SMS Marketing Ideas & Advice
SMS Marketing that’s hard to ignore
98 out of 100 people read text messages sent using Text Marketer. The other two don’t know what they’re missing.
Reach (almost) everyone in your list on the UK’s lowest-cost business SMS platform.
No contract. No sign up or set up fees
More attention-grabbing than email. Less intrusive than a phone call.
Text marketing isn’t the only tactic in town, but it is the most effective.
While email offers get buried in promotional tabs, an SMS pings to the top of the pile. While people are busy Googling the phone number rather than answering the call, an SMS delivers your message like an old friend. It’s why more people open texts and respond quicker—often within 90 seconds. And it’s why people say things like this about Text Marketer:
“This works so well it caused our website to crash due to sheer number of visitors.” – Santa Letter Direct.
Send your first SMS marketing campaign in 4 steps
Text Marketer is built for simplicity. There’s nothing to download. Once you’re on the platform, there’s no complicated setup or steep learning curve. Everything is designed to make it easy to run and manage your SMS marketing.
- Upload contact numbers from a spreadsheet (CSV file)
- Enter sender details so customers know it’s you. Or choose your free reply number.
- Write your SMS, personalise it and hit ‘Send now’ (or schedule for later)
- Go to Analytics to view delivery reports and replies
Start your first SMS marketing campaign for free
No contract. No sign up or set up fees. *If you see a lower rate, we’ll match it.
Marketing that works for everyone
SMS is simple, timely and effective. For you and your customers.
For marketers in a hurry…
If you have an urgent update to send or promotion to push, a text message is the fastest, most reliable way to spread the word.
Delivery is instant thanks to our Tier 1 SMS connections, which work at lightning speed whether you’re sending one message or 1,000.
And you never have to fight against noisy inboxes or social media algorithms to get your message read.
And for those who’d rather not worry…
Text marketing lets you contact customers when they want to be contacted, even when you’re not around to send the message.
With Text Marketer automations you can write a text once and set it to reply whenever someone signs up, makes a purchase or needs a reminder.
You can also schedule messages to send at a specific time (e.g., when your offer goes live) or drip-feed them in small batches. It’s our way of helping you “work” while you’re busy doing your own thing.
For teams on a budget…
With Text Marketer, you only pay for the texts you send, plus any extra virtual numbers or keywords you need. Which means you get all of this for free…
Message Box Bulk SMS Editor, SMS Templates, Message Scheduling, Message Personalisation Fields, Opt-Out Templates, SMS Shortcode to receive replies, SMS Reply Number also to receive replies, Custom Contact Groups, Delivery Reporting, Email to SMS, SMS Link Shortener, SMS Landing Pages, Multiple User Accounts, Text Marketer API, Unlimited Tech Support.
Annnd breathe.
There are no contracts or hidden fees, and nasty surprises are banned as a rule. So SMS marketing works with your budget, whether you’re starting out or scaling up.
And customers they want to build trust with…
SMS Marketing is accessible to every mobile phone with a working SIM card.
So, you can message customers even if their favourite game is Snake and the most advanced feature on their device is FM radio.
Plus, with Text Marketer you can use a shortcode or virtual number to collect replies and turn marketing into a conversation.
Start your first SMS marketing campaign for free
Pay the UK’s lowest bulk SMS rates forever.*
No contract. No sign up or set up fees. *If you see a lower rate, we’ll match it.
There’s an SMS for that
You can use SMS marketing in all kinds of ways to engage customers and keep them coming back. Here’s a little taste of what you can send.
– Season’s greetings
Increase loyalty by letting customers know you’re thinking of them during the holidays, from Christmas to Eid to Diwali to International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
– A timely reminder
Keep customers in the know with updates on things like opening hours, orders, upcoming appointments, scheduled payments and customer service announcements.
– A small favour
Make your customers feel valued and improve your service with multiple-choice feedback surveys and review links based on recent interactions or purchases.
– Something special
Show customers they’re more than a number with personalised offers for special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries, or as a thank you for their loyalty.
– Something unmissable
Create excitement and urgency with timely messages for your big sale, promotion, upsell, event or competition.
– Something worth returning for
Reduce cart abandonment and tempt shoppers back by reminding them what they’ve left in their basket, with an offer to sweeten the deal.
– A helping hand
Build trust with security updates, password information, verification codes, tech support and opt-out messages that assure customers the important stuff is taken care of.
Don’t just take our word for it…
Papa Johns
“I would never have predicted such a high redemption rate. My weekly takings are up and I am now looking for more delivery drivers.”
Mainline Menswear
“Text Marketer contributed to a 27% rise in overall traffic, a 45% rise in direct traffic and a massive 93% rise in mobile traffic.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is SMS marketing so effective?
The average open rate for SMS is 98%. That’s about 3x higher than email. Just saying.
It also has an average click-through rate of 10.66%. That’s about 4x higher than email.
But enough email bashing. Here’s what makes SMS effective:
- Simplicity. Text messages are short and easy to read. They’re not bloated by videos and other media that make them inaccessible to non-smartphones.
- Familiarity. Every mobile phone can send and receive texts. SMS is how we engage with friends and family. A well-written text is more intimate than a social media post or email and less likely to be ignored.
- Speed. A text takes seconds to send and seconds to read. This helps give it a response rate that’s 5x higher than email. Sorry email.
Is SMS marketing the same as bulk SMS?
SMS marketing is the practice of sending marketing messages to customers via SMS. You’ll also see it called text marketing.
Bulk SMS is a way to do SMS marketing. With bulk SMS, you can send text messages to multiple customers at the same time.
If you’re running an SMS marketing campaign for more than one customer, you’ll use a bulk SMS platform to do it. Your fingers and thumbs will thank you for it.
Can I run SMS marketing campaigns on my phone?
You sure can. Text Marketer is browser-based. So you can set up and manage SMS marketing campaigns on any device with an internet connection, from anywhere in the world.
Is SMS marketing illegal?
No. SMS marketing is perfectly legal in the UK. But there are certain rules you need to follow:
- You must get consent from a customer before sending them a message
- When collecting consent you need to include links to your Privacy Policy and Terms of Service
- You must make it easy for customers to opt-out and promptly process requests
- You must share your identity in text messages so customers know it’s you
- You can’t send messages after 8:00 pm or before 9:00 am
What is SMS vs. WhatsApp marketing?
SMS marketing and WhatsApp marketing are both messaging strategies, with similar features and benefits.
WhatsApp is well suited for sending videos and documents, and offers an unlimited character limit, compared to the 160-character limit for SMS.
But not everyone uses it and delivering messages requires an internet connection, which can slow delivery.
SMS, on the other hand, is a feature on every mobile phone with a working SIM card, making it more accessible. It’s also built for speed, with instant delivery regardless of online access or data limits.
We’re biased, of course, but if you want to spread your message to more people faster, SMS marketing is where it’s at.
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