SMS - text messaging is a great way to engage people - text messages get read quickly, and people respond fast, which is not surprising when you realize that 6 billion text messages 💬 are sent per day in the US alone.
But how do you build up your mobile - SMS marketing subscriber list? 🤔 Here are a few different tactics to collect opt-ins for your SMS marketing campaigns. Continue reading to learn more about text marketing.
Top 3 ways how to collect opt-ins for SMS text message marketing:
Have your customers text you - list your Pony Express HQ number publicly and have them send a text to you to opt-in for your text message marketing.
Install the Pony Express HQ web widget on your website! It is an embeddable form to automatically collect users' full names and phone numbers on your website. You can copy & paste the basic HTML and CSS code and further customize the form according to your website's design. Web widget subscribes users to the group you selected.
Go old school; ask and collect phone numbers in-store with a pen and paper from your customers. 📝 Please make sure you are clear that you will send SMS marketing messages to them.
When asking for SMS marketing opt-ins to potential subscribers, be sure to: 💡
Remind them who you are! Especially with your first message to anyone. (If this is your first contact or if they didn’t save your number)
Clearly explain the incentive for opting in. 🗣
Define the frequency at which you will contact them.
Be respectful. ✅ This is their personal phone number. Treat this privilege with care, and inform them about your mass text messaging schedule (9 am - 9 pm).
Following these best practices is quite important to avoid high opt-out rates.
If you have customer opt-ins already and want to ask them to subscribe to your specific text list, here are a few text message examples of how you can text customers to get their opt-in:
“Join the club! 🙌 Text YES to sign up for the Pizza 🍕 Pony Express mobile text messaging 💬 list for weekly promos on delicious pies. - Reply STOP to opt out.”
“Respond VIP to join the mobile text club of the Wild West Cinema and Theater. 🎬 As a VIP member, you’ll get early access to shows and events. 🎟 You'll also receive occasional text messages about the latest premieres and debuts. - Reply STOP to opt out.”
“This is Bill’s Saloon. 👨🏻 Text DAILY to get daily updates or WEEKLY to get weekly updates on our events and happenings. - Reply STOP to opt out.”
There's huge potential for SMS marketing. In a survey, only 54% of people said they opted-in to receive SMS text messages from a brand. Of those people, 91% of users said they found the text messages to be useful.
💡 Discover more about the power of SMS marketing by reading our article on Top 13 SMS marketing statistics.
Do you want to know the 6 reasons why people opt-in to receive SMS text marketing messages? See the details in our previous blog post and learn deeper about why people opt-in to receive text messages: https://www.getponyexpress.com/post/2018/04/10/sms-marketing-the-top-6-reasons-people-opt-in-to-branded-text-messages
📍 Don’t forget to allow customers a way to opt-out of mobile text messaging at any time - it’s the law. 🙅
No worries, though; Pony Express HQ helps you be compliant - when you text from our best text marketing dashboard, the first message you send to people automatically includes instructions on how to unsubscribe by texting “STOP.”
For more details about how to opt-out from text message campaigns, you can read our blog post.
Ready to start texting? Sign in now and get 100 free text message credits.🎉
Happy texting!✨
Pony Express HQ
www.getponyexpress.com
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