Setup Jobs

Text-to-Speech Wizard

Step-by-step guide to sending a Text-to-Speech (TTS) broadcast. WEL converts your typed message into a voice call and delivers it to each recipient’s phone number.

Sending a TTS Broadcast

  1. Open the wizard
    From the left-hand menu select Send Message › Send TTS.
  2. Select your recipient list(s)
    Tick one or more lists. The same tools available on the fax and SMS wizards are here too:
    • Manage My Lists — opens My Lists › Manage My Lists if you need to upload or edit a list first.
    • Filter / Sort — filter by last-updated date and sort by Date or Name.
    • Remove Duplicate Destinations (Dedupe) — sends only one call to each unique phone number across all selected lists.
  3. Confirm recipients & name your broadcast
    Check the recipient count at the top right, enter a Broadcast Name, then click Next.
  4. Configure your message
    This page contains the main settings for your TTS job. See the sections below for full details on each option:
  5. Test & submit
    Testing is optional but highly recommended. Enter your landline and/or mobile number and click Next to hear your message before it goes to your full list. Tick Skip Test Message to proceed directly to the scheduling screen. From there you can schedule delivery or set up a distributed send.

TTS Type

TypeHow it works
One-way TTS All recipients are called simultaneously and hear your message.
Two-way TTS All recipients are called simultaneously. Recipients can respond by pressing a key on their phone — WEL catches the keypress and either plays a response message, transfers the live call to a phone number of your choice, or both. Configure this under IVR Response Options.
Escalation lists Escalation lists work differently from normal lists. With a one-way TTS to an escalation list, the call must be answered live (not by voicemail) and listened to for at least 10 seconds — otherwise WEL moves to the next recipient on the list. Once one person has listened for the required time, the job stops and no further calls are made. With a two-way TTS escalation list, the recipient must press 1 to accept the message (listen time does not matter).

Two-Way IVR Response Options

When two-way TTS is selected, you can configure up to three keypress responses. For each key (1, 2, 3) you can set:

  • What to say — a short spoken phrase played when the recipient presses that key (e.g. “Thank you, connecting you now.”)
  • Redirect to — a phone number to transfer the live call to (include area code). Leave blank if no transfer is needed.
Live calls only Call transfers only work when the recipient is listening live. If the message was recorded by voicemail, the keypress transfer cannot function. Always include a phone number in your message text for recipients who may be listening to a recorded version.
Example two-way message Dear volunteer — this is the State Fire Fighters Brigade. We urgently require your help. Press 1 to be connected to headquarters now, or press 2 if you are unavailable. If you are listening to a recording, please call us on 0 3, 9 9 0 4, 8 8 0 8. Thank you.

The header message is a short introduction played before your main TTS message. It is optional — leave it blank if you don’t need one.

A typical header identifies the caller and sets context, for example: “Hello. This is a courtesy call from ABC Company. The following message will be repeated for your convenience.”

Main TTS Message

Type the text you want converted to speech. See Writing Tips below for formatting guidance.

Message repeat: by default your message is played twice. Tick Suppress Message Repeat if you only want it played once.

You can personalise the message using merge fields from your broadcast list.

Advanced Options

Delivery Cutoff Time

Set a time of day after which no further calls will be made. Displayed in your account’s configured timezone. Useful for keeping calls within business hours.

Voicemail Message

Enter a separate message to be left if a call goes to voicemail. This lets you provide a simpler, voicemail-appropriate version of your message (e.g. including a callback number) rather than playing your full interactive script to an answering machine.

Voice Selection

Choose the language and voice that reads your message. Multiple voices are available per language.

LanguageAvailable voices
Australian EnglishAlan, Grace, Sophie, Chris
American EnglishAllison, Dave, Steven, Susan, Sarah, Andrew
British EnglishKate, Simon, Samantha, Daniel
Canadian FrenchCharlotte, Olivier, Delphine, Leo
FrenchJuliette, Marie, Jacques
GermanKatrin, Ella
ItalianLuca, Stefano
Brazilian PortugueseFelipe, Benedita, Francisco
American SpanishSoledad, Isabella, Luis
SpanishCamila, Pablo
Mandarin ChineseLien, Wang
ChineseLinlin, Lisheng
ArabicAhmad, Zara
SwedishFreja, Lars
MexicanEsperanza

The default voice is Sophie (Australian English).

Writing Tips for TTS Messages

The voice engine converts your text to natural-sounding speech, but a few formatting rules will make the result clearer and more professional.

TipDetail
Write words in full The engine does not recognise SMS-style abbreviations. Common titles (Mr, Dr) are fine; when in doubt, spell it out.
Tricky names Use phonetic spelling for names that are mispronounced. E.g. write “ur gone” for “Ergon”.
Commas create pauses Place commas before important words to create a natural pause. E.g. “This is an, urgent message, from John Smith.”
Exclamation marks Lifts the intonation of the preceding word — use sparingly.
Phone numbers Space each digit and add commas after area codes so each digit is spoken individually: 0 2, 9 8 7 6, 5 4 3 2
Vowel merging If adjacent words share a vowel boundary and sound merged, place a dash (-) between them.
Slow it down Extra commas anywhere in the text slow the speech pace in that section.
Save your scripts Once you have a well-formatted message, save it as a template for reuse.
One-way example This is an urgent message from, John Smith. Please call 1 8 0 0, 7 9 7, 7 3 7. That number again is 1 8 0 0, 7 9 7, 7 3 7.

Merge Fields

Personalise each call with data from your broadcast list. Include the field code in your message text — values are substituted at send time. During a test call you will hear the raw field names (e.g. %%Recipient%%) rather than actual data — this is normal.

CodeInserts
%%Recipient%%Recipient’s name
%%Email%%Recipient’s email address
%%Fax%%Recipient’s fax number
%%Phone%%Recipient’s phone number
%%Mobile%%Recipient’s mobile number
%%CustomField1%% – %%CustomField7%%Custom fields 1–7 from your list
Field size limits %%CustomField1%% and %%CustomField2%% can hold up to 16 MB of text. All other custom fields are limited to 1 KB.
Example Hello, this is a message for %%Recipient%%. Dear %%CustomField2%%, you are currently %%CustomField1%% overdue on your account with us. Please make a payment today, or press 1 to speak with our credit team now.