5 Rules for Effective Text Marketing

Whether you’re launching your first text marketing campaign or optimizing an existing one, the fundamentals matter.

Text marketing lets you reach customers almost immediately on the device they always have close by — their mobile phone. But like any marketing channel, results depend on how well you execute. Here are five rules to help you get them:

Does text marketing get results?

In a word, yes! We love text marketing because we’ve seen the results first-hand to prove that it is an effective channel. For example, while results depend on the product being promoted, we’re seeing text-to-buy conversion rates averaging 5.5%, with top-performing brands reaching 8.6%. That translates to $2.01 in revenue per message — 13x more than a standard SMS campaign.

Compared to email, text marketing gets dramatically better reach (98% open rate vs 30.7% for email) and more immediate results. The real advantage of text-to-buy is that the customer never leaves the text thread — no link, no cart, no checkout friction.

#1. Focus on growing your subscriber list first

From the data we’ve seen, an early strategy for successful text marketing campaigns is to focus on growing your subscriber list for the first month or two. That means merchants shouldn’t be sending offers until they have at least 200 subscribers, otherwise sales numbers probably won’t be worth the effort.

Promote your text marketing program and grow your list as much as possible — that’s where we start to see better results. You can send email campaigns to your current email list as a way to jumpstart your text subscribers. Consider tying a strong incentive to joining the text list, like a welcome discount or a product coupon. AudienceTap gives you several list growth tools: QR codes, keyword opt-ins (text KEYWORD to 55444 or 33777), and online signup forms.

If you have a physical location, one of the easiest ways to get customers to sign up is a keyword signup at the checkout counter. They send one text message (e.g. “Text JOIN to 55444”) and that’s it!

Another point we would make here is, it’s okay to have a smaller list! You want people on your list who look forward to receiving your messages and will respond to them. A large list with little engagement gets expensive fast.

#2. Find the right rhythm for sending messages

You’ve got to know how often to send a text message. Send it too infrequently and you run the risk that people forget who you are and ignore your messages, or worse, report them as spam. If you send them too often, people will get annoyed and may unsubscribe.

So what is the right pace? It comes down to the expectations you set when customers sign up. Follow those expectations as closely as possible.

Some texting programs are centered on deals or discounts — a daily deal, or a weekly deal sent via text. Other text programs are less defined (which is okay!), but if that’s you, we’d recommend finding a cadence that gets results. This may take some trial and error.

At a minimum, we recommend sending a text message at least once per week.

#3. Messages don’t always have to be about sales

Selling products doesn’t have to be your only goal for text marketing. Customers often like to receive discounts or offers, but mixing it up and having other goals (such as generating awareness or engagement) can help hold their interest.

You could also try sprinkling in educational or other valuable content to spark engagement. For example, a cosmetics brand might send a text linking to information about a daily skincare routine. Bonus points if they’ve segmented their list by interest or skin type and send only a skincare routine that is a good match for the subscriber. These types of texts have the added benefit of driving customers to your website, a smart move for SEO.

#4. Hone your message content

What should your messages contain? It depends on the type of campaign you are sending. For example, product campaigns like “reply to buy” should include everything the customer needs to know about the product, including price, shipping cost (if any) and whether they will pay sales tax. Customers are unlikely to reply “yes” to buying if they can’t see exactly what they’re agreeing to in payment.

If the product is being offered at a discount, highlight it. Psychology is at work whenever discounts are involved. For example, when people see a message like “was $150, Sale price: $99”, they size up how much of a “deal” they think they’re getting. Customers don’t want to “miss out” on a deal!

You should also include good product descriptions and images — if people have questions, they’re not going to reply to buy. AudienceTap integrates with Shopify to help with this. All product information, including descriptions, can be pulled directly from products in your Shopify catalog.

What about marketing campaigns that aren’t tied to a product? The message can convey any type of information to subscribers. Generate excitement about upcoming events or storewide sales, make announcements, send educational content and links to product categories on your website. To make those messages more effective, hone your copy so people are enticed to click through. You might provide less specific information than a “reply to buy” message, but enough that the customer wants to find out more. The best copy takes a “less is more” approach — enough to stir interest, but not so long that it loses the reader.

#5. Remember different marketing preferences

Here’s our fifth “rule” — remember that different people have different marketing preferences! Because you personally don’t like to receive texts doesn’t mean others feel the same way.

Some marketers and business owners assume people won’t want to receive texts, which often means they don’t put enough effort into developing their text marketing program. Don’t assume! Multiple studies have found consumers who state a preference for receiving marketing messages via text.

If you’re going to offer text marketing, offer it wholeheartedly and focus on the benefits to the customer. You’re not “being a pain” if the customer has opted in!

Final thoughts

These are a handful of rules for effective text marketing based on what we’ve observed over time and across multiple campaigns. Spend time testing, revising and figuring out what works best for your business and your customers.

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AudienceTap is a text-to-buy platform that lets customers purchase products by replying to a text message — no links, no carts, no checkout pages.

With reply-to-buy purchasing, AI-timed replenishment drops, abandoned cart recovery, and list growth tools, AudienceTap turns SMS from a traffic channel into a sales channel. Brands on the platform average $2.01 in revenue per message and 5.5% conversion rates on drops.

Talk to a text-to-buy expert to see if text-to-buy is right for your brand.