigns” tab in your AdWords account. Just select the “Click-type” option under the “Segment” drop down and view your report. Please note that since these are not calls generated from a Call Extension, they will not be reported in the Extensions tab reports.

Recommendations for featuring a phone number

You can simply leave your phone number in your ad text and benefit from this change which will automatically make your phone numbers clickable and enable users to call you. However, to get the most value from click-to-call, we recommend that you remove your phone number from your ad creative and create a Call Extension with your phone number directly. This has several benefits. With a manually created Call Extension your number will appear as an additional line of ad text which frees up space in your ad creative for other promotion. In addition, when you create a Call Extension, your phone number appears on a separate line in the ad, and you’re able to take advantage of other powerful enhancements such as Vanity Numbers, Call-only and Call Metrics reporting.

Why Automated Dialing Should be a Marketing Tool All Businesses Use

By Billy R. Williams, Ph.D., President – Inspire a Nation Business Mentoring

Effective marketing is pretty simple:

1. Put your message in front of as many people as possible
2. Build lists of prospects that are interested in you, your product, and/or your expertise
3. Reach out to the lists regularly with timely, effective, problem-solving information
4. Reach out to as many people as possible on days that are important to them
5. Use affordable automation to help you stay consistent with your keep-in-touch campaigns

My partner agencies and the majority of our member agents use a company called CallFire for automated marketing, so I will use their functionality to explain how to target each of the 5 marketing areas I mentioned above.

1. Put your message in front of as many people as possible

• We use the Cloud Call Center to prospect DNC-scrubbed lists of prospects. You can have 1 or 100’s of telemarketers ready to speak live with a prospect.
• We use voice broadcasting to communicate important, non-solicitation, focused messages and announcements to current customers and opt-in prospects
• We also use “Press-1” campaigns to help us accomplish number two on our marketing list:

2. Build lists of prospects that are interested in you, your product, and/or your expertise

• Direct a press-1 campaign to a live person or to a CallFire IVR (message tree, automated survey, or hotline) that can be used to gather or give important information
• Every time someone responds positively to your telemarketer, or presses 1 on your voice broadcast campaign, that is one more person that you just added to your opt-in lists of potential customers

3. Reach out to the lists regularly with timely, effective, problem-solving information

• CallFire gives you the ability to easily schedule follow-up campaigns from calls that were not answered, requested a callback, needed bi-lingual help, etc.

4. Reach out to as many people as possible on days that are important to them

• We create weekly phonebooks in CallFire (Yes, 52 phone books) and each week we run a birthday audit from our database and add the phone numbers into the correct phone book. Then we quickly send out a Voice Broadcast birthday message. We do the same thing for recurring events like upcoming policy reviews, graduations, wedding anniversaries, etc.

5. Use affordable automation to help you stay consistent with your keep-in-touch campaigns

• The more a person hears your consistent message, the more credible you become. By using a low-cost solution like an automated dialer program, you are able to keep a consistent keep-in-touch program operating. You will not benefit long-term from a flash-in-the-pan marketing campaign. Here are my two rules of thumb when it comes to keep-in-touch programs:

1. Don’t send out information that has no real value to the prospect
2. The first time they hear you or your message is an introduction; the second time they can say they know of you; the third time they start to become familiar with you, but it takes four or more times for the prospect to feel like they are developing a relationship with you.

Follow the tips that I have just provided to you when setting up your automated dialer campaigns and you will see an awesome ROI.

Billy Williams, Ph.D., is president of Inspire a Nation Business Mentoring and Williams Family Agency Inc. The group currently has 23 member agencies and produces $360 Million in production annually. He is an expert at helping insurance agents and agencies double or triple their current production using no-cost conversations and processes, low-cost, efficient, marketing and advertising platforms, and technology.

First, there’s the Mayans. Then, there’s the billboards. And if none of that bothers you, there’s climate change. Whatever is going on, there seems to be a lot of talk about the end of the world in 2012. So, *just in case*, here’s a couple ways CallFire can help you maximize the (limited?) days you have left.

Send a Goodbye Voice Broadcast

You know a lot of people, but you don’t have a lot of time. At least not enough to call them each individually. So get on the phone and record a message just once, and send it out to your whole contact list. This video will show you how. Don’t worry, it’s only 5 minutes. We realize time is ticking.

When you record your voice broadcast, feel free to use this script, or alter it as necessary.

Hello. This is [ your name ].
As a precaution to the world’s end [ on Saturday / in December / when the zombies attack ],
I just wanted to let you know that… [ I love you / I hate you / I'm sorry for... / I haven't forgotten that one time when you... ].
As this may be the last time you hear from me, I hope the one thing you’ll remember is that [ I loved you in this world, and I'll love you in the next / I hope we're not going to the same place / I told you so / I've sent the pictures to everyone ].
I’ll always think of you as [ my one true love / my friend / my partner / my mortal enemy ] even though [ you don't feel the same way / your family would never approve / I've only ever talked to you in internet forums ]
With this message, I bid you a final [ adieu / fond farewell / extended middle finger / goodbye ]

Your message will be sent at a rate of 50 calls per minute, which should be fast enough to reach everyone you know in time.

But what about the people to whom you want to bid farewell personally?

Aha! CallFire has a solution for that too. Because with only a few days left, do you really want to spend them dialing numbers, and trying to remember what you need to say? Of course not. This is a serious matter.

For this, CallFire has an end-of-the-world remedy: the Cloud Call Center. But in case there’s any confusion, we’re not talking about *those* clouds—this isn’t a direct line to the heavens. It’s calling through the clouds, and dialing auto-magically. Watch here:

Now, let’s think about this script a little more carefully. The beauty of the Cloud Call Center is you can customize your scripts with multiple-choice questions and open-answer text fields. So perhaps you’ll want to set something up like this:

Now as you make your calls, you’ll have a guide. And you can take notes should you need to take any follow-up actions, such as offline retribution, or sending a nice bouquet.

But what happens if the world doesn’t end?

Wouldn’t you know, CallFire has a solution for that as well. It’s called an SMS Broadcast, or the “Oops, my bad” text message. Watch how:

Best of all, you can pre-schedule your text, so if you’re locked in a bunker and can’t get to your CallFire account, everything is all set to go… just in case.

* This blog post is meant to be satirical. If you intend to use CallFire, you may only message opt-in clients. Please consult an attorney to familiarize yourself with local, state and federal telecommunications guidelines. More information on Telecom Compliance can be found on our website. Please dial responsibly. Thank you. *

We get a lot of questions around how our local and toll-free phone numbers work. Hopefully this post helps to answer them.

Billing

A local phone number costs $1 per month, and a toll-free number costs $2 per month. When you buy a phone number from us, you have that number for a three-month commitment, so your initial cost will be $3 for local and $6 for toll-free. The CallFire system defaults to auto-renew the phone number once your commitment is over; however, should you wish to discontinue the phone number, you can do so by clicking on the phone number in your “My Numbers” (also called “Inbound Numbers”) page, and unchecking the box that says “Auto Renew number.”

Minutes used on your CallFire phone number are billed at 5¢ per minute, rounded up to the nearest minute.

Activation

When you first purchase a phone number, its status will initially read “Activating.” This process can take anywhere from just a few minutes up to 24 hours. While the number is activating, your phone number is not yet ready to accept calls. When the number is active and ready, the status of that number will be blank, and you should receive an email notification telling you the number has been activated.

Forwarding

When you buy a phone number from CallFire, it’s what’s known as a virtual phone number. This means that you’ll need an existing phone number, such as your office phone or your cell phone, for calls to forward to. You will set up call forwarding by clicking on “Configure Number” in your “My Numbers” page. In the box that says “Forward:,” type in your 10-digit existing phone number where you want the calls to go.

Recording Feature and Whisper Feature

If you check on “Record Call,” all incoming calls to your CallFire number will be recorded at no extra cost. You can listen to or download your recordings by visiting your Call Details Page.

If you check “Include Whisper” on your number, this means you can play a short message before the call is connected. This is helpful if you have several CallFire phone numbers that forward to the same place. Let’s say you’re a lawyer, and one of your ads with CallFire phone number 1 is focused on speeding tickets, but another ad with CallFire phone number 2 is focused on DUI cases. You could set a whisper so that you’ll know which ad the person calling is responding to.

To set up a whisper, simply type in a message. Our text-to-speech engine will read this to you before you greet the caller.

Like call recording, the whisper feature is also free of charge.

Tags

You’ll notice that on your “My Numbers” page, it says, “Click to Add Tags.”

Like a whisper, a tag will help you keep your numbers straight. So let’s use the previous lawyer example. If this phone number was on the ad regarding speeding tickets, you’d probably want to tag it with “Speeding Tickets,” like so:

This will make your calling reports much easier to understand.

Start Receiving Calls

When you’re all set up and want to start publishing your new CallFire phone number, don’t forget to configure your number to start receiving calls! To do so, simply check the box to the left of the phone number and click on Start Receiving Calls. Similarly, if you want to stop incoming calls, hit “Stop Receiving Calls.” The status of your phone number will change to either “Running” or “Stopped,” respectively.

Reporting

Once you start receiving calls to your phone number, you’ll be able to access your Call Detail Records. These records include helpful details such as:

• A map pinpointing where your calls are coming from
• The phone numbers of people who called
• Average talk time
• Timestamp of when each call started, and each call’s duration
• How many calls were transferred (or forwarded to your existing phone number)
• Billing Summary
• Each page is also exportable into CSV, PDF, Excel, or XML

Any more questions about Call Tracking or CallFire phone numbers? Feel free to post them in the comments.

Last night, Dinesh and I attended a demo night of seven LA startups. It was a lively crowd at the VLounge in Santa Monica, and a meetup organized by the LA “Future Billionaires.” Though we’re both sociable people, neither Dinesh nor I is really the type to approach someone cold and strike up a conversation. Luckily for us, other people are, and we met quite a few interesting ones, at all different stages of business, and doing all sorts of cool things.

So why do we force ourselves to go to these events, where we’re out of our comfort zone and generally awkward? It’s simple.

We both like scotch.

But that’s not it. The truth: Almost every big deal we’ve ever landed, or important business relationship we’ve made, has come from a networking event.

There’s something about a face-to-face interaction that no marketing campaign, cold call, or landing page can ever match. When you meet a person, you can see their passion, you can ask them questions, and you can put a face to an idea. Your conversation, though it may sometimes feel forced, can more often lead you down new paths. For example, we met someone last night developing an iPhone application. When he told us about it, it seemed like the same application could be marketed two ways… once towards serious business people, and again towards serial daters (PlayaApp was the name we suggested, watch out for it). Would this developer have ever arrived there without meeting us? Perhaps. But… perhaps not. Each interaction is a new possibility.

Two weeks ago, Dinesh spent 5 days on a cruise ship with the Roots, Sophia Bush, Richard Branson, and some amazing philanthropists from Mexico at Summit at Sea. Poor him, right? He heard speeches, ate fancy dinners, and learned to make fire from wood and dead animal skin. But aside from all that, he also found potential new customers, some new opportunities (the G20 summit, WHAT?), and some potential celebrity partners for a business development project we’re working on. Who’d have ever guessed all that?

You just never know when you’ll encounter someone who will ignite a new idea, someone who wants to develop a partnership, or someone who needs exactly what it is that you offer. And the more people you meet, the more you up your chances of something amazing happening.

That’s precisely why CallFire has been so active lately with event sponsorships and attendance. We were at Twiistup, Startup Weekend LA, Spotlight:LA Tech, and Gov 2.0, to name a few. In August, we’re sponsoring Dreamforce in San Francisco. (and if you’ll be there, use discount code ECMCALLFR to get $100 off)

And now, we’ve done the ultimate: we’re holding our very own CallFire conference. We’re calling it Biz2Beach, and it’s shaping up to be incredibly exciting. The speakers include leaders from Klout, Myspace, and BetterWorks, and the guest list has company founders and high-level executives ranging in business size, scope, and industry. The response thus far has been tremendous.

If your business wants to grow, I encourage you to request an invitation to Biz2Beach, and see what incredible things might happen as a result of the people you’ll meet. I won’t even venture to guess what the networking will lead to, because from everything I’ve seen, the reality is so much better than I could have imagined.

Admin/Admin Login – An admin (administrator) is the CallFire account holder. The admin login is where you create and manage all your campaigns, whether they be Voice Broadcast, Cloud Call Center, IVR, buying phone numbers, or SMS.

Agent/Agent Login – An agent is solely for Cloud Call Center campaigns. An agent is a person actively making the outbound calls. You’ll use the agent login to begin dialing on a campaign that was already created by the admin user.

Agent Barge – Agent barge is a quality control measure that allows an admin to barge, or listen in on, calls as they’re being made by the agents.

Agent ID – The agent ID is a number assigned by CallFire each time an agent begins dialing through the Cloud Call Center. Once the agent inputs the correct agent ID, the agent pop-up window with the campaign script will appear, and the system will begin dialing.

Analytics Tag – This advanced IVR function sends a page-view that will be factored in to Google Analytics.

Answering Machine Detection (AMD) – The AMD capability will determine whether the call has been answered by a live person, or by a machine. When AMD is enabled, you can program your campaign to treat live answers and answering machines differently, such as hanging up and moving on the next call or leaving a message.

API – Application Programming Interface. This is coder speak for our software code that allows a developer to integrate other software into CallFire, or to build custom software.

API Key – This is a code that grants a developer access to the CallFire API. You can find your unique API key in your account settings.

Autodialer – The autodialer is what makes the Cloud Call Center so powerful. It does the dialing for you, so there’s no dialing by hand.

Autoresponder/Auto-reply – An autoresponder is a text message that is sent automatically in response to an incoming text.

Call Ratio – This is the ratio of numbers dialed at a time to a single agent. For instance, a 1:1 ratio means that each agent’s autodialer is only dialing one number at a time. A 2:1 ratio means that the autodialer is dialing two numbers at a time, and will connect the agent to the first live answer. A higher calling ratio helps get through a list more efficiently; it decreases time between calls and ups the possibility of connecting to live leads.

Call Transfer – A call transfer is the ability for an agent to forward a call to a supervisor or other party. All he/she has to do is input the 10-digit phone number into the agent interface and the call will be routed accordingly.

CPM – Calls per Minute. This is the rate at which Voice Broadcast calls go out. By default, broadcasts are processed at 50 calls per minute, but this can be adjusted in your campaign dashboard.

CRM – Customer Relationship Management. You can integrate your CallFire campaigns with certain CRM providers, such as SalesForce, using our API.

DID Number – Direct Inward Dial Number. DID Number is basically an industry term for a phone number.

DNC - Do Not Call. There are two different DNC lists: the Federal Do Not Call List, against which you should scrub your list prior to uploading your contacts. Then you also have an internal CallFire DNC list, which allows people you call to unsubscribe from future calls.

DTMF – Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency, also known as touch-tone. DTMF assigns a different touchtone to each key on the telephone keypad, so it can distinguish one keypad input from another.

Get Tag – This IVR command calls any URL or http request from your IVR.

Google Talk Tag - This IVR command will automatically initiate an instant message to your Google account.

Goto Tag – This tells your IVR to go to a certain part of your phone tree. For instance, you might have a sound file that reads, “Press 4 to repeat the options.” Upon pressing 4, the Goto tag would repeat the part of your IVR that you had already programmed.

Goto XML Tag – This advanced IVR command calls the specified URL and executes the returned CallFire XML.

Hangup Tag – The hangup tag tells your IVR to hang up and end the call.

Hosted IVR – A hosted IVR is a phone menu that does not require any hardware or special equipment, such as an on-premises PBX (private branch exchange). It’s hosted because it’s housed in the cloud.

If Tag – This advanced IVR command evaluates a javascript expression and reacts accordingly whether the expression is true or false.

Inbound – A call initiated from someone else, coming in to your line.

IVR - Interactive Voice Response. An IVR is essentially a phone menu, or a phone tree. It’s programmed to react to keypad inputs.

Keyword – For an SMS campaign, a keyword is the word that is texted. For instance, when the Red Cross says, “Text JAPAN to 50555,” JAPAN is the keyword, and 50555 is the short code. Keywords will be available on CallFire SMS campaigns beginning summer 2011.

Key Press – This command tells your IVR what to do once a digit on the telephone keypad is pressed.

Live Answer – A person who answers the phone, as opposed to an answering machine.

Long Code – A 10-digit phone number that can send and receive texts.

MachineSkip - This feature detects answering machines, and filters them out of your Cloud Call Center campaigns. When it detects an answering machine, it will automatically leave a pre-recorded message, so your agent doesn’t have to do a thing. The MachineSkip feature is available on the Standard- and Pro-level campaigns.

Max Transfer Rate – The maximum number of transfers your Voice Broadcast campaign will allow at any given time; when the maximum is reached, the broadcasts will pause until your campaign returns below the maximum.

Outbound – A call initiated by you to one of your contacts.

Passcode – The campaign passcode is the password that the admin assigns to access a Cloud Call Center campaign.

Phonebook – A phonebook is a contact phone list maintained in your CallFire account. Watch this video to learn more about working with phonebooks.

Play Tag – This IVR command plays an assigned sound file or performs text-to-speech.

Press-1 Transfer – During a Voice Broadcast, if a press-1 transfer is enabled, the called person can press 1 and be connected to your business. You can also assign a different keypress to transfer your calls, but the capability is generally referred to as “press-1″ anyway.

Press Menu – This IVR command prompts the caller with several options, for instance, “Press 1 for our address, Press 2 to speak to someone in Sales.” You’ll need at least one “Play” menu to present these options.

Power Dialer – The Power Dialer is what makes CallFire’s Voice Broadcasting capability so powerful. It has the ability to dial thousands of numbers, all at once.

Record Tag – This IVR command records the remainder of the call, or will begin recording with a beep and stop by pressing pound (#). When you record a message using CallFire’s Voice Recording Utility, our IVR is using the Record Tag, in conjunction with the advanced Stash and Get tags. You can see a video demonstration of the Record Tag here.

SAN Number - Subscription Account Number. Telemarketers may need to obtain a SAN from the Federal Trade Commission in order to call consumers legally. Click here to find out how to get a SAN.

SetVar Tag – (Set Variable) This advanced IVR command creates a variable which can be used later.

Short Code – A 5- or 6-digit number that can send and receive texts.

SmartDrop – During a Cloud Call Center campaign, the agent can press the SmartDrop button on the interface, and it will leave a pre-recorded message for the answering machine. The agent does not have to wait for the beep or speak into the voicemail; this allows the agent to move on to the next call.

SMS - Short Message Service. An SMS is a text message.

Stash Tag – This advanced IVR tag stores the varname (variable name) and value in the call details report in your CallFire account. See a video demonstration of the Stash tag here and here.

Subset Campaign - A subset campaign duplicates all the settings of an original campaign, but applies it to just part of a phonebook. For instance, you might want to run a subset campaign to call back the portion of your contact list who did not receive your original message. This video will show you how to set up a subset campaign.

Tag - A tag can refer to an IVR command, such as a play tag or a record tag, but when used by itself, it generally means what’s found on the “My Numbers” page. Tags can be useful to help you keep your phone numbers straight. For instance, if you put one phone number on a magazine ad, and a different phone number on your website, you may want to tag each respective number “magazine” and “website.”

Text-to-Speech (TTS) - The text-to-speech engine allows you to program voice prompts on the fly. For instance, if you wanted your IVR to read an individual’s account number, you would use CallFire’s text-to-speech capability.

Transfer Tag – This IVR command connects the active call to a specified phone number. For instance, a political campaign might use a transfer tag to connect the call to a voter’s congressional office.

Voice Broadcast- Voice Broadcast is a type of CallFire campaign that allows you to send a pre-recorded phone message to your contacts. Learn more about Voice Broadcast here.

VoIP - Voice Over Internet Protocol. VoIP is a kind of technology that allows calls to be connected over the internet. However, CallFire VoIP should not be confused with residential VoIP such as Skype or Vonage; we offer an enterprise-level, redundant, fiber-based platform for better reliability and call quality.

Whisper – A whisper is a short message that will be played before an incoming call is connected. This can help you better serve your incoming calls. For instance, if you have one phone number assigned for real estate properties for sale, and one phone number assigned for people who want to sell their real estate, you can set a whisper that will tell you “This call is regarding properties for sale,” before you greet the caller. You can enable the Whisper feature on your “My Numbers” page in your CallFire account.

White Label Program – CallFire’s White Label Program allows approved vendors to re-sell CallFire products using their own branding. An improved version of the White Label Program will be unveiled in late 2011.

Marketers tend to think of opt-in marketing as a limitation, but I honestly think it’s a benefit. For one, opt-in means you’re communicating with people who say it’s okay for you to communicate with them. That means you’re not annoying them, which will help the success of your campaigns. And perhaps more importantly, opt-in voice broadcasts and text blasts save you money in the end. You’re not paying for calls or texts to people who don’t want them, which is only going to help control costs. So how should you get your opt-in list to grow? Here’s 10 suggestions:

1. Tell your customers what they’ll get if they opt in

Are you planning on sending a monthly discount code? What about exclusive, text-only invites to sales? Give your customers a good reason to opt in, as well as an idea of how frequently you plan to contact them (monthly, weekly, daily, etc). You can also incentivize opt-ins by offering an immediate benefit, such as a discount or free gift.

2. Make sure they know they can always opt out

Sounds a bit counter-intuitive, but customers will be a lot less hesitant to sign up if you reassure them they can push 8 or text STOP at any time to unsubscribe. CallFire will automatically add your unsubscribes to your internal DNC list, making your list easier to manage, and making your customers more comfortable in joining.

3. Use your existing sign-up pages to drive subscriptions

If your customers use any sort of form on your website, include a check box to opt in to your text or marketing campaigns. You might want to put this directly below the field where your customers input their phone number, like in the example below:

4. Create an email marketing campaign

Email your customers and tell them about your great new marketing initiative. Tell them what you plan to send to them via phone calls or texts, and include an opt-in call-to-action such as “click here to subscribe” or “Text SMSFIRE to 88202.”

5. Drive subscriptions with social media

Encourage your Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and LinkedIn contacts to subscribe to your list. Have your whole team share these posts with their contacts, so that their contacts can tell their contacts, and so on.

6. Get their attention with point-of-purchase signage

Got a physical storefront? What better place to reach your existing customers? Make a sign to hang near the register, in the window, or on tabletops. One note of caution, however—don’t simply have a clipboard where people can add their phone numbers, because most carriers won’t accept a paper sign-up as a valid opt-in should you ever face a complaint. Instead, encourage your customers to subscribe with their cell phones, such as “Text SMSFIRE to 88202.”

7. Hold an employee competition for signups

Do your employees spend a lot of time interacting with customers? Run a month-long competition to see who can get the most subscriptions, and offer a great prize to the winner, like a gift certificate or a paid day off.

8. Append an opt-in message to your sales receipts

Include a short message about your voice and text promotions every time the register rings.

9. Design a CallFire IVR to solicit opt-ins from customers who call your business

When customers call your business, add an option to your phone menu to subscribe to your list. Example: “Press 1 to receive discounts via text message, and Press 2 to speak to a representative.” When callers press 1, design your IVR to record the calls and prompt the caller to leave the cell phone number he’d like to subscribe. If you need help doing this, my colleague Ryan can show you how in this video.

10. Keep an online archive for reference

Once you’ve been doing voice or text broadcasts for a while, house some of your past deals somewhere on your website. Then, when prospective subscribers are considering  opting in, they will have a good idea of whether they’d benefit from your company’s messages. Visit “Past Deals” on LivingSocial if you need an example.

If you have your own tips to share, please do so in the comments. And if you have success with any of these suggestions, please share your stories too. Good luck with your marketing campaigns!