Email to SMS
Write an email, address it to a mobile number, hit send. It arrives as an SMS, and replies come back to your inbox.
Most of your day is already spent in email, so touchSMS lets you send SMS from there too. Address an email to the recipient's mobile number at @touchsms.email and the body is delivered as a text message. Replies come back as email you can answer, so the whole conversation lives in the inbox you already work from.
We're an ACMA certified telco
touchSMS operates under Edgility, listed on ACMA's SMS Sender ID Register. Your messages send under your real business name, with better deliverability and full compliance.
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About the Email to SMS integration
What is Email to SMS?
Email to SMS is a two-way gateway that turns an email into a text message on the recipient's phone, and turns their reply back into an email in your inbox. The whole team can send SMS from the tool they already spend their day in, with no new login, no CSV upload and no separate portal to check for replies.
How to send text messages using email
Make sure Email to SMS is turned on in Settings > Email to SMS and the address you're sending from is registered. Then address a new email to the recipient's mobile number followed by @touchsms.email, write your message in the body, add #END# to cut off your signature, and send. touchSMS checks the sending address, converts the body to an SMS and delivers it.
Sending from your systems over SMTP
Booking systems, monitoring tools and other software that can send email can send SMS too. Email sms@touchsms.email with a blank subject and put the recipients at the top of the body, one per line, then the message:
- X-CELLPHONE: 0412345678 (one line per recipient)
- X-FROM-CELLPHONE: YourBrand (optional, sets the Sender ID)
- Leave out X-FROM-CELLPHONE and replies come back to your touchSMS inbox and email
Why use Email to SMS?
Most business communication already starts in email, and SMS is the channel that gets read. Bridging the two means appointment reminders, dispatch notices, emergency alerts and shift requests reach the phone they need to reach, without anyone changing tools or learning a new interface.
How Email to SMS pricing works
Every SMS sent through Email to SMS is 5c (ex GST), the same as any other touchSMS message. There is no monthly fee, no per-user charge and no gateway surcharge. Pay as you go with prepaid credits.
Email to SMS + touchSMS, feature by feature
Send from any email client
Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail or your CRM's mail composer. If it can send email, it can send SMS through touchSMS.
Replies come back as email
Inbound replies are sent to the address that sent the message, and kept in your touchSMS inbox. Reply to the email and it goes out as an SMS.
Only your addresses can send
Your account email is enabled automatically, and you add any others yourself. Strict security is on by default, so spoofed addresses can't send on your account.
A Sender ID per address
Give each registered email address its own default Sender ID: a virtual number customers can reply to, or your business name for one-way alerts.
Keep signatures out
Add #END# after your message and everything below it, like signatures, logos and disclaimers, is left out of the SMS.
Control message length
Messages are capped at 4 parts (about 600 characters) by default to protect your credit. Raise or lower the limit, and choose whether the subject line is included.
Send from servers over SMTP
Send from an app or server by emailing sms@touchsms.email, with one X-CELLPHONE line per recipient and an optional X-FROM-CELLPHONE to set the Sender ID.
Same pricing as everything else
Email to SMS uses the same 5c per SMS (ex GST) pricing as every other touchSMS channel, with no monthly fees or gateway surcharge.
Where teams put it to work
Appointment reminders
Send the reminder from your booking system's email flow and have the client receive it as an SMS the same day.
Emergency notifications
Push a broadcast from any team member's inbox when time matters. No login required.
Staff communication
Fill a shift, ping the on-call, or send a policy update straight to team members' phones from an email.
Parcel delivery updates
Wire dispatch or fulfilment emails to Email SMS to keep customers looped in on their order status.
Marketing communication
For teams that already run marketing from email, add SMS as another outbound channel without a new tool.
Quick reply from the inbox
Reply to an inbound SMS notification from your phone or laptop with a tap. No portal login.
Connect Email to SMS in minutes
The setup is quick: create your touchSMS account, grab an API key, and follow the prompts in the Email to SMS app. Most teams are sending inside a lunch break.
- 01Create a free touchSMS account and add credits.
- 02Go to Settings > Email to SMS and turn Email to SMS on. Add any other email addresses that should be able to send.
- 03Email the recipient's mobile number at @touchsms.email, for example 0412345678@touchsms.email, and add #END# after your message.
- 04Reply to the notification email when the recipient texts back, and your reply goes out as an SMS.
Email to SMS integration, common questions
How do I address the email?+
Put the recipient's mobile number followed by @touchsms.email in the To field, for example 0412345678@touchsms.email. To send to several people, add several addresses.
What becomes the SMS?+
The email body. The subject line is left out unless you turn on Include Text in Subject Line in Settings > Email to SMS. Add #END# after your message to drop your signature and anything else below it.
How long can a message be?+
One SMS is 160 characters. Email to SMS allows up to 4 message parts by default, and longer messages are cut off at that limit. You can change the limit in Settings > Email to SMS.
Can anyone on my domain send?+
No. Only email addresses registered on your touchSMS account can send. Your account email is registered automatically and you can add as many others as you need.
How do replies work?+
When you send from a number that accepts replies, each reply is emailed to the address that sent the message and kept in your touchSMS inbox. Reply to that email to answer by SMS. Messages sent from a business name (Alpha Sender ID) can't be replied to.
Can my system send Email to SMS automatically?+
Yes. Send from your server or app over SMTP to sms@touchsms.email, with a line X-CELLPHONE: followed by each recipient's number at the top of the body, and optionally X-FROM-CELLPHONE: to set the Sender ID.
Ready to bring SMS into Email to SMS?
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