The basic rule of thumb is that callers should hear one of two things when they first connect with your voicemail — either an apology for not being able to answer the call or a “thank you” for having called. You can do both if you prefer, but keep it short and to the point.
A monthly subscription will set you back $14.99 with the Starter plan, $19.99 with Growth, and $24.99 with Business. With the annual plan, Starter costs $12.49 per month, Growth is $16.66 per month, and Business is $20.83 per month. Each of the plans comes with a local or toll-free virtual phone number for free, unlimited calls and texts, and a call forwarding feature. The yearly plan also offers the first two months for free.

Line2 is a small business phone service formerly known as Toktumi. It is a virtual phone system you can use with a computer, tablet or mobile phone. The company’s website seems to position this service for entrepreneurs who want to quickly add a business phone line to separate their business communications from personal (hence the name “line 2”). With rock bottom prices, and a streamlined feature set, it’s ideal for startups, entrepreneurs running side businesses, online entrepreneurs, and workers in the gig economy. There is a 7-day free trial. Feature We Like: A widget to get texts directly from people visiting your website — even included in the lowest plan.
We’re keeping it simple with this one. Just a few basic elements to help you get started. As long as you know who your audience is, the message you wish to convey, and the information you need from the caller, the rest should fall into place quite nicely. Let’s face it, a voicemail greeting for a lumber company will probably be different than that of a psychologist’s office. One greeting is aimed at securing potential customers, and the other is geared towards appointments, more or less. Once you are certain who your caller is, the better your voicemail. Center on your audience, first and foremost. Knowing what to relate ensures that your caller will leave the right message. For instance, if you’re a retail store, you would include your hours of operations, and perhaps any specials that you’re running. If you are a therapist’s office, then you’d need to include an alternate number in case a patient is having an issue and requires immediate help. Again, this will vary depending on the business. Here, a therapist would definitely request the caller leave their contact information. However, a retail store chain might not request that. There are also complex voicemail systems such as those used by mobile phone services, which ask you to press a certain number on your phone, where you are asked to leave your account information. Again, as you can see, it all boils down to the demographics of your callers, and what you need from them to conduct the best business possible. Depending on the situation, your caller might be in a good mood or not. In either case, they’ll probably be eagerly awaiting your call. So, it stands to reason that you only promise them a call back if you can deliver. In other words, if you’re a small shop and you’ve decided to close due to a much-needed sabbatical, then don’t leave a voicemail greeting where you promise them to call right back. However, if you have an active customer service staff, then you can promise to return their call within the same day.