SMS Marketing Guide: Tips, Examples and Apps (2024) - Shopify

SMS marketing is one of the most effective ways to communicate with customers, boasting high engagement and conversion rates. It’s also more cost-efficient and personal than many other marketing channels, nurturing stronger customer relationships without draining your budget.

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This blog post will guide you through the basics of SMS marketing, with some best practices and examples to help you build an effective SMS marketing program.

What is SMS marketing?

Short message service (SMS) marketing uses text messages to build relationships with customers and communicate promotional information. The goals of SMS marketing include generating leads, persuading recipients to click a link, and sharing information about a customer’s order or profile.

SMS marketing messages often contain copywriting, emojis, eye-catching images, links, and other easy options for making a purchase. They are typically sent to large lists of subscribers. Since SMS messages are received directly on mobile phones, they have a nearly instant open rate, with most messages read within minutes of delivery.

How SMS marketing works

Strategically, and SMS marketing are similar. The goal of SMS marketing, like marketing, is to sell, educate, or build loyalty. SMS is an owned marketing channel—the sender fully controls the list of numbers and distribution—and businesses can send one-to-one or one-to-many messages, depending on their goals.

Just like marketing, you should ensure you’re capturing consent from customers before sending a marketing message via SMS.

Shopify makes it easy to collect SMS consent during checkout. To turn this feature on, follow these steps.

Once you get permission from a subscriber, you can set up automated text messages triggered by customer actions, such as order confirmations or shipping updates. 

Or, you can send mass texting campaigns to hundreds of customers at once for:

• New product announcements 
• Special offers like limited-time sales and free shipping
• Subscriber-exclusive offers 
• Flash sales
• Text-to-win competitions
• Loyalty programs
• Product drop alerts

SMS marketing requires a shortcode, the SMS equivalent of a company address. A shortcode is an abbreviated, easy-to-remember number of five or six digits.

To opt into receiving your SMS messages, buyers text a keyword (like HOTSAUCE) to this shortcode. Because subscribing to SMS messages requires this deliberate act, it’s a good way to build a high-intent subscriber list with few bogus numbers: 

Before you start sending promotional messages in a mobile marketing campaign, you’ll need to build a list of numbers with opt-in consent to send. 

Typically, this list is gathered from prospects and customers, so if you aren’t generating traffic to your website, it may be too early to consider SMS marketing. First, invest your time in building a contact list.

Here’s an example of how athleisure brand Alo Yoga builds its SMS subscriber list, by offering new website visitors a discount:

SMS marketing works well during peak shopping seasons when spam is high, paid advertising is expensive, and consumer attention is strained. It’s also a great way to automate your customer communications. Write a text and set up a trigger, then let your marketing tool send out texts at the perfect moment.

Best SMS marketing software

For Shopify store owners, getting started with SMS marketing is simple, thanks to a range of purpose-built apps. All SMS marketing platforms available on the Shopify App Store have built-in compliance features. Many also have templates for common scenarios like order updates, plus integrations for all your business tools. 

Here are four popular SMS marketing services:

• Postscript. Use Postscript to build automated and personalized mass SMS messages. Pricing varies by usage. 
• Klaviyo. Send SMS texts to audience segments with Klaviyo’s triggers that use historical and real-time data.
• Attentive.Big brands with hundreds of thousands of subscribers use Attentive, including Sephora, Coach, and Williams-Sonoma.
• Yotpo. With pay-as-you-go pricing, Yotpo is a popular SMS marketing app.

Reach out with a text

Most customers prefer to communicate with you through SMS.

Browse SMS apps

9 examples of good SMS marketing messages

There are many use cases for SMS marketing, from flash sales and special offers to customer feedback and product drop alerts. Here are some examples to inspire your SMS marketing strategy. 

1. The flash sale message

A short and snappy SMS is a great way to promote one-off flash sales or major promotions. Because you’re communicating with voluntary subscribers, there’s a good chance that most recipients will be responsive.

Line breaks, emojis, and product images make sure the promotion can be easily understood.

2. The hype-up text

Don’t launch a flash sale without some hype. A couple of promotional text messages, sent a few days before the event, can help with conversion. Many people like to think about their purchases ahead of time, so it’s wise to give your favorite customers a heads-up before your sale goes live.

3. The feedback message

SMS is an appropriate format for conversational commerce, making it an effective way to increase interactions with customers.

For example, when developing new product ideas, you could send an SMS to customers asking their opinion. If they reply, there’s an opportunity for a valuable 1:1 discussion that brings them behind the scenes and makes them more likely to make a purchase.

4. The back-in-stock message

This message informs customers about the availability of sold-out inventory. It’s a gentle yet effective way to re-engage past visitors. Encourage engagement by combining it with a free shipping offer or option to pre-order a product. Transactional messages are impactful and simple to automate. 

5. The giveaway message

If you want to get more leads from your SMS marketing efforts, host a text-to-win giveaway or contest. These types of marketing strategies expand your customer base with minimal effort on your part.

Some studies suggest that up to 46% of contestants will share contests without any extra incentive, but you can increase organic sharing of your giveaway by offering a reward, such as additional entries.

You can set up a giveaway quickly across your current marketing channels. Just add your shortcode to any of the following:

• Ads (print and digital)
• Social media accounts
• Product packages
• Webinars
• Blogs or feature articles
• Landing pages on your website
• In-store signage 

When a user signs up for your giveaway, they automatically become a subscriber whom you can reach with future SMS campaigns.

6. The BFCM message

Schedule messages around popular shopping dates and events, such as Black Friday shopping season. Time-sensitive SMS marketing campaigns jump on the excitement surrounding an event and encourage recipients to act fast before the sale is over.

7. The welcome message

Whenever someone signs up for your list, you can send them a series of welcome messages. Use short, concise language to tell them about your products, provide links to further content or popular products, and give them a coupon.

Access to discounts and coupons rank among the most common reasons to sign up for marketing text messages. Data suggests that a 10% discount is a sufficient incentive to capture most subscribers.

8. The abandoned cart message

An abandoned cart SMS is sent to people who added products to their cart but did not complete the purchase.

You can use SMS or to follow up with abandoners and encourage sales. However, since people are more likely to see an SMS push notification than notice an in a crowded inbox, abandoned cart SMS messages may lead to better results. 

9. The cross/upsell message

Strategic upselling and cross-selling can improve your average order value and customer lifetime value. It involves sending recommendations to customers based on their past purchases, a common tactic in marketing you can replicate through texts.

SMS marketing best practices

Get permission

If a prospect or customer doesn’t give you consent to text them, you could face legal problems. SMS text marketing is regulated under US law and marketers must follow codes of practice enacted under the Consumer Protection Act and CAN-SPAM Act. Moreover, texting without permission feels spammy—not a good look for your company.

People often forget when they sign up for mailing lists, so make sure you keep a record of opt-in agreements. 

Make it easy to opt out

More than any other channel, SMS marketing requires buyer trust. This trust can be built by making it easy for customers to opt in and out of your SMS list. 

While accessible unsubscribe options can reduce your number of recipients, they also ensure that those who remain are genuinely interested in your offerings. This leads to a more engaged audience and, ultimately, better conversion rates.

Seek to inform, not (always) to promote

Since it’s easy to opt out of promotional SMS messages, it pays to be considerate of your buyers’ patience. Most of your messages should be informational—related to orders and noteworthy dates or events. Promotional messages should be few and far between, ideally no more than once per week.

Keep context in mind

When designing SMS marketing campaigns, resist the urge to send random messages to subscribers. Contextually relevant texts are more likely to generate clicks without draining subscribers’ goodwill.

For example, if you have a promoted event on Friday night, send a text on Friday afternoon. If you want to run a bar special, send your message at 3 or 4 p.m. on a workday. Keep it simple—you’ll avoid getting pinged as spam, and you’ll see better results.

Personalize

Many SMS marketing tools harness the data you collect about your customers to segment your SMS list and personalize messaging. Segmentation can be based on past purchases, browsing behavior, location, or even the time a customer usually shops. By segmenting your list, you can send more personalized messages that are likely to result in higher engagement and conversion rates.

If you run a clothing store and know that a group of loyal customers previously bought summer dresses, you could send them a text when your new summer collection arrives. Or, if you have a group of customers who usually shop in the evenings, you could schedule your texts containing promo codes to send when they’re likely to be browsing.

SMS marketing vs. marketing

and SMS marketing are both powerful tools in your marketing arsenal, but they serve different purposes and are effective in different scenarios.

When to use

is a versatile medium that allows for rich content, including text, images, and links. It’s ideal for sharing detailed or extensive content, such as:

• Newsletters
• Blog posts
• Product descriptions
• Brand and company updates
• Long-form marketing content

Depending on your audience’s preferences, you may want to include this content in the body for immediate consumption and mobile accessibility. For a more streamlined experience, however, use the to present an overview and include a link to the full content on your website.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of bulk sms marketing service. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Moreover, is great for nurturing leads over time. You can create a series of emails that guide a potential customer through the buying process, providing them with increasingly promotional information at each stage.

also allows for more branding and design elements than SMS, helping to reinforce your brand identity.

When to use SMS

Text messages are typically read within minutes of being received, making SMS perfect for time-sensitive communications. 

SMS is also optimal for sending short, impactful messages that require a response, such as a one-day discount code. You can also send confirmations for orders, bookings, or appointments, providing a convenient way to update customers in real time.

In addition, SMS marketing can be more personal and interactive. Customers can easily reply to your messages, creating a two-way conversation that can turn a prospect into a sales lead. While replies are possible with , it’s not standard practice and may feel less natural to your subscribers.

Both and SMS marketing have their strengths. The key is to use each channel strategically, based on your goals and your audience’s preferences.

4 benefits of SMS marketing 

1. High engagement rates

Across marketing channels, SMS has some of the most forgiving open rates and click-through rates. Since SMS marketing requires customers to opt in, your list will only include customers who wantto hear from you.

Shopify merchant Bushbalm has been using SMS marketing for years to generate engagement. Its automated series of welcome messages regularly sees click-through rates of more than 50%.

In comparison, the brand typically achieves 25% open rates with marketing emails, and only 2% click-through rates.

2. Easy to write

Anyone who’s written a mass to customers knows the painstaking effort required, whether to craft the perfect subject line or the right copy that gets people clicking. 

With such a small SMS window on mobile devices, there’s only room for a couple of lines, and perhaps an image. Design and brand elements are replaced with emojis and GIFs—simple!

3. Strengthen customer relationships

SMS marketing helps build more personal, loyal relationships with customers. Texts are inherently easier to respond to, encouraging real dialogue. Marketing SMS messages have an average response rate of 45%, which is many times higher than .

Messaging is no longer a one-way street. Your customers expect to hear back from you quickly and want the option to engage in conversation. This two-way conversation goes far beyond traditional customer service.

For instance, a simple message like ‘Did you enjoy your recent purchase? Reply YES to let us know!’ can open up a valuable dialogue.

Use a chat support app to:

• Learn more about customers to recommend relevant products
• Upsell and cross-sell to increase average order value
• Guide customers to related products if one is out of stock
• Help customers make a payment

Tip: Integrate SMS marketing with your CRM to segment audiences and send more personalized messages based on past purchases or interactions.

4. Customers prefer SMS communication

The instantaneous and personal feel of SMS marketing makes it attractive for large and small businesses—and customers. After , SMS and other types of smartphone messages are the preferred way to hear from businesses.

The right SMS marketing tools can help you reach customers and earn more sales. SMS marketing fosters higher customer engagement, with response rates far exceeding those of other communication channels.

Using text message marketing in your ecommerce store

Many online marketers steer away from SMS marketing because they assume it’s expensive and intrusive. Not so. If you apply the principles above, you’ll cut through the noise, increase your conversion rates, and improve customer loyalty in the process.

Illustration by Pete Ryan

What is bulk SMS marketing?

Bulk SMS marketing is a strategic approach to sending a high volume of text messages to customers and prospects via SMS technology. It helps you communicate with your audience via a channel encouraging immediate connection and engagement. According to a report by EZ Texting, 77% of consumers respond to text messages within fifteen minutes, and 59% respond within five minutes—significantly faster than other channels.

This immediacy is what makes text messaging marketing so powerful. However, it also means you must have a plan for following up. 66% of consumers expect a response to an SMS message within an hour. That’s why the content and links in your messages need to be reliable and secure. Providing a seamless experience from the message they receive to their end goal helps make it easier for them to convert.

When you understand how to use this channel effectively, you can foster stronger relationships with your target audience and scale your messaging strategy quickly and efficiently.

The benefits of bulk SMS marketing

Bulk SMS marketing is one of your company’s most immediately engaging communication channels. With the right bulk SMS gateway—the tool you use to facilitate sending high-volume SMS messages—you can quickly scale your SMS campaigns and streamline the process for your team.

SMS marketing messages also have a higher open rate than other marketing channels, sometimes reaching 98% per EZ Texting. SMS marketing can also have a very high ROI, with some sources stating that SMS can generate $71 per every dollar invested in the strategy. This return can be especially beneficial for small to medium-sized businesses, where every dollar counts.

Text messages are a more familiar and user-friendly channel as well. Most people in your audience will already use the channel to communicate with friends and family. That means you can have more fun and add more of your company’s personality in SMS marketing campaigns.

When you partner with a link management platform like Rebrandly, you can also use bulk SMS marketing to send out secure, branded links to build trust and strengthen your relationships. Those branded links can also boost conversion rates by 39% for your mobile marketing campaigns.

Implementing bulk SMS for your business

The easiest way to implement bulk SMS is to use a solid and reliable tool. There are many to choose from including:

• MessageBird
• VoiceSage
• TextMagic
• SendMode
• TextRepublic
• BulkSMS

Once you’ve chosen your tool, you can simply open its app or web interface, sign in and type or paste your text message and branded link in. Most interfaces will show your character length and most services also offer the option to personalize your texts with the recipients first name, last name, as well as some more advanced options.

You’ll also be able to choose who the sender appears as and which lists you want your messages to go to. Don’t forget to check out the cost of your campaign before you confirm.

6 Bulk SMS marketing tips and best practices

Bulk SMS marketing is a critical part of your marketing campaign strategy. Here are a few tips and best practices you can use to help get your first SMS campaign up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Choose a bulk SMS gateway

A successful SMS marketing campaign starts by choosing a reliable SMS marketing tool. The tool you choose will determine how easy it is to build campaigns and your ability to customize messages. There are many to choose from, including:

• Bird
• VoiceSage
• TextMagic
• SendMode
• BulkSMS

Most platforms allow you to define character lengths, personalize with relevant information, and bulk-generate SMS messages. Rebrandly’s Bird integration lets you to add dynamic, branded links directly to your SMS messages and streamline the content creation process for each campaign as well.

Once you’ve chosen a tool that integrates with your current technology stack, you should start determining what you want to achieve from your SMS marketing campaigns.

Create your bulk SMS marketing plan

At the start of the process, it is crucial to nail down the strategic goals and objectives for your bulk SMS campaigns. A clear strategy simplifies creating a high volume of SMS messages and gives your team the guidance they need to execute as efficiently as possible.

You can use mass texting for several different marketing and communications purposes:

Once you’ve determined the kind of SMS campaign messages you want to send, define the metrics you want to impact and the potential ROI. Then, outline those goals in a shared document for your team and move forward, knowing that everyone is working towards the same results.

Include branded links in your SMS messages

Every message you send as a part of your bulk SMS campaign needs to be seen as credible and reliable to both recipients and their mobile carriers. Rebrandly provides secure, branded links for your bulk SMS marketing campaigns, ensuring every message is trusted and recognizable.

Branded links also help reinforce your company’s personality and create links for any type of campaign—like using a brand.store domain, for example. A consistent experience ensures that everyone receiving these messages knows who sent them and is confident to click through.

Segment your audience

Consumers expect a certain level of personalization whenever they interact with your company. Creating that experience starts by understanding the different kinds of people that make up your audience and their specific needs. And it can significantly increase conversion rates when you do.

Personalized campaigns are highly effective at conversions, boost engagement, and encourage better customer relationships.

Use your marketing and demographic data to build customer personas and profiles, which you can turn into target audiences. With a link management platform like Rebrandly, you can create links that dynamically route traffic based on characteristics such as location, language, device type, and more. Dynamic traffic routing helps you serve audience content tailored to their native language and specific to their needs. 

You can also use digital analytics platforms like Amplitude or Clearbit to enrich each SMS message with details such as name, account number, etc. And create messages that speak directly to the individuals in your audience.

Determine the best time to send your SMS campaigns

Timing matters. If your audience isn’t ready to engage with a message as soon as they receive it, you’ll miss out on conversion and the potential to build a stronger relationship. Segmenting your audience is the first step towards sending text messages at the right time; then, you can designate the time zone based on their location and schedule texts at precisely the right time.

This time-specific experience is especially important when you have a sale or promotion that only lasts for a specific time. That’s where link expiration with Rebrandly can help. This feature lets you automatically create links that expire after the promotion ends, increasing your audience’s urgency and spurring more clicks. Over time, you can also learn what times work best for your messages and refine the send times accordingly.

Track and monitor your results

Like other marketing campaigns, bulk SMS marketing benefits from strategic monitoring and analysis. Segmenting your audience, using Dynamic Link Routing, and adding UTM parameters to your branded links help you track precisely how effective your bulk SMS messages are at connecting with your audience.

Granular tracking parameters let you see which content, topics, and CTAs best drive customer engagement and how those messages lead to conversions. This data makes it easy to optimize your bulk SMS marketing and create more effective campaigns in the future.

Bulk SMS marketing helps you engage at scale

The high levels of engagement for SMS marketing and new features in SMS communications help you connect with a large audience.Using branded and secure links in your messages boosts this engagement even further by ensuring a seamless experience for anyone who clicks through.

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