An Ultimate Guide to Write Effective SMS Campaigns

As a marketer, you have so many tools and strategies to choose between to help businesses and brands reach their goals. From social media marketing to email marketing, you can create highly effective campaigns that can benefit your business significantly. But to choose the right one, you have to stay updated on the latest marketing trends, consumer behavior, and the best marketing channels. In 2021, you definitely need to pay more attention to SMS marketing. Use this guide to write an effective SMS campaigns.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the average time spent on a smartphone or tablet has increased, and so has the percentage of mobile purchases. Your consumers are spending more time with their devices, so you need to take advantage. SMS marketing gives you a chance to communicate with your target audience at the place where they spend the most time and feel most convenient. That’s why you need to learn how to create powerful SMS campaigns.

Below, you’ll find the ultimate guide for writing effective SMS campaigns that will help you reach your goals.

1. Create a Subscribers List

The first step in the process of creating a strong SMS campaign is creating a subscribers list. If you don’t have one, there’s no one to send messages to.

So, how can you get people to subscribe with their phone numbers?

You need to make them a great deal and ensure they have some kind of benefit from giving out this information to you. Think about the following tricks:

• offer them discounts and coupons
• give out loyalty benefits or VIP access
• create an offer with a special SMS code
• organize SMS giveaways
• create SMS signups on your website

Choose a tactic you like best or combine more than one to grow your list and get more subscribers.

2. Set a Campaign Goal

Each specific SMS campaign that you create needs to focus on achieving a specific goal. It’s the only way you can choose the best strategies to include.

Set a clear goal before you start writing your campaign:

• increase sales
• promote new services
• promote an event
• raise brand awareness
• invite people to join an event, Live video, or Q&A session
• promote your other marketing platforms

Know what your objectives are and focus on achieving them.

3. Think Like Your Audience

The next thing you need to do is understand your target audience and start thinking as they do. This will help you make a user-centric SMS campaign that will:

• speak their language
• adjust to their consumer behavior
• focus on their needs, interests, and pain points
• be designed for the type of devices they’re using

If you know your audience, you’ll know what’s the best way to reach out.

4. Encourage Action-Taking

Now that you know your goals and understand your audience, you need to focus on the content of your text messages. How are you supposed to write them, to ensure they encourage action-taking?

The truth is, your messages should just follow these simple rules:

• keep it short – Nobody wants to read a lengthy SMS from a brand they’re not even sure they like. Keep your SMS under four sentences long.

• go straight to the point – Beating around the bush is wasting your recipients’ time. Tell them why you’re writing without hesitation.

• ask questions – You want to engage your audience in the SMS and have them truly focus on the content of the message. Ask them a personal question you know they’ll respond to, at least in their minds.

• add a CTA – Always finish your SMS by telling your audience what you want them to do. Show them how to do it and encourage them to take action.

When we put it all together, here’s an example of what we get:

• Hey, Natalie!

Are you excited for the summer season? Check out our new bikini collection and use your 10% discount! Follow the link for some bikini magic: http://bikinimagic.com/new-collection-summer-2021

5. Choose the Right Timing

You want to make the most out of your campaign and make sure you experience all the benefits of using SMS marketing. So, you need to think about the right timing for sending your messages. This is not something you should randomly choose, but you need to use your data and insight to make this decision.

Here’s what you can do:

• use activity insight from your social media
• learn about their time spent on your website
• test the engagement rate for messages sent at different times
• think about your audience’s typical work or leisure hours

If you nail the timing of your messages, you’ll increase the chance of them successfully influencing the users to take action.

6. Reflect Your Brand Personality

Consumers are looking for a bond between them and a brand they’re interested in. They want to feel a connection with the brand and build a more personal relationship with them.

Your brand personality is what will get their attention and help you keep it. So, make sure you reflect your brand personality in your SMS campaign:

• use a specific style of writing
• show off your personality through tone and voice

Decide whether to use emoji, make jokes, keep it formal, or causal. In case you need help showing off your brand personality in your writing, there are writing experts that can help you. Just search for “write my paper services” online to find professional assistance. Then, make sure to nurture your brand personality in every message.

7. Always Provide Value

Your text messaging campaign is aimed at your audience. So, make sure each text message you send offers them some kind of value:

• a useful notification or reminder
• a great offer
• a personalized message
• a discount
• valuable information

So, don’t send a message until you’re sure your audience will appreciate receiving it.

8. Allow Opting Out

Yes, it would be a shame to see any of your subscribers opting out of your SMS list and telling you they no longer want to receive your texts. But you can’t force anyone to be a part of your campaign, if they don’t want to.

Plus, knowing they can opt out at any moment can keep your audience interested in your texts longer.

So, always include a short instruction on how to opt-out in case they want to.

Final Thoughts

All you need for a successful SMS campaign is a clear goal and a deep understanding of your audience. Once you’ve got that covered, you just need to write messages that are easy to read, valuable, and aimed at your audience.

This guide teaches you how to build an effective SMS campaign, top to bottom. Use it and start working on your new campaign!