The Numbers Are Hard to Argue With
Every marketing channel is fighting for attention. Email inboxes are overflowing. Social media feeds are algorithmically filtered. Display ads get banner-blindness treatment.
Then there's SMS:
- 98% open rate (email averages 20%)
- 90% of texts are read within 3 minutes of delivery
- 45% average response rate for SMS campaigns (email: 6%)
- 36% average click-through rate on links in texts (email: 2-3%)
- No algorithm deciding whether your message gets seen
A text message lands directly on someone's lock screen. It makes a sound. It creates a notification badge that most people can't ignore. It's the most direct marketing channel available — which is exactly why it needs to be used responsibly.
When SMS Works (and When It Doesn't)
SMS Works Best For:
Time-sensitive communications:
- Flash sales and limited-time offers
- Appointment reminders (reduces no-shows by 30-50%)
- Event reminders and updates
- Delivery and shipping notifications
- Booking confirmations
Short, actionable messages:
- "Your order has shipped. Track it here: [link]"
- "Reminder: Your appointment is tomorrow at 2pm. Reply C to confirm or R to reschedule."
- "48-hour sale: 25% off everything. Shop now: [link]"
Re-engagement:
- Bringing back inactive customers
- Abandoned cart reminders
- Post-purchase follow-ups
Conversational commerce:
- Two-way conversations with customers
- Quick customer service responses
- Booking and scheduling via text
SMS Doesn't Work For:
- Long-form content (that's what email is for)
- Cold outreach to people who haven't opted in
- Frequent promotional blasts (you'll get unsubscribes fast)
- Complex information that requires formatting or visuals
- Brand awareness campaigns (SMS is a conversion channel, not a discovery channel)
Compliance: The Non-Negotiable Rules
SMS marketing without proper consent is not just bad practice — it's illegal in most jurisdictions and can result in significant fines.
Key Requirements
1. Explicit opt-in required. You must have clear, documented consent before sending any marketing text. "They gave us their phone number" is not consent. They need to specifically agree to receive text messages from you.
Valid opt-in methods:
- Text-to-join keyword ("Text JOIN to 12345")
- Website form with a separate SMS consent checkbox (not bundled with email consent)
- Point-of-sale opt-in with clear disclosure
- Paper form with explicit SMS marketing consent language
2. Easy opt-out always available. Every marketing text must include an opt-out mechanism. The standard is: "Reply STOP to unsubscribe." When someone opts out, it must be immediate and permanent (until they re-subscribe).
3. Identify yourself. Recipients must know who's texting them. Include your business name in every message.
4. Respect quiet hours. Don't send marketing texts before 8am or after 9pm in the recipient's time zone. Most platforms enforce this automatically.
5. Content restrictions. No deceptive content, no misleading offers, no prohibited content categories. Follow your SMS platform's acceptable use policy.
Carrier Registration (2026 Requirement)
In the US, A2P (Application-to-Person) messaging requires registration with The Campaign Registry (TCR). Carriers now filter and block unregistered traffic. Similar registration requirements exist in other markets.
Your SMS platform should handle registration for you, but be prepared to provide:
- Business details and EIN/registration number
- Sample messages
- Description of your use case
- Opt-in flow documentation
Types of SMS Campaigns
Transactional Messages
Triggered by a customer action. These have the highest value and lowest unsubscribe risk.
Examples:
- Order confirmations
- Shipping notifications
- Appointment reminders
- Password resets
- Account alerts
Best practice: Send within minutes of the trigger event. Keep it purely informational — don't sneak promotional content into transactional texts.
Promotional Campaigns
Broadcast messages sent to your subscriber list to drive sales or engagement.
Examples:
- Sale announcements
- New product launches
- Exclusive subscriber-only offers
- Seasonal promotions
Best practice: Limit to 2-4 promotional texts per month. More than that and unsubscribe rates spike. Every promotional text should offer clear, genuine value.
Automated Sequences
Pre-built workflows triggered by specific events or timing.
Welcome sequence:
- Message 1 (immediate): "Welcome to [Brand]! Here's your 10% off code: WELCOME10. Shop here: [link]"
- Message 2 (Day 3): "Hey [Name], need help choosing? Our bestsellers: [link]"
- Message 3 (Day 7, if no purchase): "Your 10% code expires in 48 hours. Don't miss out: [link]"
Abandoned cart:
- Message 1 (1 hour after abandonment): "You left something behind! Complete your order: [link]"
- Message 2 (24 hours, if no purchase): "Still thinking about it? Your cart is saved: [link]"
Post-purchase:
- Message 1 (delivery day): "Your order has arrived! Any issues? Reply to this text and we'll sort it."
- Message 2 (7 days later): "How are you enjoying [product]? We'd love a quick review: [link]"
- Message 3 (30 days later): "Time for a restock? Order again and save 15%: [link]"
Re-engagement:
- Message 1 (90 days inactive): "We miss you, [Name]. Here's 20% off your next order: [link]"
- Message 2 (120 days, no activity): "Last chance — reply STAY to keep getting texts from us, or we'll remove you from our list."
Conversational SMS
Two-way text conversations for customer service, sales, and relationship building.
Use cases:
- Answering product questions via text
- Appointment scheduling through back-and-forth texting
- Post-service check-ins ("How was your experience today?")
- Quick customer support ("My order hasn't arrived" → "Let me look into that for you")
Conversational SMS builds stronger relationships than one-way broadcasts. Some businesses see their highest customer satisfaction scores from text-based support.
Writing Effective SMS Messages
The Constraints
- 160 characters per SMS segment (longer messages cost more and may split awkwardly)
- No formatting (bold, italic, headers)
- Links should be shortened (Bitly, your SMS platform's link shortener)
- Emojis work but use sparingly — one or two maximum
The Formula
[Brand name]: [Value/Offer] + [CTA] + [Link] + [Opt-out]
Example: "Tiberius Digital: Free website audit this week only. See where you're losing traffic and leads. Book yours: [link] Reply STOP to opt out"
Tips
- Lead with value. The first few words determine whether they read the rest.
- Be conversational. Texts are informal by nature. Don't write like a corporate email.
- One CTA per message. Don't ask them to do three things. Pick the most important action.
- Personalise. Use their first name. Reference their last purchase. Segment by behaviour.
- Create urgency when genuine. "Ends tonight" works. Fake scarcity doesn't.
- Test send times. Tuesday-Thursday between 10am-2pm generally performs best, but test for your audience.
SMS Platforms
For Small Businesses
SimpleTexting ($29+/month)
- Easy to use, good automation features
- Best for businesses sending under 10,000 texts/month
SlickText ($29+/month)
- Strong keyword and contest features
- Good for retail and events
For Mid-Market
Klaviyo (included in email plans)
- Best for e-commerce, deeply integrated with Shopify
- Combines email and SMS in one platform
Attentive (custom pricing)
- Premium SMS platform for e-commerce
- Advanced segmentation and personalisation
Postscript ($25+/month)
- Shopify-native SMS marketing
- Strong automation and analytics
For Integration With Existing Tools
Twilio (pay per message: ~$0.0079/text)
- Developer-focused, API-first
- Maximum flexibility, requires technical setup
- Powers many other SMS platforms behind the scenes
MessageMedia / Sinch (enterprise pricing)
- Global delivery, multi-channel messaging
- Good for businesses operating across markets
SMS + Email: Better Together
SMS shouldn't replace email. It should complement it.
Email is better for:
- Long-form content and storytelling
- Visual content (product galleries, newsletters)
- Non-urgent communications
- Content that people might want to reference later
SMS is better for:
- Time-sensitive alerts and offers
- Appointment reminders
- Short, actionable messages
- Re-engaging people who don't open emails
Integration strategy:
- Send email first for promotional campaigns. Follow up with SMS to non-openers 24 hours later.
- Use SMS for transactional/time-sensitive messages, email for educational/nurture content.
- Collect both email and phone number on forms, with separate consent for each.
- Coordinate frequency — if someone gets 3 emails and 3 texts in a week, that's too much.
Measuring SMS Performance
| Metric | What It Tells You | Good Benchmark | |--------|-------------------|----------------| | Delivery rate | Are messages reaching phones? | 95%+ | | Open rate | N/A for SMS (assumed ~98%) | — | | Click-through rate | Are people clicking links? | 15-30% | | Conversion rate | Are clicks becoming purchases? | 5-15% | | Opt-out rate | Are you sending too much/wrong content? | Under 2% per campaign | | Revenue per message | Direct ROI | Varies by business | | List growth rate | Is your subscriber base growing? | 5-10% monthly |
Red Flags
- Opt-out rate above 3%: You're sending too frequently or the content isn't relevant
- Delivery rate below 90%: Possible compliance issues, carrier filtering, or bad phone numbers
- Declining click-through rate: Message fatigue — refresh your approach
Common Mistakes
- No consent — sending texts to people who didn't specifically opt in to SMS. This is both illegal and brand-damaging.
- Over-messaging — more than 4-6 texts per month and unsubscribes accelerate. Quality over quantity.
- Treating SMS like email — long messages, multiple paragraphs, multiple CTAs. Keep it short and single-focused.
- No segmentation — blasting the same message to your entire list regardless of behaviour or preferences.
- Ignoring replies — if someone responds to your text and gets silence, you've damaged the relationship. Monitor and respond.
- No opt-out instruction — every marketing message must include an opt-out method.
- Sending at bad times — texts at 6am or 11pm will get you unsubscribes and complaints.
- No tracking — sending texts without UTM parameters or trackable links means you can't measure ROI.
Start Here
- Choose an SMS platform that integrates with your existing tools
- Create a compliant opt-in flow (website form with SMS consent checkbox)
- Start with transactional messages (appointment reminders, order confirmations)
- Build your subscriber list for 4-6 weeks before sending any promotions
- Send your first promotional text to your full list — one clear offer, one link
- Set up one automated sequence (welcome series or abandoned cart)
- Track click-through rate, conversion rate, and opt-out rate
- Scale based on results — add more automations, test send times, refine segmentation
SMS is the closest thing to a guaranteed-read marketing channel that exists. But that privilege comes with responsibility. Every text you send should be worth interrupting someone's day for. If you wouldn't want to receive it yourself, don't send it.