This article gives you a step-by-step guide to building your first SMS marketing strategy. You will learn how to set goals, build your contact list legally, write effective text messages, understand compliance rules (like ACMA), choose the right tools, and measure your success. We’ll cover the benefits, practical steps, and potential pitfalls to help you start confidently.
Unlock Direct Connection: Why Use SMS Marketing?
Text messages get noticed. Think about your own phone – a text alert often gets checked immediately. This direct line to your customers is powerful. Unlike crowded email inboxes, SMS offers near-instant visibility.
This makes it ideal for time-sensitive offers, urgent reminders, or quick updates. It feels more personal than email, helping you build a closer relationship with your audience. When done right, it’s a surprisingly cost-effective way to reach people who want to hear from you. You avoid the frustration of your messages being ignored or lost in spam folders. Imagine sending a flash sale alert that people actually see and act on within minutes. That’s the power you can harness.
Step 1: Decide What You Want to Achieve
Before sending any texts, ask yourself: what is the main goal? Simply sending messages isn’t a strategy. You need a clear purpose.
Are you trying to:
- Increase sales for a specific product?
- Drive traffic to your website or physical store?
- Book more appointments?
- Remind customers about upcoming events?
- Improve customer service with quick updates?
Your goal shapes everything else. Make it specific. Instead of “increase sales,” try “increase sales of winter coats by 15% in July.” Make it measurable. How will you know if you succeeded? Make it achievable. Is your goal realistic for your business? Make it relevant. Does this goal align with your overall business objectives? Set a timeframe. When do you want to achieve this by?
Knowing your exact target helps you craft focused messages later. It prevents wasted effort and ensures you’re working towards something tangible.
Step 2: Understand Who You’re Texting
Who are your ideal customers? What are their needs and interests? Sending generic messages won’t work well. You need to understand your audience to send relevant texts they’ll appreciate.
Think about:
- Their general age group?
- What problems do they have that you can solve?
- What kind of offers would genuinely interest them?
- When are they most likely to be receptive to messages?
Knowing this helps you tailor your content. For example, a message promoting skateboard gear will differ greatly from one offering retirement planning advice. Relevance is key to keeping people subscribed and engaged. Sending messages people find useful builds trust.
Step 3: Build Your Contact List The Right Way (Consent is Crucial)
This is perhaps the most important step. You absolutely must get clear permission before texting anyone for marketing purposes. In Australia, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) enforces strict rules under the Spam Act 2003. Sending unsolicited messages can lead to hefty fines and damage your reputation.
You need explicit consent. This means someone actively agrees to receive your marketing texts. You cannot just pull numbers from existing customer lists or assume permission.
Helpful ways to get consent include:
- A checkbox on your website checkout or sign-up form (clearly stating it’s for SMS marketing, not pre-ticked).
- An opt-in form specifically for SMS updates.
- Asking customers at the point of sale if they’d like text offers and recording their consent.
- Using a keyword opt-in (e.g., “Text JOIN to 12345 for weekly deals”).
Always be clear about what people are signing up for and how often they might hear from you. Never buy or rent phone number lists – it’s illegal and ineffective. Building your list organically ensures you’re contacting people genuinely interested in your brand. For more inspiration on engaging potential subscribers, explore different SMS marketing ideas that encourage opt-ins naturally.
Compliance Callout: “Always get express permission before sending marketing texts. It’s the law (ACMA’s Spam Act) and builds trust.”
Step 4: Write Messages That Get Results
Text messages are short. You need to get straight to the point while providing value.
Follow these tips:
- Keep it brief: Aim for under 160 characters (the standard SMS length).
- Be clear: What is the message about? What should they do?
- Offer value: Give them a reason to care (discount, tip, reminder, update).
- Include a Call to Action (CTA): Tell them exactly what to do next (e.g., “Shop now,” “Book here,” “Reply YES,” “Visit us today”).
- Identify yourself: Make sure they know who the text is from, especially if using a shared short code or virtual number. Often platforms allow a Custom Sender ID for this.
- Personalise (if possible): Using someone’s first name can make the message feel more direct and less generic. Check if your platform supports personalisation tags.
Example Good SMS: “Hi Sarah, flash sale! Get 25% off all jackets today only at StyleShop. Show this text in-store or use code FLASH25 online: [link] Opt-out reply STOP”
Example Bad SMS: “Big sale happening now lots of items cheap come see” (Vague, no clear sender, no opt-out, unprofessional)
Make your texts helpful, not annoying.
Step 5: Send at the Right Time (And Not Too Often)
Timing matters. Sending a text at 3 AM is a sure way to get someone to unsubscribe (and potentially complain). Respect people’s time.
Consider:
- Business Hours: Generally, stick to sending messages during standard business hours in your customer’s time zone. Avoid early mornings, late nights, and potentially weekends unless the context makes sense (e.g., weekend event reminder).
- Frequency: Don’t bombard people. Sending multiple texts a day is usually too much. Start with a lower frequency (e.g., once a week or per fortnight) and see how your audience responds. The right frequency depends on your industry and the value you provide. Too many messages feel like spam. Too few, and they might forget you. Find the balance.
Think of it like calling a friend – you wouldn’t call them repeatedly without a good reason or at inconvenient times. Treat your SMS contacts with the same respect.
Step 6: Stay Compliant (ACMA Rules Revisited)
We mentioned consent earlier, but ACMA compliance involves more. Ignoring these rules is risky.
Key requirements under the Spam Act 2003:
- Consent: You must have explicit permission to send marketing messages. Keep records of this consent.
- Identify Sender: Your message must clearly state who you are or who authorised the message. Using a brand name as a Custom Sender ID helps here.
- Functional Opt-Out: Every marketing message must include a simple way for the recipient to unsubscribe, and it must work. Often this is “Reply STOP”. You must honour opt-out requests promptly (within 5 business days).
Following these rules protects your business from penalties and builds trust with your audience. People are more likely to stay subscribed if they know they can easily leave. Breaking trust here is hard to recover from.
Simple Rule: “Consent In, Identify Yourself, Opt-Out Easy.”
Step 7: Pick Your SMS Platform
You’ll need a tool to send messages, especially in bulk. Look for a platform that makes managing your strategy easy.
Consider features like:
- Bulk SMS: Ability to send one message to many contacts at once.
- Ease of Use: The platform should be simple to navigate, even for beginners.
- Scheduling: Plan and schedule messages to be sent at specific times.
- Personalisation: Tools to insert names or other details into messages.
- Delivery Reports: See which messages were successfully delivered. This is crucial for understanding reach.
- Two-Way Messaging: Allow customers to reply to your texts (important for customer service or confirmations).
- Opt-Out Management: Automatic handling of “STOP” replies.
- Virtual Numbers: Dedicated numbers for sending and receiving texts, keeping your personal number private. Some even offer call forwarding.
- Custom Sender ID: Use your brand name as the sender (subject to network rules).
- Email to SMS: Send texts directly from your email platform, which can be helpful for integrating with existing workflows. Some tools even convert crucial email alerts into SMS.
Think about your budget too. Some providers have setup fees or monthly charges, while others operate on a pay-as-you-go basis (you only pay for the messages you send).
Step 8: Time to Send Your First Campaign
You’ve set your goals, built your list (correctly!), written your message, checked compliance, and chosen your platform. Now it’s time to send.
Before hitting ‘send’ on a large campaign:
- Double-check everything: Proofread the message for typos or errors. Ensure the link (if any) works. Confirm the opt-out instruction is clear. Verify you’re sending to the correct contact list.
- Send a test message: Send the message to yourself or a colleague first to see exactly how it looks.
- Start small (optional): If you’re nervous, consider sending your first campaign to a smaller segment of your list to gauge the response.
Sending your first campaign can be exciting! Track the results closely.
Step 9: See What Works (Measure Your Success)
Sending messages is just the start. You need to understand how they performed to improve your strategy over time. Since you can’t track opens like email, focus on metrics you can measure:
- Delivery Rate: What percentage of your messages were successfully delivered? Delivery reports from your SMS platform are essential for this. High bounce rates might indicate problems with your list quality.
- Response Rate / Click-Through Rate (CTR): If your message included a call to action like “Reply YES” or clicking a link, how many people did it? This shows engagement.
- Opt-Out Rate: How many people unsubscribed after receiving the message? A high rate might mean your messages aren’t relevant, are too frequent, or your initial consent wasn’t clear.
- Conversion Rate: This is the ultimate measure linked to your goal. How many people completed the action you wanted (e.g., made a purchase, booked an appointment, used the discount code)? Track this using unique discount codes, specific landing pages, or by asking customers how they heard about the offer.
Use these insights to refine your messages, adjust sending times, or segment your audience for better results. Learning what resonates with your audience is key to long-term success. Understanding how SMS contributes to your broader goals is vital for effective SMS marketing in digital marketing.
Bringing It All Together
Creating an effective SMS marketing strategy doesn’t need to be complicated. It boils down to respectful communication.
- Have a clear goal.
- Get permission.
- Offer value.
- Be concise.
- Make opting out easy.
- Measure and learn.
By following these steps, you avoid the frustration of low engagement and potential compliance issues. Instead, you build a direct, valuable communication channel with your customers. Imagine easily reminding clients of appointments, boosting sales with timely offers, and knowing your messages are actually being seen. This focused approach can make a real difference to your business.
If you’re looking for a reliable platform to get started, consider a service like 160.com.au. They’ve been operating since 2000, focusing on providing easy-to-use, secure bulk SMS solutions for Australian businesses. Features like their straightforward online platform, Email to SMS capability, virtual numbers, custom Sender ID, and detailed delivery reports can be very helpful for beginners. Plus, their pay-as-you-go pricing with no monthly fees makes it accessible to start small and scale up as you grow.