SMS Marketing Magic：How to Craft Text Messages That Delight Customers and Drive Revenue

Why SMS Text Message Marketing Works and How to Do It Right

SMS marketing enables businesses to send promotional messages directly to the mobile phones of customers and prospects. With open rates over 98% compared to just 20-30% for email, SMS marketing is extremely effective at engaging your audience.

But there are right and wrong ways to approach text message marketing. Follow best practices and you’ll see great results. Ignore compliance, send poorly timed messages with no value, and you’ll turn off recipients and potentially get in legal trouble.

SMS marketing works because it allows you to reach customers directly on their mobile devices, which are almost always within arm’s reach. With an open rate of over 98%, text messages have a higher chance of being seen and read compared to other marketing channels like email.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know to create an effective SMS marketing program.

Get Compliant With Laws and Regulations

To build trust with your subscribers and avoid potential legal issues, it’s crucial to follow the laws, regulations and industry guidelines around SMS mobile text marketing. Here are the key compliance standards to keep in mind:

• TCPA: The Telephone Consumer Protection Act requires that you obtain express opt-in consent before sending any text messages. This consent cannot be in the form of a pre-checked box, it must involve someone actively opting in to receive messages.
• CASL: Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation prohibits sending commercial electronic messages without consent, so double opt-in is essential.
• CTIA Guidelines: These best practices for SMS marketing require identification of the sender, honoring opt-out requests immediately, and maintaining an opt-out database.
• Obtain double opt-in consent: Don’t just rely on a single opt-in checkbox. Require new subscribers to actively confirm via reply text that they agree to receive messages.
• Allow easy opt-out: Include clear opt-out instructions in all messages and immediately honor opt-out requests. Maintain a suppression list to avoid texting people who don’t want to receive messages.

Build Your Subscriber List

• Promote opt-in on your website and in-store: Make it easy for website visitors and customers to join your SMS list. Place opt-in forms prominently on your website, especially on high-traffic pages. Have sign-up forms readily available at checkout counters and service desks.
• Offer incentives for joining: People love free stuff and discounts! Offer a coupon code, free gift or entry into a contest when someone signs up for your SMS list. This motivates subscribers to opt-in.
• Import contacts from your email list: Upload your email contacts database and invite subscribers to join your SMS program too. Many will be happy to opt-in for text notifications from your business.
• Leverage text-to-join keywords: Enable customers to easily join your SMS list by texting keywords to a shortcode. Example keywords could be JOIN, SUBSCRIBE or your business name. Make these keywords readily visible on your website, emails and print materials.
• Promote it on packaging and receipts: Print sign-up instructions and your text-to-join keyword right on packaging, shopping bags and receipts. This catches attention during the customer journey.
• Run social media and email campaigns: Spread the word about your text message marketing program on all your channels through emails, social posts and ads. Share the value customers get by joining your list.

By promoting SMS sign-ups across channels and offering an incentive, you can rapidly grow your subscriber list. Import contacts and leverage text-to-join to make joining your list quick and hassle-free. With an SMS database full of engaged subscribers, you’ll be ready to launch effective text campaigns that drive results.

Create Value-Driven Content

Determining the right content to include in your SMS messages is crucial for generating value and engagement with subscribers. Rather than sending random or overly promotional messages, focus on providing content that aligns with your subscribers’ interests and needs. Some of the most effective types of SMS content include:

Offers, Promotions and Events

Leverage SMS to promote time-sensitive offers, deals, sales, and events that motivate subscribers to take action. For example, you could send a coupon code for 20% off, announce a limited-time flash sale, or remind people about an upcoming webinar or in-store event. Just make sure the content provides enough context and urgency to entice subscribers.

Surveys and Polls

Engage your subscribers by soliciting their opinions and feedback via SMS polls and surveys. You’ll gain valuable insights while making subscribers feel heard. Keep the questions brief and relevant. For example, you could ask subscribers to vote on a new product feature, give feedback on customer service, or provide input on topics they want to hear about.

Loyalty Rewards

Surprise and delight your loyal customers with exclusive SMS-only rewards, points, and perks. For example, you could provide bonus points or early access to sales for your VIP subscribers who have made repeat purchases. Make subscribers feel special while incentivizing engagement.

Order Updates

Keep subscribers informed about their orders by sending shipping confirmations, tracking updates, and delivery notifications via SMS. This provides helpful status updates and builds trust. Customers always appreciate transparency around their purchases.

The key is providing SMS content that subscribers find genuinely useful. Give them value that enhances their relationship with your brand while achieving your business goals. Prioritize relevance, exclusivity, and utility in your SMS content approach.

Personalize and Segment Messages

Sending the same generic blast texts to your entire subscriber list is not an effective strategy. You’ll get better results if you personalize and segment your SMS campaigns based on individual interests and behaviors.

Use First Name Personalization

Personalizing your texts with your subscribers’ first names increases open rates by over 26%. When you include the recipient’s name, it signals that they are getting a message tailored just for them, rather than an impersonal blasting. Platforms like uSpeedo allow you to easily personalize with merge fields.

For example:

Hi [FirstName], here’s a 10% off coupon just for you to use this weekend at our store!

The personal touch makes subscribers feel valued. Just make sure you have opt-in consent to use their names.

Segment by Interests and Purchase History

Divide your subscriber list into segments or groups based on their interests, demographics, and past interactions with your business. Then you can send content that’s highly relevant to each group.

For example, if someone purchased camping equipment from your store, add them to an “Outdoor Enthusiasts” segment. Send this group texts about new hiking gear arrivals, park trail openings, and camping tips.

Tailoring your messages based on subscriber data keeps engagement high. Use segmentation to deliver an experience that aligns with what different customers care about.

Send Dynamic Content

Combining segmentation with dynamic content takes personalization even further. Dynamic content changes depending on the subscriber.

For instance, you could set up a campaign that displays:

“Hi [FirstName], your order of [PurchasedItem] has shipped and will arrive on [DeliveryDate]!”

The purchase and date info dynamically populates based on each recipient’s order data.

Tools like uSpeedo make it easy to create and optimize dynamic campaign content.

Highly tailored, dynamic texts like these make subscribers feel seen and valued. They demonstrate that you understand your customers as individuals and not just as data points. This helps builds lasting loyalty.

Time Your Messages for the Highest Open Rates

Choosing the right days and times to send your SMS messages can have a big impact on open rates. Here are some tips on timing your campaigns:

• Send on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. Open rates tend to be highest in the middle of the workweek. Avoid Mondays and Fridays.
• Target the morning or mid-afternoon. People check their phones most frequently from 9-11am or 1-4pm.
• Watch the clock. SMS open rates peak before 10am, die down midday, then pick back up around 3pm and stay higher through early evening.
• Limit your message frequency. Only send 1-2 marketing SMS per week to avoid overwhelming subscribers.
• Consider time zones. If messaging a national or global audience, pay attention to time zone differences so you don’t text too early or late.
• Test different days and times. Run A/B split tests with your SMS campaigns to identify the optimal timing for your audience. Track open and click-through rates.
• Use analytics. Dive into your SMS analytics and reports to understand engagement by day and time. Identify your audience’s patterns.

Sending your marketing text messages at the right days and times when open rates are highest can dramatically boost engagement. Limit frequency, watch the clock, and test to unlock timing that works.

Write Effective Calls to Action

An effective call to action (CTA) is critical for driving conversions and revenue from your SMS campaigns. Follow these tips to create compelling CTAs that get results:

• Make your CTA clear and specific - Tell subscribers exactly what you want them to do. “Get 20% off now with code SMS20” or “Click here to download our app”.
• Use urgency and scarcity - Limited-time offers encourage immediate action. “24-hour flash sale!” or “Today only: 50% off”.
• Include deadlines - Giving an end date/time boosts response rates. “Order in the next 2 hours to get free 2-day shipping.”
• Provide value - Coupons, promo codes, and free gifts entice subscribers. “BOGO free burrito with code TACO”.
• Personalize when possible - Adding the recipient’s name makes your CTA more effective. “Sarah, get 10% off just for you!”
• Make it frictionless - Reduce steps to complete the action. Provide direct clickable links versus just listing your website.
• Reinforce across channels - Promote your SMS CTA on social media, email, and your website.
• Test multiple CTAs - Try different offers and wording, and see what resonates most.
• Include a strong final CTA - End each SMS with a call to action so readers know what you want them to do.

Following these tips will lead to higher open rates, click through rates, and more conversions from your SMS campaigns. Treat your CTAs as carefully as your content. Well-crafted calls to action compel subscribers to take the action you want.

Integrate and Promote Across Channels

Nailing the omni-channel experience is an absolute must for SMS text message marketing success. While SMS works great as a standalone channel, integrating it with your other marketing efforts provides the most benefit. Here are some ways to weave SMS into your overall strategy:

• Promote your SMS program in your email marketing. Email open rates tend to be higher on mobile devices, so this is the perfect place to showcase SMS and encourage signups. Send dedicated emails promoting your text message program or include a call-to-action in your regular emails. Offer an incentive for subscribers to join your SMS list.
• Leverage social media to grow your subscriber base. Run social media ads with a call-to-action to join your SMS list. Create posts showcasing your SMS campaigns and prompting followers to text-to-join. Utilize retargeting ads on social to hit subscribers with a text opt-in pitch.
• Display web ads promoting SMS. Your website banners, text ads and content marketing are all opportunities to advertise your text messaging program. Place opt-in forms or “Join via SMS” buttons prominently on your site. Craft ads with compelling copy focused on the subscriber value of your SMS campaigns.
• Send SMS messages that reinforce your campaigns in other channels. If you email subscribers about an upcoming promotion or sale, follow up with a reminder SMS message right before the event. When someone visits your website, re-engage them via SMS. Coordinate your messaging across channels for maximum impact.
• Gather feedback from SMS to enhance your overall strategy. Ask questions via text message surveys to gain subscriber insights. Use this real-time data to identify customer pain points and inform decisions across your marketing mix. Close the loop by sharing key findings from your SMS surveys in other channels.

This cross-channel integration ensures a consistent experience for customers as they engage with your brand across touchpoints. With creative promotions and seamless coordination, you can unlock the full power of SMS text messaging within your omnichannel approach.

Analyze Performance and Optimize

Once you’ve sent out a few SMS marketing campaigns, it’s important to analyze how they performed in order to optimize your efforts. There are a few key metrics you’ll want to track:

• Open rates: This tells you the percentage of subscribers who opened your SMS message. Open rates for SMS are typically very high, around 98%.
• Click-through rates: This shows how many people clicked on any links within your SMS message. This helps determine if your call-to-action is compelling.
• Conversion rates: Conversion rate tracks how many subscribers took your desired action after receiving your SMS, such as visiting your website or making a purchase. Review conversion rates to see how effective your call to action is at driving results.
• Unsubscribe rates: Keep an eye on opt-outs to ensure your messages are relevant and not annoying subscribers. A good unsubscribe rate is under 2%.

A/B test different components of your SMS campaigns such as:

• Subject line
• Message copy
• Call to action
• Timing

This will reveal what resonates best with your subscribers.

Also, periodically survey subscribers to get direct feedback on your SMS program. Ask what they like about the messages, what they don’t like, and what they want to see more of. This qualitative data will help you continue optimizing your efforts.

By continually analyzing performance and testing variations, you’ll be able to fine tune your SMS marketing approach for maximum effectiveness. Don’t just set it and forget it - keep improving it!

Recommended SMS Marketing Tool and Service

SMS marketing automation platforms and tools can make your text message campaigns more efficient and effective. Here are some top options to consider:

Third-Party SMS Marketing Platforms

• uSpeedo - Cloud communication provider, multichannel automation platform for APIs, service & marketing across SMS, Email and WhatsApp
• EZ Texting - Robust SMS marketing platform with automation, templates, spam filtering and detailed analytics. Integrates with CRMs.
• SimpleTexting - Full-featured text marketing service with automation, 2-way messaging, and real-time reporting.
• Trumpia - Cloud-based platform with broadcast and autoresponder text campaigns, compliance tools and analytics.
• MessageMedia - Global business SMS platform with two-way messaging, automation and analytics.

Automation and Analytics

These platforms allow you to set automated SMS campaigns based on triggers and customer behavior. Advanced analytics give you insights to further optimize based on open rates, engagements and conversions.

APIs and Integrations

Many SMS providers offer APIs and integrations with leading CRMs, email marketing platforms, and e-commerce solutions. This allows you to sync data and coordinate omni-channel campaigns. Common integrations include Salesforce, MailChimp, Shopify, and more.

Choosing the Right Platform

Consider your audience size, message volume, automation needs, compliance requirements, integrations, budget and other factors. Scalable and customizable enterprise-level platforms tend to have higher costs than basic SMS blast services. Thoroughly test any platform before committing to ensure it meets your unique business needs.