
How to build your SMS message
The art of engaging with short and easy-to-read messages is nowadays a must-have for brands. And it all starts by condensing the message into 160-character segments. However, not all characters count as one; special characters’ use can exponentially increase your costs. Knowing this, pay attention and always check the SMS length before scheduling the campaign.
Costs by segments
In SMS marketing the costs are charged by segments. And each segment has 160-character. Writting a message with 10 characters or 160 has the same cost. Normally you will choose 1 segment, as the sending costs are multiplied by each additional segment. So, if you have 170 characters in your message you will be charged for 320 characters – 2 segments.

Special characters
Special characters and accents will affect the SMS length. You can avoid using accents and verify how the special characters are considered.
Characters count
To verify the characters count we recommend you to use https://messente.com/ a Free Online SMS Length Calculator. Enter to the site and paste your message in the box.

The site will calculate your message length.

STOPsms
If you have STOPsms configured in your GETbizz account, you must count with those characters (usually 18 characters that correspond to STOPsms XXXXXXXXX). When you send the campaign, it is automatically added to your message.
