Guide to Bulk SMS: Sending Messages People Want to Receive

This guide will help you:

  • Understand some of the rules that apply to SMS marketing (US and Canada).
  • Maximize the impact of SMS for:
    • Client responses
    • Marketing opt-ins
    • Appointment conversions
    • Closing sales

Composing Your Message

Compliance in your SMS body:

  • Seek consent from your text recipient before including them in your SMS campaign.
  • Always identify yourself and your business by name.
  • If it’s the first time you’re messaging a contact, OR if it’s been 90 days or more since your last message, include an unsubscribe clause at the end of your message:
    • “Reply STOP to opt out.”
    • “If you’d like us to stop texting you, just reply STOP.”
  • If someone opts out, remove them from future SMS campaigns.

Strategic Best Practices

  • Greet each contact using their first name with the custom value → {{contact.first_name}} .
  • Send sparingly, no more than once per month.
  • Respect your recipients' time by sending during specific time windows, avoiding personal time.
  • Use a strong offer for measurable results.
  • Keep your message clear and concise to reduce unsubscribes.
  • Offering something for free can boost interest and responses.
  • Minimal commitment now = more conversations later, building trust throughout the sales process.
  • Keep messages short, exciting, and avoid unnecessary punctuation.
  • Match the casual tone of a typical text message conversation.

Conversation starters:

  • Live conversations create direct connections, building trust and momentum.
  • Ask a direct question to prompt responses, but keep it to one question to avoid confusion.
  • Avoid overusing emojis.
  • Avoid sending links; this can cause deliverability issues and limit engagement in conversations.

Respond promptly:

  • Only send messages when you can respond quickly.
  • Delayed responses can make your message appear as spam, while fast replies encourage conversions.

Expect unsubscribes:

  • Some people will always opt out. Respect their wishes by marking them as DND (Do Not Disturb) and move on.

Example of SMS

Bad Example: “Hello, this is Ashley from Bob’s Fitness ?? We’re the best gym in town! All our members are models! It’s ? $175/month ? to join and there’s an extra $150 new member fee ?… We have a lot of spots to fill so we hope you can afford it! We also have personal training, group classes, a 6-week challenge, nutrition plans, sauna, ice baths, an inner circle club, work-trade spots available, and many other add-ons!”

Good Example: “Hi {{contact.first_name}}, this is Ashley from Bob’s Fitness. We’re giving out a few 10-day passes and I wondered if you’d like one? If you’d like for us to stop texting you, reply STOP.”

Technical Setup and Execution

  1. Select the contacts you’d like to message.
  2. Click the "Send SMS" button.
  3. Click "Ok, Proceed."
  4. Type your message.
  5. Title the action for internal reference.
  6. Choose your message delivery option:
    • Send all at once: Sends immediately to all contacts. Best for 1-way announcements with no expected responses.
    • Send all at scheduled time: Schedules a future message. Best for 1-way announcements to be sent later.
    • Send in drip mode: Slowly delivers messages over time, ideal for conversations or response-generating messages.

Drip Mode Setup:

  • Start On: The day and time when messages start sending.
  • Batch Quantity: Number of messages sent per batch.
  • Repeat After: Time interval between batches.
  • Send On: Days of the week to send messages.
  • Process Between Hours (optional): Set a timeframe for daily message processing.

Example of a Drip:

  • Action: “Database Reactivation: Black Friday Weekend Promo.”
  • Start On: November 29th.
  • Batch Quantity: 10.
  • Repeat After: 3 minutes.
  • Send On: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun.
  • Process Between:
    • Start From: 10:30 AM.
    • End At: 11:00 AM.
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