What are the best practices for sending text promotions?

The best practices are similar to what you'd expect for regular text messages. Make sure to send your promotional message at the optimal time of day, and include all of the relevant information that your subscribers will need to redeem your offer. Every text you send should provide something of value to your subscribers, otherwise you risk them opting out.

Are promotional text messages legal?

Yes! As long as you follow the guidelines laid out by the TCPA and receive consent from the people on your SMS list, then you shouldn't have any issues with sending promotional text messages.

Is it expensive to send text promotions?

Depending on what you include in your message — like GIFs or MMS — a text promotion may use more characters than a regular text, but it's still one of the most affordable ways to market to your customers. Most SMS providers will offer tiered plans, often starting around $30 a month for the basics.

What number will I use to send promotional messages?

You have a few options when choosing your number, and each has its own benefits with regards to speed and price. You can select RCS messaging (best for brand recognition), a shortcode (a six-digit number), toll-free (an 8xx number), or 10DLC (a local number).

Are there any limits to the amount I can send?

As long as you have the type of number that's right for your needs and everyone on your list has opted in to receive your text promotions, you shouldn't have to worry about any limitations. If you're worried about the volume of messages you're sending, a shortcode is your best option. Otherwise, both toll-free and 10DLC numbers will work.

Why should I send text promotions?

Text messages are one of the most effective forms of communication — we've found that 98% of text messages are read, most within minutes of sending. If you play your cards right, text promotions give you the chance to reach your audience with an offer they can't refuse.

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Grow Your Business with Text Promotions

Send targeted promotional text messages for sales, product launches, special offers, events, and more. SlickText provides easy-to-use SMS marketing tools to help you grow fast while staying compliant.

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Reach Customers at Scale

Whether you need to reach an audience of two or two million, SlickText is the best way to send text promotions to your customers. Our unique carrier partnerships allow us to deliver your texts faster and more reliably than ever.

Maximize Engagement

Inspire your customers to take action with our suite of engagement tools. Personalize campaigns with customer names and contact data, attach a variety of media types, and watch your click rates rise.

Sharpen Your Strategy

From response rates to attribution, our analytics dashboards give you everything you need to evaluate the success of your promotions and tune them for maximum results.

Text Promotions at a Glance

Text promotions are SMS or MMS messages used to share sales, discounts, product launches, events, and other offers with opted-in customers.
Effective promotional texts include a recognizable sender, clear offer, direct call to action, and required opt-out language.
SlickText helps businesses grow their subscriber lists, target the right audiences, automate campaigns, manage SMS compliance, and track results.
Businesses must obtain the appropriate consent before sending promotional text messages.

What Are Text Promotions?

Text promotions are text messages that businesses and organizations send to customers who've opted in to receive marketing on their mobile devices. Formally known as SMS marketing, sending promotions via text message is extremely effective, as most texts are read within minutes.

Promotional texts typically provide a time-sensitive and compelling offer intended to meet short-term business goals, such as launching a new product, increasing sales during slow seasons, or reducing inventory.

An online shopper gets a text alert with a final reminder to claim a discount

How To Send Text Promotions

Sending text promotions is simple and can be done with little to no technical expertise. Our platform makes it easy for anyone to get started with text messaging.

Grow Your List

There are several methods for opting in subscribers, including website popups, QR codes, tap-to-join links, and text to join keywords. If you already have a list of subscribers who have given explicit consent to receive texts from you, you can upload that list directly into your text promotion platform.

Start Sending Promos

Once you've built your list of contacts, you can start sending text messages. Simply select which list you want to target, type out a message, include an image (optional), and press send. Your text promo will begin landing on mobile devices within seconds.

Questions to Ask When Choosing a Text Promotion Service

When it comes to selecting a text promotion service, you shouldn’t compromise on these features.

Is the service easy to use?

If you can't navigate your way around the platform, you'll end up wasting precious time and money. When picking a service for sending SMS promotions, make sure you can explore the platform before committing. Many services offer free trials so you can see if it fits your needs.

How will you deal with legal compliance?

If you don't follow the right compliance standards, you risk being fined, your number getting shut down, or worse, you could find yourself in legal trouble. The best way to avoid these disruptions is to choose an experienced SMS provider that understands compliance regulations. Ask for their best practices on legal compliance and make sure the platform includes built-in tools to help you remain above board.

What tools do they offer?

Not all SMS marketing platforms are equal. The industry runs the gamut from basic providers who allow you to type and send a message to full-featured solutions that allow you to build a complete promotional text program. A great platform will help you grow your list of contacts, increase customer engagement, understand critical performance indicators, and automate your text marketing.

Will you get help when needed?

If you run into issues with your text promotions, you'll want a support team that knows how to help. Be sure to ask about the level of support that a provider supplies, as well as who will be answering your questions. Will you be able to talk to them over the phone? An email exchange? Or a live chat bot? Ideally, you'll be able to talk to a real, knowledgeable person who knows the platform inside and out.

Will your messages get delivered reliably?

You might assume that all promotional text services deliver your messages with the same speed and reliability. In reality, some don't have a strong enough infrastructure to handle sending mass text messages at scale. If you're only sending messages to smaller groups, this shouldn't be a concern. But if you're regularly sending large text blasts, deliverability is critical.

What are the pricing structures?

Most SMS providers operate on a tiered system, with a certain number of texts available at different price ranges. The majority of your options will have competitive prices, but be wary of services with unusually low costs, as they may lack the functionality, deliverability, and level of support you'll need.

Be sure to ask about additional fees. Not all providers are upfront about their pricing, and some SMS providers pass along fees from the telecom carriers that may not be apparent in their listed price.

SlickText's SMS Promotion Features

We’re the most popular SMS marketing service on G2. We've worked hard to develop a text messaging platform that caters to businesses of all sizes and provides the necessary tools to maximize results.

A Variety of Opt-In Methods

You should always be looking for ways to grow your subscriber list, and different enrollment methods can go a long way in generating new signups. With SlickText, you can generate unique QR codes, design website popups, create custom opt-in forms, post tap-to-join links, or use text-to-join keywords. You can also upload a list of previously opted-in contacts.

Subscriber Engagement Tools

SlickText makes it easy to engage your customers with relevant, personalized promos that inspire action and build loyalty. You can add names and other contact data, images, emojis, and direct links to each text promotion to stay connected with your audience in meaningful ways.

Two-Way Communication

Make customers feel heard and collect valuable feedback related to your product or service. Our shared inbox enables your team to respond to individual customers in private, one-on-one conversations.

Click Tracking and Analytics

Understanding the performance of a text message promotion allows you to make adjustments that can greatly improve the effectiveness of your program. With our click tracking and attribution, you can monitor subscriber behavior and precisely target based on that data.

SMS Automations

Whether you’re scheduling your text promotions for a future date, setting up a recurring text reminder, or assigning incoming messages to your support team, automation can make your busy life easier.

Segmentation

Segmentation helps you tailor the right message for the right audience. Based on demographic or behavioral data about your subscribers (age, location, last order date, link clicks, etc.), you can target a unique subset of your subscribers with a personalized text message promotion.

Text Promotions and Compliance

Sending text promotions is perfectly legal, but there are certain rules and regulations you'll need to follow to stay above board. In the United States, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the federal law that requires you to gain express written consent from subscribers before sending them marketing messages. This is a critical part of any text marketing program, and the software you choose to send broadcast text messages should be able to help you remain in compliance with the TCPA.

In Canada, commercial text messages are regulated by Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). CASL generally requires businesses to obtain consent, clearly identify themselves, and include an easy way to unsubscribe.

In addition to the TCPA and the CASL, the telecommunications industry further regulates text promotions through the CTIA. The CTIA clarifies what constitutes a successful opt-in to receive messages, sets content restrictions, and works with service providers to prevent spam and fraud in text communications. The cellular carriers themselves individually set rules for using their networks. A good SMS marketing service provider must be able to navigate the CTIA and telecommunications landscape on your behalf to help you ensure that you have a compliant sending number and program.

Example of SlickText opt-out intelligence that unsubscribes a contact based on chat sentiment

Common Questions Regarding Text Promotions

What are the best practices for sending text promotions?: The best practices are similar to what you'd expect for regular text messages. Make sure to send your promotional message at the optimal time of day, and include all of the relevant information that your subscribers will need to redeem your offer. Every text you send should provide something of value to your subscribers, otherwise you risk them opting out.

Is it expensive to send text promotions?: Depending on what you include in your message — like GIFs or MMS — a text promotion may use more characters than a regular text, but it's still one of the most affordable ways to market to your customers. Most SMS providers will offer tiered plans, often starting around $30 a month for the basics.

Are there any limits to the amount I can send?: As long as you have the type of number that's right for your needs and everyone on your list has opted in to receive your text promotions, you shouldn't have to worry about any limitations. If you're worried about the volume of messages you're sending, a shortcode is your best option. Otherwise, both toll-free and 10DLC numbers will work.

Are there limits to how much I can send?: If you're using a mass texting service to send your messages, there shouldn't be much limitation on how many texts you can send especially if you're using a short code. Consult your service and ask them about any other constraints you may not be aware of.

Are promotional text messages legal?: Yes! As long as you follow the guidelines laid out by the TCPA and receive consent from the people on your SMS list, then you shouldn't have any issues with sending promotional text messages.

What number will I use to send promotional messages?: You have a few options when choosing your number, and each has its own benefits with regards to speed and price. You can select RCS messaging (best for brand recognition), a shortcode (a six-digit number), toll-free (an 8xx number), or 10DLC (a local number).

Why should I send text promotions?: Text messages are one of the most effective forms of communication — we've found that 98% of text messages are read, most within minutes of sending. If you play your cards right, text promotions give you the chance to reach your audience with an offer they can't refuse.

What types of numbers can I use?: There are typically 3 different types of sending numbers available when using a mass texting service. There are short codes, toll-free numbers and 10DLC numbers. Each has their pros and cons depending on your messaging goals.

WHY CHOOSE US

Why You Should Choose SlickText for Your Text Promotions

Fast & Friendly Support

Our customer service is the best in the business, and we'd happily stake our reputation on that. From one-on-one onboarding sessions to responsive technical support and strategic marketing sessions, our team will make sure you know how to get the most out of the platform.

All-in-One Platform

Loaded with easy-to-use features and in-depth analytics, you'll have everything you need to send successful text promotions. Personalize your messages with unique customer information, seamlessly segment your audience, and attach media that surges engagement, all with built-in compliance tools and reliable deliverability.

7,000+ App Integrations

Our platform supports 16+ native integrations, including Shopify, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, Meta, and Kit. Plus, you can connect thousands more apps through Zapier and Make.

Boundless Automation

Work less and achieve more with automated workflows. Automate virtually anything through our drag-and-drop workflow builder, create autoresponders, set up recurring messages, and schedule campaigns months in advance. Our simple setup means there's no coding required.

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