Jobs can be scheduled in advance using the web portal, email to broadcast, or API. When reviewing and submitting the job, simply define the desired time to commence sending. Note that the time is with reference to the time zone held in your user profile.

As well as scheduling, Distributed jobs, can be sent in blocks defined by the number of blocks and time period between blocks, this is done via the web portal when reviewing and submitting jobs.

The status display in Your Broadcast History shows a summary of whether the job is scheduled, in progress or has been completed. It also lists the Job Name, list used, number of destinations (items), when the job was received by the system, when the attempts were started and finished. The last column shows “Cancel Job” if the broadcast is still pending a scheduled delivery or “Resend” if the job has completed all attempts. Clicking the “Submit Cancel Request” button will submit the cancel request to the system for the job in question.

If the deliveries of the message have not yet started (such as in a scheduled job where the start time has not been reach) then it is possible to cancel the job in question and no deliveries will be attempted. However, if the job has commenced deliveries, you cannot cancel the job; it will run to completion.

Escalation lists are used to sequentially send a text-to-speech (TTS) message to a list of recipients, one at a time, until a specific criteria is met (more about that later). This is unlike other lists, where we send to all the recipients at one time.

The main purpose of an escalation list it to find a recipient who can act on the message. Examples of such a message might be:

• Fill a shift vacancy for someone who has called in sick
• Get a courier to pick up a package asap and delivery it somewhere
• Perform an urgent maintenance job for a piece of equipment that has failed

In each case, we would call the first contact in a list. If they don’t listen to the message or do not reply in the positive, then we call the second contact. And that continues until someone listens to the message or alternately, replies to accept the offer.

To use this feature, you setup a new list (or edit an old one) in the portal and tick the box “This list is an escalation list”. You then send your TTS message using this list as you normally do: through the portal, as an email-to-broadcast, or through the API interface.

For example, if you are sending through email-to-broadcast, send to dmy@tts.message-service.org, and in the body of your message, include:

<Lists>
*My New Escalation List Name* (replace with your list name obviously)
</Lists>

If the TTS is a one-way (with no key press reply expected), then the message has to be picked up (not by voice mail) and listened to for at least 10 seconds, otherwise the next recipient in the list is called.

Once someone listens to the message for the required length of time, the job stops there.

If you send a two-way TTS, the recipient must push “1” to accept the message, otherwise the next recipient in the list is called. In this case, it doesn’t matter how long the person has listened to the message.

Service Summary

WEL Media allows you to quickly & simply select highly accurate media lists from the WEL website via any internet based PC or laptop, submit your media release 24 x 7 in all Acceptable File Formats and have it broadcasted (fax and/or email) simultaneously and delivered within minutes (or scheduled for delivery at a later date and time).

You do not need to download any data, or load any disks from us. We do not need to penetrate your firewall for you to send your press release with us.

The WEL Media database has been compiled by our contractors with 30+ years experience in building and maintaining highly accurate media contacts and clearly understand the media requirements of Government, PR Companies, Associations, Lobby Groups, Political Parties and other Organizations. Our data base is monitored daily for updates and we constantly revalidate all of the contacts in our data base.

• Highly accurate & comprehensive lists are updated regularly.
• Radio, Press, TV, Magazines, Specialty Editors & Journalists.
• Most comprehensive data base in Australia: over 2,700 email addresses and over 2,100 fax numbers within Australia
• Easy-to-use, secure and accessible from anywhere worldwide at anytime.
• Fine tune your selection of media recipients and save your selection for future use.
• Fast, reliable and simple to use. Only takes a few minutes to send your press release.
• On line “live” reporting: who received your media release and who did not.
• Clear and crisp output for the editors’ news desk personalized with a contact name.

Press releases transmitted by WEL Media have immediate impact as fax and email is regarded as the most effective way to attract media attention…on time, every time! We use fax or email based on the expressed preferences of the intended media recipients of your press release.

To view details of the media recipients we have on our list, please click below:
View List of Media Recipients

With WEL, the cost of your media release is based only on the number of successful deliveries of your press release. There are no upfront fees, no account maintenance charges, no contracts. You only pay for what you send. Nothing more! The most economical service in the Australian market!

Please note that this is a guide for the most common Error Codes: reasons for non-delivered documents/messages.

Fax Error Codes

Voice (Text-to-Speech and WAV broadcast) Error Codes

SMS Error Codes

FORMAT

WAV files must be in PCM format, 8-bit Mono.

RECORDING SOFTWARE

If you are not familiar with audio recording software, or do not have the facilities to do this already, we recommend you use WavePad Audio Editing Software from NCH Software (http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/index.html). This software can be downloaded for free, or you can get a paid version as well.

WAVEPAD USAGE

You can use WavePad software to record the file on your computer. The software will not prompt you for the setting of the parametres until after you have recorded it. Once you have recorded the file, and you hit “Save As”, it will then prompt you for the parametres. Select “PCM Uncompressed”, “8000 Hz, 8 Bits, Mono”. Play the recording back. If it doesn’t sound crisp and clear (perhaps your microphone is not the best quality), then try 11025 Hz.

HEADSET/MICROPHONE

We recommend you use a headset/microphone that can be plugged into your computer for the recording. Using the microphone built into the computer will not usually produce the best results. The type of headset that works fine can be purchased at most electronic stores for about $20.

TIPS FOR BEST RESULTS

1. Leave a few seconds of silence at the beginning to allow the person to put the handset to their ear. Otherwise, the recording might start too early before they are listening!
2. It will take a few seconds for a person to recognise that this is a recorded message and not a real person speaking to them. So don’t go into the core of your message right away, as the recipient might miss it before they realise what’s happening. Start your message with some words to “announce” the message. For example: “This is a courtesy call from XYZ Company. We are calling you as a service to our valued clients.” Or another example: “This is a recorded message from XYZ Company for the residents of your household.”
3. Speak slowly and pause where appropriate (commas, full stops). It is easy to speak too fast when you record.
4. It is often recommended to repeat your core message in case the recipient missed some part of the content the first time. Perhaps you want to tell them a phone number to call back, or you want them to remember some important detail. In that case, repeating the core message will help ensure the recipient retains the information you are providing. So a recommended format for a message is:
   • Few seconds of silence
   • Announce the message
   • Speak the core message
   • “This message will now be repeated.”
   • Speak the core message
   • “Thank you. Good bye.”

Voice Software

The text of your message is sent through a piece of software that turns it into a file that is then played when we call the phone number of the intended recipient. The software that does this “translation” is complex, and has the ability to turn your text into speech that sounds as the message would naturally be spoken by a person. However, there are a few rules and tips that will optimise the understanding of your message by the recipient.

Write out the words

Voice messages are unlike SMS’s in that the voice software does not recognise many of the abbreviations that you might use in SMS’s (e.g.: LOL). Write out words completely. Some abbreviations are recognised. For example: Mr John Smith. “Mr” would be pronounced “mister”. As a general rule, if you can find it in the dictionary, it’s OK to use it in a voice message.

Names

Some names are may not be pronounced correctly. Most common names are recognised but some less common ones may not be. In that case, a phonetic spelling will often do the trick. For example, Ergon Energy (a company in Queensland Australia). “Ergon” is not pronounced correctly by the software. If you write it as “ur gone”, then it will sound like the company name is normally pronounced.

Punctuation

You can use punctuation to change the way the voice is spoken. For example, an exclamation point (!) will lift the intonation of the voice for that word.

Pauses

It is important you use commas in your text to create pauses before important words, eg: “This is an, urgent message, from John Smith”.

Vowels

When a word ends in a vowel, and the next word begins with the same vowel, the words can sometimes sound merged together. In that case, placing a dash (-) between the words will help separate the sounds of the two vowels and make it more distinct.

Telephone numbers

Telephone numbers should be entered with a space between the numbers and commas after the area codes eg. 0 2, 9 8 7 6, 5 4 3 2.

Voice Speed

The voice software is set to speak the message at the “normal” rate of speech by a person. However, if you wish to slow it down, just place full stops (.) with spaces in between the full stops in various places in the message and that will slow the speech down in those places. For example, if you are saying numbers, you might write it as “one. . . two. . . three”. Note the spaces between the full stops (.).

Scripts

For messages that you will often reuse, it is good to write a “script”, which you can then use as a template for future messages. Once you have created a message using some of the tips above, save it for future use!

It is often recommended to repeat your core message in case the recipient missed some part of the content the first time. Perhaps you want to tell them a phone number to call back, or you want them to remember some important detail. In that case, repeating the core message will help ensure the recipient retains the information you are providing. So a recommended format for a message is:

• Few seconds of silence
• Announce the message
• Speak the core message
• “This message will now be repeated.”
• Speak the core message
• “Thank you. Good bye.”

Caller ID

We have the ability to mask the calling number with your number! You need to supply us with proof or certify to us that you own the number, and we can make the calls appear to be coming from your number. Proof of ownership of the number is usually just a copy of a recent telephone bill.

It is always preferable to use E.164 formatted numbers which include the country code and subscriber number. For convenience we also accept numbers in Australian local format.

If using local Australian format, and if your spread sheet is missing the leading zero in the number, here is a quick way to fix it:

1. Make the column (for example column B) that contains the numbers without the leading zero to be “text” or “general” format.
2. Go to a cell at in the same row as the first number in the list but in an adjacent column (for example cell C2).
3. In cell C2, enter this formula: =Concatenate(0,B2)
4. Copy that formula down column C for the entire length of the list of number.

Column C should now contain the entire list with the leading zero added on at the beginning.

Remember: Do this step in the Excel workbook before you convert the file to CSV.

If you have an inbound fax setup with us, you can customize how the sender identification works in the email you receive.

Often fax sending systems are not properly setup to send the full fax sender details in the fax header, which means while we can tell you the number that sent the fax, we often can’t tell you the NAME of the fax sender in your inbound email.

So we have a system so that if you know who is likely to be faxing you, you can put their name and number in a list and we will do the lookup and try to identify the sender name from their fax number.

To set this up, you need to create a messaging list through the “Manage My Lists” page with the name “Inbound Fax Senders”. In thist list, just put the name and number of the people you expect to fax you in the “Recipient full name” and “Fax number” fields, and we will use this to work the name of who your faxes are from.

Note, if you check the “Allow all users from my company access to this list” option, this will only apply to people trying to send outbound messages using this list, not to other members of the company to apply to their own inbound fax number.

We accept the document formats listed below for fax broadcasts:

• Adobe Acrobat (PDF)
• Plain text (TXT)
• Fax format Tiff (TIF)
• Microsoft Word (DOC/DOCX)
• Microsoft Excel (XLS/XLSX)
• Microsoft Powerpoint (PPT/PPTX)
• JPEG (JPG)

Note: Each document in your broadcast must not exceed 1 Mg of data.

WEL provides the unique feature of testing your text-to-speech message prior to the actual broadcast.

You do not have to test your message, but it is recommended that you do so.

You can submit your text-to-speech message for testing an unlimited number of times.

Why Should I Test My Text-to-Speech Message?

Sometimes you may think you have accurately captured your message, but when you hear it played back, you may realize that the message could be improved. You may need to add more information to ensure the recipient understand the context of the message, or you may have simply not been clear enough with the content with your previous attempt.