How To: Personalize Mass Text Messages on Android

We've all received those impersonal mass text messages, whether we're getting invited out to a birthday party, graduation celebration, or just a group dinner or outing.

Usually when I see those sort of text messages, I delete them, mostly because they're not personal. If someone really cared about inviting me out, they would at least use my name in the message right? Yeah, it might be a hassle to write out each unique message, especially if you've got a lot of friends, so why not let an application do all the work for you?

Step 1: Install Text Blaster

While it's promoted as a business tool, Text Blaster, from developer Gautam Jain, allows you to automatically personalize each message with the recipient's first and/or last name when sending mass text messages.

Step 2: Create a Group

Begin by creating a new group, which should be full of contacts that you often text together. Add a group name to recognize it in the future, then hit "Create."

In Text Blaster's main page, you'll find your groups, as well as how many text messages you have left to send at the top. With the free version, you can send up to 500 text messages every month, which should be more than enough for any normal person.

Various other packages are available, geared mostly for marketing: Pro (1,000 texts/month for $4.95/month), Business (2,000 texts/month for $8.95/month), and Business+ (unlimited texts for $10.95/month).

Step 3: Create, Personalize, & Send Texts

Enter a group and create a text. Using the + sign next to the text box, you can enter either a first name, last name, or both. A generic placeholder will appear in green, indicating the name of all your contacts. At the top right you can check out the contacts in your group, as well as add more.

When you're ready to send, tap on the shield icon with the checkmark.

On the next page, you'll be able to preview what each text message will look like, along with the personalized touch, depending on which format of the name you chose. When you send, you can head over to your stock Messages app to check out all your sent texts.

Not only is this is a faster way of sending mass text messages, it also stops others from getting annoyed by group text messages. With Text Blaster, only you will receive text messages from recipients, thanks to the texts being sent on an individual basis and not as a group.

Is Text Blaster a good alternative to personalizing text messages manually, one by one? Leave us all of your thoughts in the comments below. And make sure to follow Gadget Hacks on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter to see more cool Android apps like this one.