We‘re all used to the popularity of the modern-day text message. Yet many of us remember what it‘s like to have a landline phone no texts or SMS, just basic landline service and voice chat. For many people, these two technologies seem at odds with each other. How could there possibly be any benefit to texting a landline phone?

You‘d be surprised. Before you think that phone calls and SMS only have relevance to the modern day mobile phone, let‘s figure out these landlines and whether you can enable text to make your life even more accessible. Here‘s what you‘ll need to know.

A "landline" number is a phone number in which your voice chat works through a physical cable hence the "land" in "landline." This contrasts with a cell phone, which transmits SMS and voice chat through the air. Think of a landline phone as anyone that will still require physical wires and connections to place a call.

On the surface, texting a landline phone number might seem like an exercise in futility. How can a phone that doesn‘t have SMS possibly interpret a text message correctly? Yet landline texting does work.

The process is straightforward. You‘ll create a text message in the standard way, using your mobile device to choose a landline number and craft a text message. Then, using the right phone service, your SMS will be converted to a voice message. This voice message can then be "called" into the landline to which you want to send the message.

Essentially, you should think of texting a landline as a transcription service. Rather than taking the voice and transcribing them, the process works in reverse. It takes the script you‘ve written and converts it into an audio recording for the person on the landline.

If your provider offers "text-to-landline" services, you‘ll often find that an SMS text converted into a landline message is relatively straightforward. Here‘s the basic process.

• With the landline phone number handy, craft the text message and send it.

• The carrier will then check to see if the recipient of the message has a valid service for receiving these messages.

• If the answer is yes, the service will then take the content of the message and record them in a simulated voice.

• The service then places a call to the landline number. At this point, it‘s no longer SMS text but a real recording that someone can hear.

• The text message is played out when the individual answers as a pre-recorded voice message.

On the surface, it might seem like a strange thing to want to text a landline. Functionality isn‘t there like it is with modern phones, including VoIP, toll-free numbers available through smartphone apps, and more. But before you avoid the concept altogether, consider why some people might use landline phones for text messaging.

For starters, business text messaging through a business landline can be beneficial if you‘re the one receiving them. Let‘s say you have an existing landline at your office. Your goal might be to maximize the amount of incoming potential leads. Business communication, after all, is all about being able to maximize leads and customers.

If you were to activate a text messaging service that lets your business receive texts despite being a landline, you could hear from the people who are texting your business phone number. If you were to ignore this, however, you might not even be aware of how many customers are trying to reach out to you. Having a landline telephone at your business doesn‘t have to limit what you hear.

After all, many customers may look at your business number and assume it‘s a mobile number. They don‘t know that you might not be getting notifications that you‘ve sent them. This can make customers upset that you haven‘t gotten back to them primarily when customers are used to other businesses texting back.

There are benefits to using this service on a home phone as well. A landline recipient can use a landline texting service to upgrade an existing line to the modern world. Most people these days indeed have cell phones and mobile phones, of course. But by enabling this service on a home phone, you can hear when someone texts your landline and never miss out on any calls.

A traditional phone line with a conventional service provider may seem to have no relevance to the world of SMS marketing. But by adding a text feature to your business landline, you can participate in the modern world without losing the reliability of the landline you currently enjoy.

You might ask yourself why your business has to change simply because the customers are changing. The simple fact is that customers do often prefer to text. SMS marketing doesn‘t always work unless you can receive texts as well. And while you can always invest in a full-service texting platform for your marketing, you may not want to give up what you have on your current business landline. You may still want the voice calls, for example, or maybe you don‘t want to give up the office space you have and the landline number you enjoy with it.

If that‘s the case, simply adding a text-enabled landline and using your own online texting service as a business can be a powerful way to hear what customers are saying without having to change things too much at your company. This means you can keep your voice service while getting the benefits of letting customers text you. And when you allow customers to text you, you help them save time, which is something they appreciate.

You can still make a landline work. Business owners need to know that this service exists with affordable pricing. Once you do, you‘ll find that your landline is more flexible than you ever thought.