In 2024, a very late Thanksgiving means the holiday shopping and shipping window is a little shorter than usual. If you run a small business that’s shipping out holiday orders, it pays to communicate clearly and honestlyーeven if you’ve got bad news to share. Failing to do so can drive customers away and damage your reputation.

Accurate shipping deadlines are the backbone of great customer communication during the holidays. Let your customers know exactly when to expect their orders and give consistent updates if something changes. Let’s take a closer look at how you can use transactional SMS to improve customer communications over the holidays.

Why you must communicate holiday shipping deadlines

If your small business runs on quality customer service, setting expectationsーand meeting themー is essential. The challenge is, thanks to two-day shipping from big companies like Amazon, many consumers expectations for order fulfillment are high. You may not be able to produce, pack, ship, and deliver as fast as the biggest companies in the world. However, you offer something people want. And if it’s worth waiting for, clear communication about holiday shipping will go a long way.

68% of consumers say they would pay more for products or services from a brand with great customer service. No one wants to deal with a bunch of angry “Where’s my order?” messages during the most hectic season of the year.

All this to say, you’ll need to keep the deadlines on your website and holiday marketing channels up to date.

Four ways to communicate holiday shipping information

Setting clear expectations for your holiday shipping is simple. All it takes is three easy steps over the whole holiday season. Let’s dive in:

1. Update shipping times and methods on your website

While transactional SMS messages are an effective way to remind customers about your holiday shipping deadlines, it’s also wise to let people know before they make a purchase from you. If you run an online store, the best place to do that is right on your ecommerce website.

Look at where you mention your shipping methods and deadlines on your website. Make sure you update those spots to reflect the upcoming busy season. Most ecommerce sites feature their shipping options (including both types and timelines) on product pages or on the shipping section of their checkout process.

You can use a simple table like this one:

This little graph gives clear deadlines for those who want to receive their order by Christmas Eve. It also helps customers choose the best shipping option for their schedule. Best practice here is to note ahead of time that the new deadlines are specifically for the holiday season. This will keep customers from confusing your holiday shipping times with regular shipping times.

You can also communicate holiday shipping deadlines with in-app notifications or during in a visible location of the shopping cart. That’s especially important if you offer various types of shipping options with different delivery times.

Another helpful idea for using website would be to add a homepage banner or a pop-up that notifies visitors how long they have if they want to be sure orders arrive in time for the holidays.

Here’s how Target did it on a holiday graphic that’s a bit busy if you ask us. If you’re not paying attention, you might miss the ornament with dates defining shipping deadlines amongst all the products, discounts, and promotional copy. How could your small business website make a message like this harder to miss?

2. Send proactive text messages about holiday shipping dates

Deadlines for holiday shipping are important enough to warrant their own dedicated message to your customers. Consider sending a text to your customers to let them know exactly when the cutoff is for getting orders delivered in time. You can also provide other options such as expedited shipping or the chance to pick up a package in person.

3. Mention shipping deadlines in SMS holiday promotions

Because shipping deadlines can also create a fear of missing out (FOMO) they’re also worth including in SMS marketing campaigns over the holidays. They’re helpful, and they could help boost holiday sales. Pair up the deadline with discount codes you deliver to your SMS subscribers.

Just three days left to use code XMAS2024 and save 20% in our online store.Orders placed after 12/18 may be delivered after Dec 24. Shop now [link] Txt STOP to unsubscribe.

4. Include delivery times in SMS order confirmations and thank you messages

Order confirmation texts are one of the most common types of transactional SMS communications. New research from Sinch found that more than 94% of consumers view transactional messages like order confirmations as important to their customer experience during the holidays. Plus, more than 75% if consumers expect to receive those confirmations in less than five minutes. The speed and reliability of SMS makes texting the perfect way to deliver those messages.

Your order confirmation or thank you message could also confirm whether delivery can be expected in time for whatever holiday the customer is celebrating. In addition to order confirmations, shipping update messages can bring peace of mind to stressed out holiday shoppers. Let them know when their order has shipped and when it’s out for delivery. If possible. you can even text customers when it arrives on their doorstep.

There are also local businesses that use SMS communications for more personal one-to-one communications with their customers. While automation is awesome, you can use the SimpleTexting platform to manually send specific updates directly to customers about their orders or any delays they can expect. What better way to add a human touch this holiday season?

The final word on holiday shipping messages

Customers keep coming back to brands they trust. Trust is built through accurate, constant communication. 

If you do your best to be clear about shipping deadlinesーespecially during a busy season like the holidaysーyou’ll stand out among other brands that fall short on that point.

Need an easy way to communicate holiday shipping messages to your customers? Try SimpleTexting totally free for 14 days.

The post How to use SMS to communicate holiday shipping deadlines appeared first on SMS Marketing & Text Marketing Services – Try It For Free.

Texting a GIF to personal contacts is pretty easy. Most smartphones let you select and add a GIF from inside the messaging app. But if you can’t find the one you want, you could also follow these steps to add GIFs to texts from an iPhone or Android device:

• Copy GIF from a GIF app or website like GIPHY.
• Open your text app.
• Paste the GIF.
• Text the GIF.

Told you it was easy. I mean seriously, your cat could do it.

But what if you want to add a GIF to a mass text message? Sending MMS marketing campaigns to your list that include fun and expressive animated visuals can increase engagement and deliver a personality through your text marketing.

Let’s find out how you can use a solution like SimpleTexting to add a GIF to a text.

How to Text a GIF for Your Business

With SimpleTexting, adding a GIF to your text message is easy. It only takes four steps.

1. Go to the Campaigns tab and create a new campaign.
2. Choose MMS as the message type.

3. Click the paperclip icon above the message box and upload your GIF. Select the GIF from your upload library and press the blue “Include” button.

4. Type out and send or schedule your campaign as you normally would. Your recipient will receive the full-size GIF in the body of their text message.

Here is an example of what your recipient will see when you send a GIF via text message:

Thanks for your order! We’ll notify you when it ships. -Chewy Team

When to Use GIFs in Business Text Messages

When deciding whether or not to put a GIF in a text, ask yourself the following questions.

1. Is this primary or secondary communication?
2. Are you reinforcing your brand messaging?
3. Are you telling a story?

1. Is This Primary or Secondary Communication?

If you’re adding extra flair to a text, a GIF can be a great tool for emphasizing your message. However, you don’t want to use a GIF as your primary (or only) form of communication. 

Way back in 2015, YouTube made this mistake when they responded to a reporter with a GIF instead of a more professional “no comment” response .That rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

GIFs are excellent decoration, but expecting them to communicate your entire message is a bad idea.

2. Does the GIF Help You Reinforce Your Brand Messaging?

If you’re looking for a way to bring emotion or emphasis to your brand’s style or vision, GIF it up.

Try out GIFs from different sources and use different tones to see what your audience responds to best.

3. Are you using GIFs to tell a story?

Storytelling is the perfect type of text to send a GIF with. It’s an extra visual that makes material more memorable for readers and an easy way to practice “show don’t tell” content creation.

Other compelling ways to use a GIF include:

• Spicing up a graphic or infographic
• Demonstrating how a product or service works
• Adding some personality to an email or text (where appropriate — letting someone know their order was delayed won’t be made easier by including a “hang in there” GIF)
• Interacting with customers on social media

What are the benefits of using GIFs in your business Text?

Okay, so, we know there are plenty of applications for sending GIFs in texts. But why do it in the first place?

• They’re eye-catching. Let’s be honest, most of us get many, many texts every day. Unfortunately, your customers can sometimes zone out when they open your message and miss the point. GIFs help add a striking visual element that’s hard to ignore.
• They’re current. GIFs are all over social media, blogs, and text messages at the moment. Using them gives your audience the impression that you’re up-to-date on trends.
• They communicate more than words can. A picture’s worth a thousand words, and so is a GIF. They can set the tone of your message, add humor, and even illustrate things like your products or services.
• They’re universal. Break language barriers and connect with a global audience.
• They simplify the complex. Make intricate ideas easy to grasp with engaging visuals.
• They boost engagement. Grab attention, spark conversations, and leave a lasting impression.

Where to Find GIFs to Text for Your Business

Because GIFs are so common lately, you can find them online in a lot of different places, but the top 3 sites for convenience and selection have to be:

• GIPHY
• Tenor
• Imgur

On these sites, you can find a large selection of GIFs from the serious to the silly and even occasion-specific GIFs. From there, you can download the ones you want to add to your texts.

How to Create GIFs to Text for Your Business

Creating GIFs is pretty simple, and GIPHY even has an entire guide on how the process works.

The basics are:

1. Upload your video to a GIF-making service (in this case, GIPHY) either from a file on your device or from a URL.
2. Choose how long your GIF should be and the start/end times within the video.
3. Add a caption if you’d like.
4. Add tags and a source link (optional).
5. Create your GIF and share it.

Examples of How Real Businesses Added GIFs to Text Messages

Having a tough time visualizing GIFs in real-life business texts? No worries. Here are three examples directly from my own text inbox. 

DragQueenMerch

Although GIFs are a frequent sight in this retailer’s texts, one recent example caught my eye in particular.

DragQueenMerch often launches and advertises collections based on a particular performer, and they sent me a text a little while back naming the collection and showing a GIF of the queen who inspired it.

This mattered not only because it was a gorgeous visual, but also because I wasn’t familiar with that performer beforehand. If they’d simply said the name, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. Seeing that the queen in question made great art piqued my interest.

Vegamour

I associate the brand name Vegamour with two things: fabulous hair care and an immediately identifiable aesthetic.

As you can see from this example, they included their signature pink-and-green colors and iconic bottles in the accompanying GIF and added some helpful information about the upcoming sale. 

Be The Match

Although it’s not a retailer or other sales-focused business, nonprofit Be The Match still runs a thriving text program with informational resources for donors, fundraising opportunities, and more. 

They also send out a text to wish me a happy birthday every year, complete with a sweet GIF to make the whole message prettier. 

The important thing to note here is that Be The Match isn’t trying to sell me anything or get me to take action. They just reached out to let me know they appreciate me, and that matters.

Best Practices for Sending GIFs in Text Messages From Your Business

You’re almost ready to start sending GIFs in your text messages. Before you do, though, here are a few best practices to keep in mind.

• Keep in alignment with your brand’s voice and your audience. If you’re a life coach with a reputation for being deep, empathetic, and thoughtful, maybe a GIF from a silly sitcom isn’t the way to go.
• If you’re just starting out texting GIFs, consider sending a test message to yourself to get a good idea of how the process works and what the final product looks like.
• Keep it on topic. Don’t pair your goofy Minions GIF with a sincere fundraising request for the local animal shelter.
• Avoid inappropriate sources. Even if the GIF you’re using is appropriate in itself, do your due diligence and make sure it doesn’t come from an overly vulgar TV show, movie, or other source. That could definitely give your subscribers the wrong impression.
• Do not use GIFs for primary communication. Enhance your message, don’t let GIFs overshadow it.

What is a GIF?

GIF is short for “graphics interface format,” a type of low-resolution format. Although we think of them as moving images, GIFs can also be still images. It’s the low quality and formatting of the image (not the motion) that defines it.

That said, for this discussion, we’re focusing on the well-loved GIFs found on almost every messaging and communication platform.

So, what’s behind the immense popularity of GIFs, and why should you be taking advantage of their casual, fun energy in your marketing messages?

Why Are GIFs in Texts so Popular?

As we mentioned, GIFs typically involve some slight motion accompanied by text.

As anyone who has poured weeks into developing a short video knows, it takes time to create that form of content. While photos are much easier to come by, they don’t usually reach the level of engagement video achieves.

So why are GIFs so popular? Because they’re the easy, beautiful combination of the two mediums.

The GIF’s movement adds a dimensional element that static images just don’t have. And creating them is easy and quick, oftentimes requiring no technical ability at all.

Why Do GIFs Work?

Sometimes they’re silly, but on a psychological level GIFs pack a surprisingly powerful amount of influence. In a small amount of space, GIFs do a few important tasks:

• They draw the viewer’s eye with motion and color.
• They often lift the mood and bring a fun emotional element.
• They frequently make connections to a recognizable element like pop culture or familiar visual branding that viewers can grasp instantly.

Sending a GIF also demonstrates something concrete about the identity of the sender. Are you hip, funny, clever, quirky? Expressing yourself with a well-chosen GIF makes you relatable and exciting to your audience.

Another reason GIFs are a great communication tool is because they are inherently shareable. You want to create bite-sized elements for customers that will encourage them to share. Adding on a GIF is a fun and easy way to create material that is far more engaging and thus likely to be shared.

How to Use GIFs in an iMessage

If you have an iPhone, Apple has made it incredibly easy to send out GIFs with your messages.

1. Open up your iMessage app and create a new text message.
2. Select the blue app store icon next to the text message box.
3. Tap the pink magnifying glass icon, and use the search bar to find images related to your message. If you change your mind about a GIF, you can hit the ‘x’ in the top right corner to remove the GIF from your message.
4. Type out your own message, and hit send to send them together.

Why can’t I send a GIF in a text message on my iPhone?

If GIFs aren’t working on your iPhone, try fixing it by removing and re-adding the Images app in iMessage.

How to Use GIFs on an Android

Much like on iMessage, GIFs have become a must-have feature for native android messaging apps. Finding and sending a GIF couldn’t be more simple.

1. Open your native messaging app and write your text message.

2. Select the smiley face, then in the bottom right of the screen, tap on GIF.

3. Search for a GIF using the search bar, or browse the most popular ones that automatically pop up.
4. Select the GIF you want, and hit send to send your message.

Using a GIF Successfully Comes Down to Audience

The number one thing that matters when sending a GIF is who you’re sending it to. Whichever platform you send it on, your audience is your priority.

Just as you tailor messages to different audiences, your GIF needs to align with who is receiving it. 

Start by asking yourself a few key questions:

• What demographic are you trying to reach and which media might they be familiar with?
• Does your GIF add to the point you’re communicating or distract from it?
• Does your audience need to see a niche, extremely specific GIF pertaining to one topic, or a more general GIF related to your industry?

It also helps to know who your audience is to begin with, along with what they need from your brand. With the above answers and a clear audience persona in mind, you’re all set to GIF like a pro.

This article was originally published April 24, 2019. It was significantly updated July 11, 2023. Meghan Tocci contributed to this article.

The post How to Text a GIF: Find, Create, and Send GIFs From Your Business [Plus Examples] appeared first on SMS Marketing & Text Marketing Services – Try It For Free.

Let’s face it: No one likes seeing a ton of replies in a group text  — especially when you’re sending group texts as a business.

Group texts with a reply all function quickly get both confusing and irritating. As the person who handles communications in your small business, you need a more organized way to get in touch with some or all of your contacts at once. 

There are many reasons why you may want to send texts individually in a group texting app for business. Maybe you need to:

• Share promotional messages with customers
• Send important announcements to employees
• Push out questions to the group, but get the replies privately

When people learn about SimpleTexting’s mass texting service, the most common question we get is, “If someone replies, will it go to the whole group?”

You’ll be glad to hear that the answer is “no.”

If you’re a business or organization that wants to text large groups at once without the ability to reply to all or create a giant thread, we have the group texting solution for you. Try SimpleTexting’s free group texting app for 14 days to see if our one-way group text messaging is right for you.

Let’s get into the ins and outs of group texting without reply all.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What Is One Way Group Text Messaging?
• What Is a Group Text App?
• How Does a Group Text App Without Reply All Work?
• What Functionality Makes for the Best Group Text App?
• What Is the Best Group Text App Without Reply All?
• How to Send a Group Text Individually Without Showing All Recipients
• No Reply Text Message Examples
• Group texting app FAQs
• Avoid awkward reply alls with a group text app
• Examples of One Way Text Messaging
• Benefits of One Way Text Messaging

What is one-way group text messaging?

One-way group text messaging is a feature that lets your business or organization send a text message to a large group of contacts while preventing the recipients from replying to the entire group.

By nature, a group message on a personal device creates one large thread, meaning everyone can see all the messages sent and received.

This can be great if you’re looking to chat with a group without starting a busy email thread.

However, SMS software and texting apps offer you the option of one-way group messaging. Only the sender can send messages to the group, like a BCC text message. 

Why should you use one-way group text messaging for business? 

• Nobody other than the sender can see the other recipients’ names or phone numbers.
• You can text big groups at once with the same feel as a personalized, one-on-one chat.
• It’s the best solution for you if you simply don’t want a “reply all” option when sending group messages.

What if you don’t want your contacts to reply to you?

If you’re looking for a way to send texts that contacts can’t reply to you, you’ll need a texting software that only sends out mass texts.

Those do have drawbacks — if you decide to use two-way texting in the future, you’d need to sign up for a separate texting service. 

So, you’re best to sign up for a platform that features both mass texting and two-way texting and add a “Don’t reply to this text” note at the end of your messages along with the way you prefer contacts to reach you.

What is a group text app?

A group text app is software that allows a party to send a message to multiple contacts at once.

Group text apps for business often include options for automation, narrowing down your audience, and other tools to make sending group messages easier. For example, SimpleTexting is business texting software that will send one-way group texts. Plus, you can use our platform’s features to have two-way conversations with individual group members.

How does a group text app without reply all work?

Group text apps without reply all work by connecting the sender to the recipients via the internet as opposed to a mobile phone. These platforms are also known as broadcast text apps or one way group text messaging.

But first, you’ll need the help of text marketing software — like SimpleTexting. Services like ours give you one-way messaging power (and the ability for contacts to message you back directly). We’ll even set you up with a dedicated phone number or help you text-enable your current one.

Keep your no-reply group texts compliant

The only caveat is that your contacts have to give you express written consent to send them a group text.

Express written consent is an industry term meaning they give you permission to send them texts by either texting in a keyword, filling out a form, or checking some kind of box.

Send your group text message

When you’re ready to send a message, you simply write it, pick the list you want to send it to, and you’re done. The message is sent to your whole group at once but appears to each contact as if you only sent it to them.

This is a pretty simple process:

• Create a campaign.
• Choose the list you’ll send your group text message to.
• Monitor your analytics to see how your text performed.

Don’t worry — we’ll get much more in-depth shortly.

Reply to individuals

If someone decides to reply, their message goes directly into your Inbox where you can respond, snooze, resolve, or leave notes on the conversation.

Here’s what the Inbox looks like in our one-way group text messaging app:

Recommended reading: How to Start, Plan, and Send Text Marketing Campaigns

What functionality makes for the best group text app?

These are the top five features to look for in the best group text apps:

1. One-way group text messaging
2. Two-way 1:1 text messaging
3. Message automation
4. Contact management features
5. Contact segments

One-way group text messaging

This is an obvious one, but it bears mentioning. Make sure the platform you choose offers one-way group text messaging to get texts out to your audience without worrying about reply-alls.

These can also be called campaigns, mass texts, or bulk texts.

Two-way 1:1 text messaging

Of course, you don’t want to limit yourself to just one-way group texts. Pick a platform that offers two-way 1:1 text messaging, too. This means you can have conversations with an individual through multiple texts.

That way, if you ever decide to pivot to more individual interactions or simply want to let contacts reply to your group messages, you can make the switch easily.

Text message automation

If you wear a lot of communication-related hats at your company, you probably have a full plate of tasks and responsibilities. Being able to schedule your group messages to send automatically can give you a lot of your valuable time back.

Whether it’s autoresponders, basic scheduling, or integrations, automation is an important functionality to have.

Contact management features

Good contact management options will help you organize your subscribers and make sure messages get to the right lists.

Look for software that lets you easily add, delete, filter, sort, and merge your contact lists. That way, you can make small adjustments rather than having to start over every time a detail changes.

Contact segments

Make sure your subscribers never get a message they aren’t interested in by creating customized segments for different groups of your contacts.

Use these segments to send personalized messages based on contacts’ interests, location, job title, or any other relevant details they’ve shared.

What is the best group text app without reply all?

When looking at the one-way group text messaging platforms on the market, SimpleTexting stands out as the best.

This is mostly because it offers:

• Cost-effective SMS marketing and communications
• Two-way messaging and mass texting in one platform
• An award-winning support team
• User-friendly features

Learn more about SimpleTexting’s group texting app without reply all, or go ahead and sign up for our group texting app’s free trial.

How to send a group text individually without showing all recipients with SimpleTexting

After you choose your group text app, you’ll choose your business texting number and gather opt-in phone numbers. Then you can send a group text without reply all in three steps.

 How to send a one-way text message to a group:

1. Create your campaign
2. Choose your list (and send!)
3. Track your performance

Step 1: Create your campaign

First things first: You’ll need to set up your one-way text message. Although this looks a little different on every SMS platform, you can do this in just a few clicks in SimpleTexting.

Head to the Campaigns tab on the left side of your dashboard. Name your campaign and write out your message.

Step 2: Choose your list

Next, decide which of your contact lists will receive your message and select them from the dropdown menu. You can pick one list or multiple, depending on your message.

Step 3: Track your performance 

To make sure your messages improve and become more effective over time, check out your analytics page for metrics like:

• Your open rate
• How many contacts unsubscribed after your message
• How many people clicked on any links you sent
• Your message delivery success rate.

These will tell you how to tweak future messages to encourage engagement and maximize your results.

Here’s a video that covers the basics of how to send out a one-way group message:

No-reply text message examples

Still not sure where to start? Take these no-reply text message examples to use in your one SMS strategy.

1. No-reply text example for healthcare

2. No-reply text example for insurance

3. No-reply text example for real estate

4. No-reply text example for e-commerce

5. No-reply text example for churches

6. No-reply text example for schools

7. No-reply text example for fitness centers

8. No-reply text example for car dealerships

9. No-reply text example for radio stations

10. No-reply text example for human resources

Group texting app FAQs

Still got a few questions about group texting apps? We've got you covered.

Avoid awkward reply-alls with a group text app

Let’s face it, not only are reply-alls often unnecessary, but they’re also inconvenient. Instead of scrolling through long threads of information that nobody can catch up with, sign up for a group texting app like SimpleTexting.

The best part is, it’s completely risk-free! Join us for a 14-day free trial, no credit card information required.

This blog post was originally published September 17, 2020. It was updated March 2023 and most recently on June 27, 2023. Meghan Tocci contributed to this piece.

Examples of One-Way Text Messaging

• Event Updates: Businesses use one-way text messaging apps to send timely event updates, ensuring that all attendees are informed without the confusion of multiple replies.
• Promotional Campaigns: These apps are ideal for promoting products or services efficiently to large audiences.
• RSVPs and Surveys: One-way messaging is perfect for sending RSVP requests or surveys where responses are collected but not seen by other participants.
• Customer Feedback Requests: Solicit feedback or testimonials by sending out requests that recipients can reply to individually.

Benefits of One-Way Text Messaging

• Efficiency and clarity: One-way messaging helps maintain clarity and control over the communication, avoiding the potential chaos of reply-all messages.
• Scalability and speed: This type of messaging allows businesses to reach large audiences quickly and effectively.
• High open rates: Text messages often have high open rates, making them a reliable method of communication.
• Automated communication: One-way messaging can be automated based on triggers, saving time and resources for businesses.

The post One way group text messaging: The best group text app without reply all appeared first on SMS Marketing & Text Marketing Services – Try It For Free.

The data is clear: 54% of consumers want to get promotions through text, but only 11% of businesses send texts. That’s a gap you’re going to want to take advantage of, and the best way to do it is with a reliable business texting service.

Business texting services bring together the best of SMS marketing (and sometimes more) at an attractive price point and offer users plenty of help getting started.

But there are so many — which do you choose?

We’ve brought together the top seven business texting platforms on the market to give you an easy comparison so you can make an informed decision.

How I selected and tested the apps

Whether it’s on a sales call or our small business podcast, our team talks to small business owners every day. For this list of the top business texting apps, I selected the ones that come up most often in our conversations.

Though I’m partial to SimpleTexting, I can accurately write about our strengths and weaknesses and compare them to popular alternatives. I’ve tried and tested each platform firsthand, except for Attentive, which doesn’t have a trial or a simple way to see if it’s the best texting app out there. Instead, I had to rely on accounts of real customers who have used it. 

As I tested the apps, I looked at how easy it is to import and manage contacts, send a text message campaign, have a two-way conversation in the inbox, and use more advanced features like segmentation and automation. This comparison list is a labor of love that’s filled with hours of researching, talking to small business owners, and sending texts.

A side-by-side comparison of the top 7 small business texting apps

I’m about to throw a bunch of information at you about these business text messaging services, and it’s all intended to help you make the most informed decision.

But in case you want to short-list your options, I’ve included an overview of how each platform measures against the others.

*Each platform in this chart also has these standard features:

• Mass texting
• Two-way messaging
• Automated texts
• MMS
• Scheduled texts
• Personalization
• Reporting
• Segmentation

A closer look at the top 7 business texting services 

Now that you know how to go about picking your business texting service, here are the most popular options to consider. 

1. SimpleTexting

I’d be remiss if I didn’t add SimpleTexting to this list, and in fairness, I’m not the only person who thinks SimpleTexting is one of the best SMS services for small business. G2 awarded SimpleTexting Easiest to Use, Easiest to Do Business With, and Users Most Likely to Recommend in Fall 2023. 

Our customers love that the platform is an all-in-one business texting service with a comprehensive texting dashboard, a dedicated support team available seven days a week, and a user-friendly suite of features.

Pros

Our platform has all the tools you need to build a thriving SMS marketing strategy. From mass messaging and a one-on-one inbox to tools for polling your contacts and holding contests, everything is built with small businesses in mind.

SimpleTexting is also designed to work hand in hand with your existing tools and processes. Choose from any of our software integrations or have the team design a tailor-made custom integration just for you.

Every plan comes with unlimited keywords, self-service billing options, rollover credits, and three user seats.

Cons

SimpleTexting is strictly an SMS tool. You’ll need to integrate with other tools if you want to use SMS in conjunction with your email or CRM provider (but integrations are a breeze).

The platform also lacks a QR code generator, which may be an issue if you want to add contacts with a QR code (but here’s an easy way to use QR codes with SimpleTexting’s platform).

SimpleTexting pricing

Our pricing plans depend on the number of messages you plan to send each month, and you can select a custom amount. If you need more credits, add more from your billing page at any time. Unused credits roll over to the next month.

All plans come with our full suite of features and:

• Free incoming SMS messages
• Unlimited contacts
• Free number that’s all yours
• Support 7 days per week
• Mailchimp and Zapier integrations
• Unlimited keywords
• 3 user seats

Here are some examples of messaging credits costs and the features included.

Free trial

SimpleTexting has a 14-day trial that comes with 50 credits and one keyword.

2. SMSBump by Yotpo

SMSBump is an SMS platform geared specifically toward e-commerce, with features that take the guesswork out of building effective customer flows. Fortunately, I have access to a Shopify store, so I can get the full SMSBump experience.

Recommended for: E-commerce store owners who are low on time and want out-of-the-box automation features, like Flow templates and dynamic audiences.

Pros

This service comes with a lot of features based on how your customers interact with your store, meaning you won’t have to track down someone who abandoned their cart or follow up to recommend products based on a previous purchase — the software will do it for you. 

Users will also have access to one-on-one conversation capabilities in the Chat tab for customer service. 

One of my favorite features is the pre-built flow templates, which allow you to create a series of automated messages for abandoned carts, loyalty rewards, customer winbacks, and more. 

If you don’t already have an email service provider, you can sign up for Yotpo’s email app and directly integrate it with your SMS campaigns.

Cons

Customers complain chiefly about the UX of the platform, claiming that the product isn’t terribly user-friendly and is glitchy at times. Other reviews mention difficulty syncing with third-party software and some plans being too expensive for a small business.

When I signed up for SMSBump, I was confused about where I was supposed to go to create an SMS campaign. There seem to be two dashboards — one when you log in through their website and one when you access it through your Shopify store.

The dashboard on their site is bare-bones, which could be good if you’re just looking to send a mass text to your customers. But I don’t see a way to manage conversations and respond to customers from this dashboard.

I was relieved to find the Shopify dashboard for SMSBump, where the user experience is higher quality.

SMSBump pricing

*All plans are eligible for 10,000 free emails.

Free trial

SMSBump’s lowest pricing plan is free with limited features.

3. EZTexting

If you look up lists of the most loved text marketing platforms out there, you’ll see EZTexting on most of them. EZTexting is a classic SMS service with tools for growing and organizing your contact lists, designing and automating texts, and more. 

Recommended for: Business owners or marketers who are looking for an SMS marketing starter kit.

Pros

Think of EZTexting as the SMS marketing starter kit. 

With their features, you’ll be able to market to and communicate with your customers, monitor your campaign performance, and add team members to your account so you’re not handling your whole SMS strategy on your own.

Cons

Although EZTexting does have a mobile app, some reviews mention poor functionality when using the app. Other users experience issues with receiving notifications when they aren’t actively logged into their accounts, which affects response times and customer relationships.

As far as the desktop version of the platform goes, I was stoked to try out the Shutterstock integration, which lets you add a stock photo to your text message campaign. However, the search results don’t seem to include images with real models — only graphics.

EZ Texting pricing

Below are the starting costs for each EZ Texting pricing plan, and they all come with the full suite of features.

Free trial

You can try their platform for 14 days with 120 credits.

4. Textedly

Textedly is a beloved text marketing platform, having won several G2 awards in 2023. They offer all the foundational text marketing tools such as easy opt-ins, text scheduling, extended character limits, and in-depth analytics to measure message performance.

Available apps also include surveys, Text to Vote, and voice services for your chosen number. 

Pros

Most of Textedly’s accolades mention their great support staff and how well they’re suited to small business use. 

More advanced features include conversation triggers that will help you put your customer communications on autopilot for better response times and customer service, as well as the ability to add multiple team members to your account.

The Voice Calls add-on ($99) is a good deal for businesses that want to use a text-enabled number for phone calls. Textedly also supports Instagram integrations and text scheduling.

Cons

Users have highlighted some issues when uploading and managing contact lists and individual phone numbers, specifically, a lack of flexibility in organizing and labeling contacts.

In the App Tools tab of my dashboard, I saw that I have many options for tools and integrations, but most of them have a one-time fee attached to them (for instance, the Instagram text button is $79).

If you know you’re going to use the integration often, it would be worth paying the money up front, but it may be hard to justify if you’re on the fence about it.

Textedly pricing

Textedly has pricing plans from $0/month all the way to $2,800/month for 200,000 credits (as well as custom plans). Here’s a breakdown of the first six pricing tiers.

Free trial

Textedly offers a 14-day free trial with 50 message credits.

5. SlickText

SlickText sits among the top business texting services in the industry, and for good reason. The platform focuses on your relationships with your customers, with tools to help you bring them onto your lists and connect with them quickly and efficiently afterward.

Recommended for: Brands that want to get an SMS loyalty program up and running quickly.

Pros

SlickText not only offers a wide range of opt-in methods to help customers join your text lists, but it also comes with features like email capture to help easily transfer existing email contacts to your text program.

From there, SlickText features options for personalizing and automating your texts so you can send effective messages with minimal setup or effort on your part. 

Cons

Users have commented that their rollover credits tend to time out because their monthly allotted credits get used first. Others say that their automated workflows lack some flexibility.

SlickText pricing

* Loving the creativity in these plan names. Although, is the Albatross plan supposed to be a burden and an obstacle to success? Surely not.

Free trial

SlickText comes with a 14-day free trial with 50 credits.

6. TextMagic

TextMagic is an SMS platform built around the idea of easy-to-operate, effective text marketing. They offer features for creating, scheduling, and sending texts with things like templates and long text messages with more characters.

Pros

Aside from their texting features, TextMagic comes with features for identifying invalid numbers to increase your message deliverability and email to SMS so you can easily convert emails to texts.

Users can also text out audio files and use Text to Speech to turn texts into phone calls, meaning you can communicate with more than just words on a screen. 

Cons

Reviews mention inconsistent sending to large groups of contacts and a lack of integrations with CRM platforms, as well as occasionally slow customer service.

Pricing

TextMagic accounts are free. Users only pay for the messages they send, with SMS messages priced at $0.04 per text.

Free trial

You can try TextMagic for 30 days with $0.40 in messaging credits.

7. Attentive

Attentive is a text message marketing platform that supports business texting with a suite of tools that includes integrations, easy opt-in methods for building contact lists, and resources for targeted messages. The platform is built primarily with e-commerce companies in mind.

Pros

Attentive offers a lot of excellent features for zeroing in on who your customers are — their buying patterns, preferences, and personal details — and translating that information into targeted, effective messages and clear views of your larger customer base and what they want.

That’s a big advantage for small businesses that want text messaging to start working at maximum effectiveness without much trial and error.

Cons

The biggest drawback to the Attentive platform is that you must book a demo before you can view their plans or pricing. That lack of transparency can present an obstacle if you’re just at the browsing stage. 

Pricing

None available without a demo.

Free trial

I wasn’t able to find a free trial on Attentive’s site.

These are my seven picks for the best texting services for small businesses. Read on to learn how business texting works, why you should use it, and what to look for in a texting platform.

What is business text messaging?

Business text messaging is a service that allows businesses to send and receive SMS from their customers, employees, and partners. It’s the most convenient way to communicate important information quickly, such as appointment reminders, delivery notifications, customer support responses, and internal announcements.

Many types of businesses — like healthcare providers, retailers, and hotels — benefit from text messaging. For instance, healthcare providers can use text messaging to send reminders for appointments and medication instructions. Meanwhile, retailers can use it to answer customer questions and track orders. Hotel managers can schedule texts that confirm reservations and provide check-in instructions. 

You’ll find that most business text messaging platforms provide features like automated messages, personalization, templates, and analytics (or, at least, they should).

How does business text messaging work?

Business text messaging works similarly to traditional text messaging, with a few differences. 

Instead of using a personal phone number and messaging app (like iMessage), businesses use a specialized communication platform to send and receive text messages. It lets them manage high volumes of messages and automate parts of the messaging process, like sending reminders and responses to common questions. 

Compared to traditional text messaging, business text messaging provides several advantages for businesses. First, it allows them to centralize their messages instead of spreading them across various employees’ personal devices. 

It also helps them reach customers on a platform they are already using (and check 11 times a day or more on average), increasing the likelihood of getting a response.

Why you should use a business texting service

But first, why should a business owner invest in a business texting service in the first place? 

• They offer a central hub to create, organize, send, and monitor mass texts and one-on-one messages.
• They’re easy to manage. Many business texting services offer the option to add members of your team onto your account to help manage your texting strategy.
• They help you take advantage of the best marketing channel out there. Texts get an average open rate of 98%, so a good business texting service makes reaching your audience reliable and easy.
• They’re versatile. With an SMS platform, you can send mass texts, have individual conversations, create automated messages, integrate with other tools you already use, create polls, and more. 
• They’re generally affordable. Most texting platforms have plans that start at less than the cost of the average phone plan.

What to look for in a business texting service

That’s the rundown on what a business texting service can do for a small business, but every business is unique, so it pays to do your due diligence when choosing a service. Here’s a quick checklist to follow as you do your research. 

• Make a list of features you need. Will you send a lot of mass messages or will you focus on one-on-one conversations (or both)? Do you want contacts to join your lists with keywords, web forms, or another method? 
• Figure out how many messages you want to send and look at how many credits each platform’s plans include. Don’t forget to check whether unused credits will roll over to the next month or year.
• Look into third-party integrations so you can connect your texting service to other tools you use for e-commerce, email, and customer management.
• Check for user-friendliness. Is the platform intuitive, simple to navigate, and beginner-friendly?
• How’s the customer service department? You need to know that you can get help with the platform when you need it, so make sure the platform you choose has an active, helpful support staff.
• Read reviews from other users. It’s one thing to read up on features and tools, but it helps to know what other small business owners think about all the different business texting services out there. 

At the end of the day, the right small business texting service for you and your brand will depend on your unique structure and needs.

I hope, though, that this quick look at the top seven services in SMS gives you a good place to start looking and gathering information as you build out your ideal texting strategy.

The post The 7 best text messaging services for small businesses appeared first on SMS Marketing & Text Marketing Services – Try It For Free.

After all, Americans received 19.2 billion spam texts in January of 2024 alone. 

Thankfully, you can block unwanted texts to make sure the person sending them can’t contact you again.

In this article, we’ll break down the steps you can take to block text messages on iOS and Android. You’ll also learn how to block texts your business is getting and how to make sure your customers never block you.

Ways to block a text message as an individual

Unwanted texts are not just annoying. They can be dangerous, too. Here’s how to keep things like spam and other irritating texts away from your inbox, whether you have an Android or an iPhone.

How to block texts on iOS

Blocking unwanted texts is easy through the Messages app. Here’s the step-by-step:

1. Open up the conversation containing the text you want to block.
2. Choose the phone number or contact name at the top of the conversation box.
3. Tap “info” on the right side under the name of the contact. 
4. You’ll see a few options. Find and click the one labeled “Block this Caller.”

You can see all the numbers you’ve blocked at any time by going to the Settings app on your phone and looking under Messages, then Blocked Contacts.

Blocking text messages on Android

The process for blocking messages on Android is (thankfully) very similar. Let’s break down the steps for blocking a text on the Messages app:

1. From the text conversation screen, click on the contact or number above the conversation.
2. Select the three dots at the top right of the screen, where you’ll see the “Block numbers” option.

3. Click “Block” on the popup.

To see lists of your blocked contacts, just head to the Contacts app, click “Fix & manage,” and select “Blocked numbers.”

How to block a text message as a business

If you have the ability to receive texts as a business, you’re inevitably going to get a few that you don’t want. 

You have a few options for blocking unwanted texts:

• If you’re using a texting app–whether it’s SimpleTexting or an alternative–you can easily unsubscribe contacts from your lists to stop receiving texts from them.
• Report spam numbers to your phone service provider after blocking them via one of the above methods. 
• Try out a third-party app to block unwanted texts and calls. Truecaller is among the best in the business. 

How to keep customers from blocking your texts

Obviously, it’s nice to know how to block texts you don’t want to receive, but you don’t want your customers blocking your texts. 

So, how do you make sure they don’t? Here are a few best practices. 

• Follow all compliance guidelines laid out for text message marketing. That means getting express consent from every subscriber before texting them, identifying your brand in your texts, and honoring every opt-out request (among other things).
• Don’t text too often. If you’re not sure how often you should be texting your subscribers, here’s a send cadence guideline you can follow.
• Stick to regular business hours to text your clients. Scheduling your texts can make this easier. 
• Not sure what your subscribers want to receive from you? Ask. Send out a survey or Data Collection series to get to know your customers and tailor your texts to their needs. 
• Personalize your texts. Recent data suggests that 78% of consumers claim that they’re more likely to repurchase from a brand after receiving personalized messages. Use customer details like names, locations, and areas or products of interest to send relevant content to each subscriber.

The wrap on blocking texts 

Your text inbox is sacred. You only give out your number to people you trust, so receiving text scams or spammy messages can feel like a serious breach of trust. 

Thankfully, you can stop unwanted texts at the source using the tips and tricks we’ve laid out here.

Want a smoother, safer way to run your SMS strategy? Try out SimpleTexting for 14 days, completely free.

The post How to block a text message on iOS and Android appeared first on SMS Marketing & Text Marketing Services – Try It For Free.

I’ve been there.

A few years back, I was the first marketing hire at a small startup (it’s called CoSchedule if you’d like to look it up).

I was convinced that increasing website traffic and email subscribers could be game-changers for business growth.

Why?

1. We sold our products on our website. So if we got website traffic, we could make sales. Right?
2. We knew it was impossible to convert 100% of our website subscribers into customers. So, how could we get value from website visitors? I hypothesized that if we could keep those folks engaged with our brand—asking website visitors to subscribe to our email newsletter—we would have more opportunities to nurture them to become customers.

So what happened? *drum roll*

• Within two years, our email newsletter went from zero to 170,000 subscribers.
• We kept at it. By year eight, we had 1.6 million email newsletter subscribers. (And no, that’s not including unsubscribes).
• Next to organic search engine optimization, that email list is still the most valuable marketing asset at the company. Today, the list routinely delivers new customers like clockwork.

I’d like to share how I started an email marketing newsletter with you. I’ll also share some stories from my friend, Masooma Memon, whose newsletter is so great, Forbes included it in a top newsletter roundup.

Step 1: Determine your why

Before you start writing and designing your emails, know why you’re sending them.

You might want:

• More sales
• More engagement in offers or events
• Higher opt-ins to your text lists
• More website traffic 

In Masooma’s case, she noticed that there were very few good content marketing strategy-centric email newsletters out there. In her own words:

“The point was to fill a hole. There was a gap I saw in the industry: the need for micro-learning. There were very few newsletters on content marketing itself, and whatever we had was directly from brands.

We were also producing long-form content and I wanted to bring a short newsletter to people's inboxes where they could leave with one solid actionable takeaway. So my goal with this newsletter was to keep it short as well as actionable.”

Masooma also wanted to move her audience away from Twitter to a channel she could own. 

Step 2: Provide unique value to your readers

As you can see from the quote above, Masooma designed her newsletter emails to stand out in a world of long, less-than-useful offerings. 

The focus for her was on easily accessible content her subscribers could use, and that’s a great example to emulate for anyone looking to run a successful email newsletter.

As you plan out your newsletter, step back and ask yourself two questions:

• Will my readers walk away with information they can use immediately?
• Am I creating a newsletter that I’d want to read that fills a need for my subscribers (instead of copying an industry trend)?

Step 3: Build your email newsletter list

Of course, if you want results, you’re going to need people to receive your emails. Luckily, there are lots (and I mean lots) of ways to bring subscribers to your email newsletter list. 

Masooma actually began promoting her newsletter through her connections. In the lead-up to the launch, she had talked with a lot of people as part of her research, and one of them happened to be a client of hers.

That client then sent out a tweet announcing the newsletter and Masooma simply reposted it. 

“My first 200-300 subscribers came from that repost. I got some traction there. And once those followers came in, I had the link in my Twitter. A lot of the people who subscribed to the newsletter also talked about it to their friends. Then I started it on Substack, which lets both subscribers and non-subscribers refer your newsletter.

So, I mainly get subscribers from my social media channels, referrals from other newsletter writers on Substack, and word-of-mouth referrals.”

You can also gather subscribers through: 

• Physical advertisements in your storefront or around your community (consider using a text-to-join keyword for this method and directing text subscribers to your email list).
• Pop-up forms on your website (platforms like Constant Contact offer tools to set these up)
• Social media giveaways 
• Your blog 

Step 4: Set your send cadence and timing

The question of when and how often you send your email newsletter is a highly individual one, but I’ll tell you how Masooma thought through it to give you a framework to follow. 

It breaks down into two main parts: how often and when your subscribers want to read your newsletter email and how often you can feasibly send it. 

For the first point, Masooma asked the people she knew who would be her ideal subscribers a few key questions:

• How frequently do you read newsletters? 
• How long are they? 
• What is your preference on newsletter length? 

She also considered the particular day of the week when she’d be most likely to read a newsletter. For Masooma, Tuesdays turned out to be the ideal day.

“Mondays are usually productive for me because I come back fresh from the weekend and I get to do a lot of deep work. A lot of newsletters come out on Thursday and Friday, everybody tends to send their newsletter on Thursday.

On Fridays, I personally wouldn't read a newsletter because I'm busy wrapping up work. And if there are email replies that come back, I won’t be replying to those on a Sunday or even a Friday. So, that's how it came to be Tuesday.

Everything I do is based on empathy. So, I look at myself and try to stand in readers' shoes. If it's something I can’t do myself, why would I put the reader in that position?”

The second point concerned Masooma’s personal workflow. She wanted to come up with a cadence she could maintain. Her process looks like this:

1. Write up a draft.
2. Rewrite as needed. 
3. Run the draft by a friend who’s also a subscriber for feedback.
4. Put the finishing touches on and set it up to send. 

For her, that process is manageable once a week. 

On a personal note, I found the way Masooma thinks about her content and send cadence really masterful, and I’ll wrap this point up with a really excellent quote from her.

“The key to actually being consistent in whatever content you publish, be it a newsletter, a blog strategy, or whatever, is to take what your audience wants, what you can manage to provide them, and meet at the center.”

Step 5: Plan it

Now that we have some real-world inspiration, let's talk through the last couple of steps. I'll pretend I'm planning an email newsletter for my home decor business.

In this step, I'll look at what I want to include in each edition of my newsletter.

Assuming I'll send my newsletter once a week, I'd consider the following questions:

• Am I staying on topic?
• Does each edition offer some piece of value that previous ones haven't?
• Am I giving subscribers a strong next step or reason to come back and read the next one?

With those questions in mind and four installments every month, I'll plan to send:

• An edition with new research or strategies on planning a functional, peaceful space
• A spotlight on easy-to-implement seasonal decorating trends
• An “editor's pick” of brands I like and/or partner with 
• Announcements from my company paired with a poll for upcoming products, events, and newsletter editions

I'll plan to send variations on those types each month to keep things standardized.

I'd also include a clear call-to-action (CTA) to visit my website and social media as well as an encouragement to share the newsletter.

Step 6: Send it

Last but never least, it's time to send out my newsletter. For this example, I'll pick Mailchimp as my platform.

Within Mailchimp, here's what the setup looks like.

1. Log into Mailchimp.
2. Go to campaigns and create a new one.
3. Make sure to select “Email.”
4. Name your campaign for organizational purposes.
5. Pick the subscriber list your newsletter will go to and the email address it should send from.
6. Add an eye-catching subject line.
7. Put your text and images into an email newsletter template or build one from scratch using Mailchimp’s blocks.
8. Review everything and hit send or schedule your newsletter to send at a specific day/time.

Once I've sent out a few editions of my newsletter, I'll start to A/B test different subject lines, preview texts, and CTA’s to optimize performance. I'll also be sure to keep an eye on my analytics.

The post How to create an email newsletter so good Forbes recommends it [as a solo creator] appeared first on SMS Marketing & Text Marketing Services – Try It For Free.

We’ve shared some ideas before on how to write SMS messages for marketing.

While these tips are still relevant, we recognize the added challenge of texting a lead with a call to action that asks them to hand over their money.

It may even seem contradictory to write your sales pitch like you’re talking to a friend, considering many people purposefully avoid asking friends for cash.

The following list of sample texts is our solution for the pesky tone, timing, and topic questions that arise when you write and send a sales message.

1. First touch

A first touch text is, well, your first impression when speaking to a contact. That makes it extra important in the overall customer interaction cycle. 

Your first touch text should set expectations on what customers will receive from you, introduce your brand voice, and invite the customer to contact you with questions or concerns. 

Note: As you can see, all these templates include a brand name. This is an SMS industry compliance requirement, so don’t forget to fill in the name of your organization. 

• Hi Trish, this is Amy from LoomLily. Thanks for joining our text alerts! As you explore our offerings, reply to this text with any questions you may have.
• Hello Brady! Peter from Haven Hill here. Thrilled to have you on board! Have you had a chance to dive into our services? I’m here to guide you and answer any questions.
• Whisper Wares: Thanks for joining our community, Bev! Have a blast checking out what we offer. Let me know which products you’re most interested in.
• Hey! It’s Linda at Spire Co. Welcome aboard! We’re excited you’ve joined us. I’m only a text message away if you have questions.
• Hello Joan, this is Jim reaching out from Ambrose Essentials. Welcome to our text family! Keep an eye on your inbox for text-only coupons and early access to new products and events. 
• Wag Pet Products: Hey Annie, it’s Russ from Wag! I wanted to welcome you to our text program. Which of our products caught your eye?
• New Leaf Skincare: Thanks for joining our text club! We’ll share exclusive deals and discounts right here.
• Mountaineer Sports: Hi Barb, Lisa from Mountaineer. I wanted to reach out and personally thank you for signing up for our text club. Any questions as you look through our catalog?
• Arctic Inc: Tina, welcome to the Arctic Club texting list. Here, we’ll share lineups, specials, and events with you each month.
• Armstrong and Sons: Hi Kryss! I wanted to introduce myself, I’m Pete. Just dropping in to let you know I’m a real person, not a robot, and I’m here to answer any of your questions.
• Pump Up Fitness: Jane, I wanted to drop in and see if you had any questions about your new gym membership. I’ll be here if you need anything!
• Spectrum Gear: Josh, thank you for sharing your number with the Spectrum team. Please reply with Yes if this is the best way to reach you!
• EZ Financial: Laura, you can text us at any time, but we wanted to share a link to our help center in case you need assistance outside business hours! [link]
• Ellison Security: Hi Kelly, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Bea and I’ll be your dedicated sales rep. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything! 
• TFR Warehouse: We want to get to know you! Please reply with the type of messages you’d like to receive from us.

2. Cold touch

Cold leads are leads that have dropped off from communicating with you or using your service, and texting offers you a great way to re-establish contact and move them (gently) toward a sale.

• Stellar Health: Hey Andy! Mia here. We’ve missed you! I’d love to catch you up on some exciting new updates. Ready to reconnect?
• Hi Jean, it’s Jake from ReadyQuill. We haven’t connected lately. Check out our latest products at [link] and take 10% off your next order. 
• Nebula Tech: Long time no see, Jenny! Let’s reconnect and talk about some of the new packages we offer. Are you interested?
• Cozy Crafts: Hi Tammy! We’ve been crafting some amazing things. Let’s reconnect and discuss how we can weave more magic into your business.
• Hello Brett! John from Tranquil Oils. I noticed it’s been some time since we chatted. I’d love to catch up and see how we can continue making a positive impact. Ready to reconnect?
• Leafland Auto: Hey Julie, I haven’t heard from you in a while, so I wanted to check in. Is there anything I can help you with?
• Hi Mel, Chris here from Mainframe. I wanted to reach out and verify that this is still the best number to reach you at.
• Atlas Sports: Missy, it’s been a little while since we first spoke, so I wanted to share our recent blog detailing anything you missed since you left! [link]
• StraightShot Security: Jamie, I just wanted to circle back and see if you received my last text. Your time is valuable, so I want to ensure I share the most useful resources.
• ANH Consulting: Julia, I just took a look at your website, looks great! I think our sales eBook could really help you with contacting leads [link].
• Frank CPA’s: Ashley, we just published a case study that I think you’d find interesting. Here it is if you want to have a look! [link]
• Score Marketing: Nick, we’d love to invite you to our free leadership webinar on 7/1 at 12 p.m. EST. Feel free to shoot us a text for more info!
• Ann’s Boutique: A bit has changed since you last visited, Kelsie. In case you’d like to stop by, we’re now open until 9 p.m. every night!
• AmRecords: Paul, we haven’t spoken in a while, so I wanted to see if there was anyone else on our team I could connect you with who may better address your needs.
• Cam here from ShutterInc. I wanted to reach out and see if there was anything I could do for you while you decide if we’re the right fit for your needs.
• Kira, I wanted to personally reach out and invite you to start your free trial with Cadence Booking. 2 weeks, no credit cards or contracts! [link]
• TFH Warehouse: Welcome to your free trial, Elena! I’m here if you have any questions.
• AnyTech: Jake, I noticed you haven’t been active on your trial yet. Is there something I can help you with to get started?
• Lisa, I wanted to reach out with a few tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your ElloFix free trial. Here’s a link to a quick video: [link]
• Cronin Solutions: Alexa, you’re halfway through your trial and I’d love any feedback you may have for us. Feel free to reply directly to this message!
• QuikTaxes: Mo, just a reminder that your trial ends in 2 days!
• Hi Jackson! With your A+ Education trial coming to a close, I’d love to hear your feedback. Feel free to book some time on my calendar to connect. [link]
• Apex Marketing: Hi Carla, with your trial ending tomorrow, I wanted to share some options if you’d like to move forward with us! [link]
• JewelClub: Thank you for completing your trial. I noticed you didn’t upgrade your service. Would you mind sharing why?
• EduQuest: Hi Brandon, before you go, I’d love to have 5 minutes of your time to find out if there’s anything we can do to keep you!
• Hi Trisha, thanks for completing our free trial! Know anyone else who might want to try StudySecret? Send us their contact information and we’ll offer you 50% off your first month.

3. Warm touch

Keeping up your rapport with warm leads is important for maintaining the relationship, whether they’re a prospect or a future partner. These texts are a friendly way to stay top-of-mind.

• IdeaB0x: Hi Dave, I wanted to thank you for liking our most recent blog post. Let me know if there’s anything else we can share with you!
• Elm Realty: It was great running into you today, Garrett. I’d love to connect and continue the conversation. Is there a time that works for you?
• Erin, this is Meg from SafeScape. Thank you for reaching out, what can I help you with today?
• Cami, I saw on LinkedIn that you’re looking for a wholesaler. I’d love to share what SNA Supply can offer you!
• Hi Robbie, Jane here from Cane Co. You knocked it out of the park at the summit today. I’d love to grab a coffee and share some thoughts with you!
• Beks, I found your blog on text marketing, great stuff. Have you considered partnering with an SMS provider like ShareText?
• OnPoint Solutions: Victor, I got your note asking for more info on our pricing. Here’s a quick sheet to get you started! [link]
• John, last time we talked you mentioned needing new HR software. Have you found a provider yet? I’d love to discuss some of TeamTrust’s options.
• New Heights SMS: Hi Cory, I noticed you recently downloaded our Text Marketing for Beginners eBook. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.
• We miss you! It’s been two years since you joined the Globo Gym fam. What can we do to get you back in the center?
• Beauty Space: For a limited time we’re offering an extra 50% off all sale items. Act now, once they’re gone they’re gone! [link]
• Hey there newbie! As a thank you for joining the Ace Shop team, we’d love to offer you 10% off any one item. Enter code NEW10 at checkout!
• Tyra, we’d love to see you again. We can offer you 25% off your first month off if you rejoin Axis Fitness by the 25th!
• Emerson Essentials:‘Tis the season to be jolly. Enjoy an extra 15% off sale items all month long. Shop now: [link]
• Gadgets and Gear: The Cyber Monday BOGO deal you’ve been waiting for is here. Shop til you drop! [link]
• ApparelPlex: This holiday season we want to share the good. For every $10 spent we’ll donate $1 to the charity of your choice!
• The Snack Stop: Do you love free money? Refer a friend to our site and enjoy a $5 credit to your next order. It’s as close as you can get to free!
• Now Fashion: Giveaway alert! Respond back with your favorite piece from the latest collection and why you love it for a chance to win it!
• We need your help. Respond with what artist you’d like RecordNote to bring to the Fillmore for a chance to win free tickets to July’s headliner!
• Sami’s Gifts: Limited-time offer! Early bird pricing is available for the next 20 people on the site [link]

4. Call/meeting request

We obviously love and recommend texting, but sometimes a deal or goal just requires a face-to-face or phone conversation. Reach out with a quick message to schedule your meeting. 

• Hey Amos, it’s Ella from Journey Marketing. Excited to learn more about your needs and explore how we can assist you. Can we schedule a quick discovery call this week?
• Hi Nancy, Jake here from Scale Experts. Your project caught our eye, and we’d love to offer our expertise. Could we arrange a consultation meeting to discuss your goals and challenges further?
• Hello Andrew, Mia at Insight Systems. I’d love to showcase how our solutions align with your needs. Can we set up a demo to illustrate the impact on your business? Let me know your availability.
• Greetings Avery, Lily from Amity Investors. I’ve prepared a tailored proposal for you. Can we meet to discuss details and address any questions you may have?
• Hi Alexis, it’s Max from Align. Delighted to provide you with a detailed quote for services. Let’s schedule a meeting to go over the specifics and make sure it fits your requirements. What time works for you?
• Ashlawn Marketing: Hi Ricky, when you’re back in the office please give me a call. I’d love to connect!
• Nomad SMS: Kate, when you have a moment, would you book a time on my calendar? I’d love to chat about your upgrade options! [link]
• James, this is Emily from First Point Financial. I’d love to grab some time on your calendar to pitch you a few ideas. What time works best for you?
• SalesCanvas: Thank you for meeting with me today, Rachel. How would you like to approach the next steps?
• Rustic Market: Kim, thanks for filling out our partnership interest indicator. What did you have in mind?
• Hi Ben, this is Mandy from CoffeeMate. I’d love to schedule a call to get a better idea of how we can help fulfill your office needs!
• WanderPoint: Adam, it was so nice to meet you at the session today. I’d love to grab a coffee and hear your thoughts, are you free anytime this week?
• Hi AJ, it’s Adrian from Vignette Systems. Your colleague Freida shared your contact info. She mentioned you were interested in our merchandising services. I’d love to learn more!
• PartyPoint Events: Hey Joseph, has your team decided on an event space yet? Let me know and I’d be happy to start getting you set up.

5. Reminders and follow-ups

Your customers are busy, and they can easily forget to click “Check Out” or give you their feedback. 

Reminder texts can decrease your lost revenue from abandoned carts and ensure that you get the reviews and feedback you need. 

• Hi Julie, this is Ella from CloudGrove. Friendly reminder to come back and complete your purchase before our flash sale ends!
• Hello RJ, Max from Pinnacle Apparel. Don’t forget to grab the items from your wishlist before they sell out!
• AimHigh Events: Hello Linda, since we’ve lost contact following my last text, I’m assuming something has come up.
• Greetings Rob, Lily from NebulaNest. Friendly heads up that the deadline for your personalized proposal is approaching. Let’s make sure we meet your expectations. 
• Hi Carl, it’s Alex from Tranquil Synthetics. I enjoyed our discovery call. Eager to hear your thoughts and continue the conversation. When’s a good time for our next chat?
• Hello Frank, Max here from IM Group. I hope you found our demo insightful. Any further questions or details you’d like to explore? Let’s discuss further at your convenience.
• Hey Ida, it’s Jamie at Orion Systems. Thanks for the insightful consultation. I’m excited about our potential collaboration. Can we schedule a follow-up to dive deeper into the details?
• Hi Brandon, Jake from ABC Marketing. I hope you received our proposal. Eager to discuss any questions or adjustments you might have. When’s a good time for you to connect?
• Greetings Ayla, it’s Lily from GlistenGrove. I sent over the quote for your consideration. Any adjustments needed? Let’s connect soon to ensure it aligns with your requirements.
• Secure Rentals: Iris, since I haven’t heard back from you following our discussion, I assume your priorities have changed.
• NewsNow: Hey Angela, your payment is coming up in a few days. Did you know you could save $80 by upgrading to an annual plan?
• TravelPlush: Hi Ronnie! Just a reminder that your reservation with us is coming up next week. Would you like to upgrade your accommodations for $100?
• Wear Well: How did you like your purchase? Please reply with a rating from 1-5!
• Home Heroes: We hope you’re enjoying your Dyson vacuum. Most people also purchase these vacuum bags along with it if you’re interested! [link]
• Design Craze: Your cart is lonely! We held your items for you, click here to complete your purchase [link].
• PlantEats: Do you like our Beyond Burger? If so, you have to try our new Beyond Nuggets!
• Pop Wear: Hello Silas, just a friendly reminder to renew your subscription with us next month. We’re here if you have any questions!
• Dream Kitchen: Elsa, we hope you’re loving your new air fryer. If you have a moment to leave us a review, we would be so appreciative! [link]
• Fullain: Hey Lisa! How much are you loving your new skincare products? Be sure to tag us on Instagram @Fullain for a chance to be featured as our beauty guru of the week!
• Every Inc: Ruby, we want to make sure we’re sending you the best offers. Update your product preferences on your profile so we can be sure!

6. Relationship building and lead nurturing

Texts are a fast, convenient way to send important information. Send out any details your contacts might want to know to make a decision on buying from you.

• The Everything Store: We’re happy to share that we now carry Whirlpool appliances. Come in and check out the newest pieces today!
• HomeFree: Did you know annual pest control can increase the resale value of your house by 15%? Book your treatment today. [link]
• Back in Time Apparel: Have you seen our latest spring drop? Trust us, you don’t want to miss these vintage looks.
• EasySMS: James, we wanted to share our latest guide about SMS for construction workers. Let us know if you find it helpful! [link]
• Did you hear the news? SimpleTexting was recently named Top 10 Tech Companies in North America! We couldn’t have done it without you.
• Can you believe how gas prices have risen? Learn how to cut down the cost of your commute with the Blue Line. [link]
• Better Buys: We’ve recently partnered with Saint Jude to donate a portion of the proceeds from this month to their research facility. Shop now and help us reach our goal of $25,000!
• The Bakery Blog: Lou, I just wanted to check in and see how your trip to Paris was. Were you able to check out that bakery I mentioned?
• Happy Birthday Amy! From the Go Mamma team to you, wishing you the happiest day
• Career Systems: Happy work-a-versary Nina. You go!
• Nadia, congratulations on your recent engagement. Sharing well wishes on behalf of the ladies at You Salon! XO – Kaylee
• Hey Lucy! Isla at 100Forward here. I noticed your organization’s mention in Fortune magazine! I just wanted to pass along my congratulations.
• Local Wholesale: Congratulations on your new job! Wishing you all the best. If you find yourself in need of a new paper supplier, we’re always one text away!
• Hey Judy! It’s Mina from H&J Marketing. I wanted to drop in and see how your presentation went.
• Hey Arick! It’s Rae at Primrose Place Law. I came across your latest article on fracking. I just wanted to let you know it was incredibly insightful. Already shared it with a few colleagues!
• FYI Social Media: Congratulations on your promotion, Rufus! You’re the boss…literally!
• It’s never a bad time to say thank you. On behalf of the Supreme Host Team, I want to thank you for being a loyal customer!
• Beyond Inc: Wendy, we thought you might find this webinar useful. Here’s the recording for you to view at your leisure! [link]
• BetterAuto will be at the Orlando winter car show, will you? It’s not too late to buy your ticket! [link]
• Ready for some good news? You’re one of Anthro’s top customers! Join our exclusive Facebook page to learn about the perks.

7. Deals, discounts, and exclusive offers

Everyone likes to feel like they’re getting an exceptional special deal, and you can double down on that desire with text-specific sales and deals. 

This makes your text program more attractive to potential contacts and keeps current ones tuned in for the next unmissable perk.

• Good Pet Supply: Flash sale! BOGO on all pet products for the next hour! Run, don’t walk to the site.
• BestFriend Company: Since you purchased our reusable waste bags, here’s a coupon code for your next refill. Thanks for doing good for Mother Earth! [link]
• RealRecipes: As a special thank you for being a loyal customer for 5 years, we’ll be sending you a special gift in the mail. Keep your eyes peeled.
• Flash Receipts: Congrats on 500 loyalty points! Go to your dashboard now to collect your reward.
• Amy & Darcy: Vote on our latest product review and you could win a prize package! Check it out on our Facebook page. [link]
• Mama’s Haven: Thanks for liking us on Facebook! Be sure to turn on post notifications so you don’t miss our monthly giveaways.
• Bless Your Home: We recently came across this deal and wanted to pass it along. Happy shopping! [link]
• Sustainable Home Products: Hey Emily! Have you seen the latest news regarding LED bulbs? If you haven’t already, now is the best time to make a switch!
• For You Shoes: Our new line drops on Friday and we want you to be the first to shop it. Use this link to access the collection one hour earlier than the general public! [link]
• ZenScents: A buy-one-get-one offer you don’t want to miss. 2 candles for the price of 1. Get them now before they’re gone [link].
• Hey GreenLife family! We wanted to thank you all for being such stellar ambassadors. As a small token, here’s a link to pick some free merch! [link]
• To our UpWear text club, we’re having a VIP shopping event in the store just for you this Friday after closing. Reply to RSVP!
• Scrappy Crafters: We value all of your feedback, and we’d like to know how we’re doing. If you have a moment to take this survey we would appreciate it! [link]
• This month we at Harmony Hair want to recognize our top-tier customers. If you’re receiving this text, you’re one of them! Click here to learn more about what that means for you [link]
• Joy Home supply customer appreciation week is here. Check out our calendar of events here: [link]
• Hello everyone! I’m here to share some important You & Lou company updates. Head to our latest Instagram post to read about our new in-store policies.
• Little Love Products: Are you interested in beta testing our new products? Fill out this interest indicator and we’ll be in touch! [link]
• The Better Teaching Group: Can we be doing anything better for you all as our VIP customers? Reply to this text to let us know!
• Service update: We will be closing all Quirks and Crafts stores in observance of the demonstrations in our city today. We stand with this community! Normal hours will resume tomorrow.
• Echo Home & Body stores will be closed today but we invite you all to shop online! We’re offering free 2-day shipping for the inconvenience #supportsmallbiz

How to write a sales text message

By now, you may have been able to pick up some of the trends in these business texting templates, but to save you some time and effort, here’s an easy recipe for a can’t-miss sales text message. 

As you start crafting your message, ask yourself a few key questions: 

• What is the job of the text message?
• Who is receiving this message? What’s their current relationship to your brand? 
• Is it clear to your subscribers why you’re texting them?
• What goal is the recipient trying to achieve? 
• What action do you want your subscribers to take after reading the message? 

To put it all together, I’ll imagine I’m an e-commerce craft store owner letting my text club know about a flash sale I’m holding on sewing supplies. 

First, I’ll answer my own questions:

• What is the job of the text message? 
• To generate sales during my flash sale event.
• Who is receiving this message? What’s their current relationship to your brand? 
• These are text club subscribers who have made purchases with me before and have subscribed to my messages for deals and insider info.
• Is it clear to your subscribers why you’re texting them? 
• Yes, as long as I mention the details of the flash sale and incentivize them to shop.
• What goal is the recipient trying to achieve? 
• Saving money on their favorite products. 
• What action do you want your subscribers to take after reading the message? 
• Visit the store website to make a purchase. 

With all that in mind, my text looks like this:

DIY Nook: Don’t tell…from 12/7 to 12/8, all sewing supplies will be up to 80% off. Text club VIPs can use code DIYVIP23 for an extra 10% off at [link]

Sales texting best practices

I hope these sales text templates have given you some inspiration as you attract contacts and close deals. 

Before you hit “Send,” though, there are a few important best practices to keep in mind.

• Be sure you have express consent to text your contacts. That means no buying phone numbers to text, and you should use opt-in methods like keywords and web forms to stay compliant with texting laws and regulations. Always include a clear way to opt out of your texts.
• Be sure what you’re sending is intentional and valuable. Focus on texting helpful tips and opportunities your contacts will want to take advantage of, and avoid spammy “ACT NOW” language.
• Keep your texts short. Whether you’re using 160-character SMS messages or 1600-character MMS formats, texts are best when they’re brief and to the point. Stick to the important details.
• Personalize your texts. Did you know that 72% of consumers report that they will only interact with marketing messages if those messages are personalized to their specific interests? Personalization pays (literally).

The post 7 sales text message examples that will help you close deals [plus 100+ templates to copy/paste] appeared first on SMS Marketing & Text Marketing Services – Try It For Free.

See, promotional offers can be adapted to any and every business and a nearly unlimited number of use cases. 

Not only that, but they also work. Let’s look at a few key numbers.

• 86% of online buyers are more likely to try a new business based on a coupon; 39% say they are much more likely.
• 93% of consumers use a discount code or coupon during the year. 
• Promotional products bring in up to 500% more referrals compared to reviews. 

TL;DR: Sales promotions and special offers can help you bring in more customers and keep them engaged with your brand. 

You don’t have to take my word for it. Here are 20 sales promotion examples from real brands (plus a recipe for creating your own).

20 types of sales promotions and offers

• Flash sales
• Buy one get one sales
• Text exclusive offers
• Buy to get offers
• Early access sales
• Holiday sales
• Upsell cross sell offers
• Loyalty program perks
• Welcome offers
• Try before you buy offers
• Social media giveaways
• Free shipping offers
• Gift with purchase offers
• Lifestyle discounts
• Daily deals
• Cashback promotions
• Charitable offers
• Included freebie promos
• Spin the wheel opt in promos
• Birthday discounts

What are promotional offers?

Promotional offers are propositions to customers that offer a reward in exchange for specific customer behaviors. 

Those behaviors can include:

• Clicking a link
• Providing an email address or phone number
• Completing a survey
• Visiting a store or website
• Making a purchase

Without further ado, here are examples from actual businesses you can use for inspiration as you craft your own promotional offers. Many examples take the form of promotional text messages, but you can use these kinds of offers for any medium or channel your audience prefers.

1. Flash sales

Flash sales are, quite simply, sales with a time limit attached. Here’s a business text I got from apparel brand Chicwish with a flash sale offer and a discount attached. 

Why we love it: This text tells me a few important things very clearly:

• The brand’s name (this is a compliance requirement)
• A compelling offer
• The coupon code I need to take advantage of the sale
• The details of the sale itself
• When the sale ends
• The link I can visit to shop the sale

2. BOGO

BOGO stands for “buy one, get one,” but BOGO offers can also encompass any offer where you make a purchase to receive a free or discounted item.

If you’ve read any of my previous articles here, you know I live and breathe Halara products. Here’s a text they sent me with a tempting BOGO offer.

Why we love it: Halara gave me a more general idea of the terms of their offer as well as an extra offer below the first. That gave me multiple reasons to click. It’s also worth noting that I ended up buying two pairs of pants and a skirt from this text, so the results speak for themselves.

3. Text-exclusive

One of the ways you can make your SMS program even more effective is by giving your subscribers the sense that they’re getting offers no other customers have access to. This is an excellent example of that strategy.

Why we love it: Simply put, this kind of text-exclusive offer induces a strong sense of FOMO — as a text subscriber, you’re getting a unique deal, and that makes you much more likely to click through and act on it.

4. Buy to get

This is similar to the BOGO strategy we talked about but with slightly different phrasing. In this example, subscribers are being offered a free gift with their purchase.

Why we love it: People like free stuff. It’s as easy as that. Offering them a gift when they buy from you can (in my experience) help justify the cost of their purchase and even make it feel like a special occasion.

5. Early access sale

Here’s another strategy you can use to make your subscribers feel like VIPs. When We Were Young is a music festival that decided to offer its SMS contacts early access to tickets ahead of release to the general public.

Why we love it: People (myself included) are pretty desperate to get their hands on tickets to their favorite events. Getting easy access to tickets without having to beat the rest of the public to the punch is a pretty irresistible opportunity.

6. Holiday sales

Holidays can be a profitable time for businesses, as folks rush to buy gifts for loved ones. This text shows that TeePublic understands that urgency.

Why we love it: TeePublic opens this text with the tantalizing offer that you can get all your holiday shopping done at the included link. They even note that purchases will ship in time for your holiday festivities.

7. Upsell/cross-sell offer

Upselling and cross-selling involve showing your customers products they might like based on purchases they’ve made in the past. Since I’ve shopped so much with Halara in the past, they’ve honed in on pieces I’d love.

Why we love it: They showed me this selection of products as I was checking out of my last shopping spree. All these products are slight variations on pants I’ve bought previously so they were a natural choice to add to my cart. Spoiler alert: I bought the pink ones on the far right.

8. Loyalty program perk

The data tells us that 49% of consumers say that they spend more with brands once they’ve joined a loyalty program.

Anecdotally, there’s something very exciting about seeing your points rack up over time, especially where it concerns essentials like gas, as in this example from Chevron.

Why we love it: Chevron’s app makes it very easy to gain points toward gas discounts and track those points as they grow. I can also see exactly how much I’m saving on my next fill-up at any time.

9. Welcome offer

It’s essential to start your relationship with your subscribers off on the right foot, and there’s no better way than with a friendly welcome text and a discount.

Why we love it: Fabric brand Spoonflower has done an amazing job here of introducing both their brand and the actual human I’m corresponding with. In this one text, they’ve given me both a discount code and an invitation to text back with any questions or issues I might have.

10. Try before you buy

As shopping in person gets less popular and less convenient, online retailers are offering options to “test drive” purchases before you actually pay for them, and Amazon is a prime example (pun absolutely intended).

Why we love it: Shopping for clothes is hard to do online. You can’t try your items on or see how they’ll look, so a “try before you buy” program is a great way to make sure you’re satisfied with what you bought before you commit.

11. Social media giveaway

Social media giveaways come with a conversion rate of around 34%, and they tap into the “free stuff” temptation I’ve covered here. G Fuel Energy ran an excellent example recently on their Instagram.

Why we love it: This post is well-designed, clear on the details, and fun to read. At the end, I know exactly how to enter the giveaway and what I stand to gain. For an extra perk, G Fuel has made its giveaway a fun guessing game.

12. Free shipping

There are few things more disheartening than getting to the checkout screen and finding out that shipping has inflated the cost of your purchase by a lot. Given this fact, free shipping can be a big incentive on top of a good sale.

Why we love it: All the details are out in the open for subscribers to see. Plus, they’ve called attention to the fact that there’s no order minimum to qualify for the free shipping benefit.

13. Gift with purchase

While we’ve touched on “buy to get” promos before, I want to call attention to the specific strategy Bright Cellars used here.

Why we love it: Rather than just throwing in a standard gift with your order, Bright Cellars gives subscribers a choice as to which gift they’d like. They’ve also highlighted the worth of the gift you’re getting which helps reinforce its value.

14. Lifestyle discounts

Lifestyle discounts are offers directed specifically at certain segments of the population like veterans, students, or senior citizens.

Why we love it: While these discounts are certainly a nice benefit for folks who fit into these categories, this is also an excellent way to give back to the community and boost your reputation as a brand that cares.

15. Daily deal offer

Daily deals are a smart way to keep your subscribers faithfully tuned into your texts to see what the next big discount is. Outdoor brand Backcountry sends deals like these to its list every day.

Why we love it: You’ll notice that my manager Nathan (the subscriber in question) specifically opted in to receive these discounts. This means he’s more likely to take advantage when he sees a discount on a product he needs.

16. Cashback promotions

Everyone likes putting money back in their pockets after a purchase. Cashback promotions ensure that they can do just that.

Why we love it: Promotions like this one show two important facts to subscribers. First, the brand values its products enough to give back some of the money spent on them (with the expectation that you’ll want to buy from them again). Second, that your business is their priority, not necessarily their bottom line.

17. Charitable offer

It’s important for businesses to show their commitment to positive causes. Allegiant does this by donating a portion of its proceeds from certain purchases to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Why we love it: Consumers who are focused on making a positive impact with their money are much more likely to patronize businesses that share their priorities. 

18. Included freebie promo

Here’s one more for the “free stuff” train with the added benefit of including an actual, physical product. This is a scratcher I got in my last FabFitFun box.

Why we love it: On average, we see about 10,000 ads daily, most of them online. This promo fights that ad fatigue by giving me something I could pick up and physically interact with. That makes it very memorable.

19. Spin-the-wheel opt-in

Does anyone else remember the big wheel you could spin at Shoe Carnival? I loved that wheel as a kid. This opt-in wheel from Halara brings back those fun memories and makes giving them my information feel like a game.

Why we love it: When you ask for your customers’ personal information, you should give them something of value in return. This opt-in promo takes that principle to the next level by letting them play a game full of exciting prizes when they enter their email. 

20. Birthday discount

We all want to be celebrated on our birthdays (well, most of us do). That’s the aim of birthday discounts like this one from Build-a-Bear.

Why we love it: As a business, it’s a smart idea to take every opportunity to make your customers feel seen and valued. A birthday gift from you in the form of a special discount is an easy, effective way to do so.

How to craft your perfect promotional offer

The fact is that no two businesses will send the same promotional offers. So, although you now have some inspiration from the examples above, I’ll also give you an easy formula to create your own sales promotion.

Here at SimpleTexting, we recently introduced our PASTA framework to determine what type of text messages you should be sending. 

I’m going to follow that framework up with my own: the TASTE formula. 

As you craft your custom promotional offers, consider the following: 

• Type of offer you’re running – Does it concern a product or a service?
• Aim of the offer – What are you trying to accomplish with your offer? More sales, more subscribers, greater participation in programs, etc. 
• Stage of the audience for the offer – Are you speaking to cold, warm, or hot leads? Are they existing customers or prospects?
• Time or duration of the offer – Is it time-sensitive?
• Does it make your audience eager to take advantage? – Have you included a clear call-to-action to let your audience know what steps to take next? What incentive do they have to take advantage?

Let’s put all of those factors into an example offer. I’ll pretend I’m an e-commerce wellness brand and I want to drive more sales for the Christmas season. 

• Type: A discount on immune system-supporting supplements
• Aim: To drive sales around the holidays
• Stage: Both existing customers who have made a purchase before and new text subscribers who haven’t yet purchased.
• Time: December 1st through the 12th (so that purchases ship in time for the holidays)
• Eagerness: I’ll include a text-exclusive coupon code and a link to the relevant products. I’ll also encourage them to buy in time for the holidays and stress that winter is cold and flu season, so they’ll want to stay healthy.

All together, my promo looks like this:

WellWishes: For your eyes only now until 12/12, take 20% off immune supplements with code WELL23 and stay healthy for the holidays! Shop the sale at [link]

The post 20 sales promotion examples from real brands (and why they boost response and conversion rates) appeared first on SMS Marketing & Text Marketing Services – Try It For Free.

Striking a balance between staying top-of-mind for your customers and annoying them with too many messages is important.

We here at SimpleTexting help thousands of businesses through this process every day. So, we’re going to condense the steps for you here.

The quick-and-easy business texting cadence

According to our State of SMS Marketing 2024 report, “Most consumers (48%) who subscribe to SMS marketing want to receive texts from businesses once every other week, followed by 36% who want to receive them once a week.”

So which is it — once a week or every other week? We asked consumer psychologist Dr. Michael Barbera how to think about texting frequency, and he perfectly summarized it for us: 

Oftentimes, for small- and medium-sized businesses, if sales are down, it’s ‘harass, harass, harass.’ So, less is more.

Dr. Michael Barbera

Chief behavioral officer, Clicksuasion Labs

So if you’re looking for a quick and straightforward answer for how often your business should text — especially in your first 30 days — we recommend sending two to four promotional text messages per month (plus transactional and automated texts as needed).

Week 1 Prize text

Examples: promo codes, special offers, or early access to products or services 

Week 2 Teaching text

Examples: how-to guides, quick tips, or expert Q&As

Week 3 Prize text

Examples: promo codes, special offers, or early access to products or services

Week 4 Amusement text

Examples: entertaining content or conversation starters

Noteworthy: Your organization’s goals

Now, we know this framework doesn’t take into consideration:

1. Your organization and its needs.
2. Your “why,” whether that’s growing your business, communicating with your staff, organizing events, or other priorities.
3. What you offer (products vs. services).
4. How frequently customers engage with your organization, including seasonal trends and whether they buy from you weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.

The rest of this article will walk you through how to decide how often to text if our quick-and-easy business texting cadence doesn’t make sense for your organization.

Sample send cadences and ratios by contact engagement

Check out these helpful texting schedules if the weekly cadence doesn’t fit your needs.

Biweekly

For businesses with customers who typically buy every other week, we suggest the following:

One prize text and one teaching or amusement text every other week (on non-consecutive days). Alternate teaching and amusement texts.

Example: Send a promo code on Monday and a how-to vlog on Thursday.

Types of businesses that may fit this use case: Apparel brands, food delivery services and restaurants, e-commerce businesses

Monthly

For businesses that run mostly on monthly orders, stick to:

One prize text twice monthly (pay special attention to whether your customers buy more at certain times of the month to influence timing), with one teaching text each month.

Types of businesses that may fit this use case: Pet supply delivery brands (like Chewy), salons, regular product renewal brands

Quarterly

While brainstorming this article, Dani Henion made the following comment about businesses that provide quarterly orders or services:

If I’m only buying from someone a few times a year, I don’t want to hear from them much more often than that.

Dani Henion

Content Lead at SimpleTexting

So, with that in mind, we suggest the following texting schedule for businesses with quarterly buying cycles:

Send one reminder that your services may be needed soon and a special offer on those services a week or two before you want your customers to book with you.

If that sounds confusing or tough to keep track of, integrate your appointment software with your texting platform to trigger these texts a set amount of time after each customer’s last appointment. This is what Fargo Moorhead Chiropractic does to re-engage clients 30 days after their last appointments (I know that’s a monthly example, but read the article where we break down FM Chiropractic’s approach to learn more).

Types of businesses that may fit this use case: Pest control companies, mechanics, doctor’s offices.

Seasonally

This is a similar setup to a quarterly cadence, but it’s based on specific seasons rather than how much time has passed.

For seasonal businesses, send one prize text as a reminder that the busy season is coming up to incentivize bookings. During the season, send one prize text per month to customers who haven’t yet bought.

Types of businesses that may fit this use case: Tax professionals, event planners, travel agents

Per diem

By this, we mean companies that throw events on their own schedule throughout the year.

This is something our marketing team specifically has a lot of experience with, so let’s look at the cadence we use.

Before events like webinars, we send out one invitation message when we schedule the event (around one month before the day). We then follow up with those who haven’t registered about one week beforehand.

Finally, we send out one more message thanking attendees for joining us and asking for feedback. We make sure this last message contains a recap and Q&A responses for extra value.

Types of businesses that may fit this use case: Any who runs events

3 things to consider as you plan your texting frequency

Hopefully, these example cadences have given you a solid starting point as you plan how often you’ll text.

We do recognize, though, that you may still want to customize those examples further for your own business. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you do.

1. Figure out what you’ll send

Obviously, before you start sending, it’s important to get clear and cohesive on the content of your messages.

• What do your customers want to receive? Use our PASTA framework for some easy categories to choose from.
  • P — Prize texts: Discount codes, exclusive offers, and early access
  • A — Accessibility texts: Instructions, reminders, and crucial details
  • S — Suggestion texts: Creative ideas, lifestyle content, inspiration
  • T — Teaching texts: Demos, tips, how-to guides, Q&As
  • A — Amusement texts: Fun content and conversation kickoffs
• What do you want your contacts to know? 
• What do your contacts need to know?

2. Plan your send frequency based on contact engagement levels

You’ve likely gotten the big picture from the examples above, but there are a couple of important points to iron out from there.

• This will come down to how often your customers buy from you. 
• Best practice: Decide on a particular day of the week you’ll text to keep your workflow simple. (e.g. “I text every other Friday at 1 p.m. in my contacts’ time zone”).
• Refer to our research on the best times to text for inspiration.
• It’s worth mentioning that “quiet hours” when you don’t text are more than a courtesy. They’re actually mandated by text marketing regulatory agencies. Avoid sending texts before 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in your subscribers’ local time zone when possible. Segmenting your lists by location can help with this.

3. Set aside dedicated time for texting

By this, we mean set aside time in your schedule for texting. 

• Plan times for when you’ll write and schedule your campaigns and reply to two-way messages in your inbox.
• Best practice: A recurring time block on your calendar is an easy way to remember your set “texting time.” 
• Review your analytics during this time to make sure subscribers are engaging with your text and unsubscribes are low.

Take the guesswork out of how often to text your customers

At SimpleTexting we like to say that texting is powerful, but you have to do it right.

A big part of that is knowing when to send your texts (and how often) for your specific audience.

Hopefully, this guide has given you the tools you need to plan out your texting strategy with confidence.
Ready to try it out? Start a free trial of SimpleTexting and send a text to yourself today to see how it works.

The post How often to text? 5 cadences we suggest to 17,000+ businesses appeared first on SMS Marketing & Text Marketing Services – Try It For Free.

I should know. I spent a lot of time researching for this article and wondered how a busy business owner might actually get anything done with all the input.

So, rather than make you sort through a lot of advice, I’ll simply give you the most important components your marketing email needs along with a few examples from actual brands.

How to write a marketing email with one simple formula

Let’s take the guesswork out of writing the ideal marketing email and just address the components you need.

I’ll walk you through each step. Let’s pretend I’m writing an email to announce SimpleTexting’s new contact card feature. 

Step #1: Include an eye-catching subject line that makes the email’s value clear and entices viewers to open it.

For my example, my subject line would be:

Make your subscribers remember you forever

Here, I want SimpleTexting users and prospects to know that our contact card is a good way to introduce themselves to their contacts in a way that lasts and makes them memorable.

I’ve also added an emoji to help my subject line stand out.

Step #2: Add preview text that further teases or shows off the contents of the email.

For my preview text, I’m going with:

Access our new contact cards to instantly build trust with your contacts.

This names the feature and further clarifies the benefit they get by using it.

Step #3: Use the inverted pyramid model. 

Although different versions of this model exist, the most common devotes the most amount of space at the top to an attention-grabbing headline. Then, you add anticipation-building details in a slightly smaller space below and finish off with a succinct, powerful call to action (CTA).

So, by component, that looks like:

Headline: Contact cards: The instantly effective way to introduce yourself

Body: Our new contact cards are here! Welcome your subscribers with a contact card to help them save your brand’s details in one click and recognize your messages forever.

CTA: Try it out for free (with a link embedded)

Step #4: Keep it concise and stick to the important details you need to include. 

This will help keep your subscribers focused. You’ll notice that in my example above, I named:

• The feature
• The basic function
• The benefits
• How to access it

There’s no fluff there, so it should keep readers’ attention.

Step #5: Stick to short sentences to avoid rambling and keep your subscribers engaged. 

That means no more than 20 words per sentence and two sentences per paragraph.

Step #6: Keep your emails at around a 7th-grade reading level.

Sites like Hemingway make this easy. Just copy your email and paste it into the software to get your reading level. The aim is to make your message accessible to all.

Step #7: End with a clear, strong call to action that lets subscribers know what their next steps are.

Your readers shouldn’t finish your email and ask, “What next?” In my example, I provided an easy link where readers could sign up for a trial and an extra incentive to do so.

A note on long-form vs. short-form email

Folks on the Internet go back and forth about whether short- or long-form emails are most effective.

Unfortunately, the answer is it depends.

Specifically, it depends on:

1. What metric you want to optimize for 
2. What the email is meant to say or accomplish

For example, the numbers say that 50-125 words is best for a high response rate while 100-200 should improve your click-through rate (CTR).

Therefore, a 100-word email sits at the right spot to maximize both numbers.

That said, that length won’t work for every kind of email, so judge each one individually. Long-form emails work best for:

• Newsletters
• Onboarding instructions
• Customer education materials
• Business pitches

Short-form emails are ideal for:

• Quick follow-ups
• Straightforward sale announcements
• Confirmations
• Feedback requests

How to write a marketing email: examples

I can think of no better examples to give you than emails that caught my eye and made me click (and in some cases, buy).

Holiday highlight

Pura Vida is a favorite online jewelry shop of mind, and they did something pretty clever in this email.

First off, they used an emoji in the subject line. Against a sea of text, that stands out.

Second, they used the words “holiday season” early in the email. If you’re like me and you forget how fast the holidays come up, you panic and decide to buy a thing or two immediately to get a headstart.

Newsletter

Newsletters can get a little mundane if you’re subscribed to a lot of them, but this one stood out in my inbox.

Note the subject line there. They let me know immediately that they had something to say that would help my pet (I am a devoted cat and dog mom, so that’s a big priority).

They also started off with an image of a cute pup, which put me in the mood to see more.

Fundraising

Email is an invaluable tool for raising awareness and money for a cause.

The most important thing Custom Ink does here is to clearly display the cause they’re supporting. As a person who’s more interested in helping out breast cancer survivors than shopping at Custom Ink, I found that super compelling.

They also clearly display a CTA button in the middle of the page so I have no doubts about what to do. 

Product launch preview

If you have a product or service launching soon, make sure your email list knows about it.

This email is a great example of targeted messaging, given that I have a Pixel 6 phone. They’ve done an excellent job of highlighting why I specifically would want this product.

Discount announcements

Of course, sometimes you just want to show off a big sale.

Here, United has started with a question about my problems and an offer to fix them and made the value (and urgency) of the message very clear.

Recommended reading: Drip email from start to finish

Appointment confirmations 

No-shows are a big drain on your team’s resources, so keep them to a minimum with appointment confirmations and reminders.

I love that Walgreens acknowledged my appointment and gave me an easy way to keep up with it or change it if need be.

How to write a good marketing email: best practices

Once your email is all drafted up, check over these last few key points before hitting “send.”

• Make your emails mobile-friendly. Around 1.7 billion people worldwide use email on their phones. Cater to those people with minimal buttons and images and concise copy in your emails. Don’t quite know how to optimize for mobile? Most email service providers have ready-to-use templates you can fill out.
• Be sure to proofread. Even if you don’t think you need to, just take one last look. Avoidable mistakes can put a dent in your brand reputation.
• Send a test email to yourself. This is a great QA step but it’ll also give you a subscriber’s perspective on each email, which you might not otherwise get.
• Stick to a consistent tone. Avoid giving your subscriber lists whiplash. Make sure your tone aligns with your brand voice and don’t stray very far from it.

Read next: Comparing email and SMS marketing

The post How to write a marketing email: A formula and examples you can use today appeared first on SMS Marketing & Text Marketing Services – Try It For Free.