Ez Guide: The Best Way To Build Your Opt-In SMS Marketing List

Once you've opened your Ez Texting account the first thing you want to do is build your contact list.

In less than ten minutes you'll learn the best ways to build up your list. Just as important as building your list, you'll want to make sure people don't opt-out - so we've collected some common mistakes you should avoid at all costs.

Introductory Note

Learn how to build a list of customers to text to. We’ll provide you with several examples of what has worked best in the past for our clients, as well as go through pitfalls and common mistakes so you can avoid making them yourself. Each example and idea will have to be tailored to what industry your business is in, but you’ll still have a wealth of knowledge to get going on building your subscriber list!

Ideas For Increasing Your Contact List:

Signage: Whether you are hosting a special event, lecture, conference, or trade show, you can gain subscribers by having on-site signage requesting attendees to text in a keyword to receive special offers, basic information, or alerts. Even real estate agencies are using signage to quickly disperse information about property listings to househunters.

In-store signage examples: Best for restaurants, retail stores, salons, and gyms. For example, if you are a skiing apparel store and you are looking to create a buzz about new merchandise that is arriving to the store, you would have an in-store sign instructing customers to text in to receive a special discount or offer.
Radio: If you are advertising on the radio, leverage that airtime by adding a texting call-to-action, instructing listeners to text your keyword to your short code for more information or a special offer. If you operate a radio station, streamline song requests by having them text their requests by using your keyword and short code.
Outdoor: Billboards have a huge reach and are a great way to increase brand exposure. Adding a text messaging call-to-action can do even more - instruct people to text in to be entered for a chance to win a contest or simply to receive more information.
Social media integration: The popularity of Facebook and Twitter presents a great opportunity for businesses to leverage their SMS efforts. Web widgets are extremely effective in building subscribers. Do you have a lot of Twitter followers or Facebook fans? Encourage them to text your keyword to your short code to opt into your contact list. Or better yet, use a Facebook widget to have people opt-in directly from their computer!
Web/Email: Whether you are asking people to text in your keyword or using a signup widget, leverage the power of the Internet to increase your contact lists! Emails are another great way to communicate with your current and potential customers. For example, if you are a marketing director at a magazine and you have an email database that you send daily news stories to, you could give your readers the opportunity to opt into your text messaging alerts to receive a discounted subscription or to receive news stories via directly to their phones.
Newsletters: If you are sending out paper newsletters you can instruct people to text in your keyword to receive news or other pertinent information from your company or organization.
Sweepstakes/Contests: Giving your customers the opportunity to be entered into a contest is a great way to build customer loyalty. First speak with your legal counsel to make sure you comply with state and local laws.

Guidelines To Follow When Building Your List:

The four most important elements to include in any promotion are information about opting out, receiving help, data message rates and frequency of messages your contacts should expect to receive from your company.

You must include instructions on how users can opt-out by texting STOP to your short code to unsubscribe at any time. Ex: Reply STOP to opt-out.
Users must know how to receive help by texting HELP to your short code. Ex: For help reply HELP.
Carriers require that you notify consumers of the cost of the service. If you are running a standard rate campaign, any call-to-action and opt-in confirmation messages should include the phrase “message and data rates may apply.” Ex: Msg&data rates may apply.
Finally, tell your users how often they will receive messages from your organization. Ex: You will receive no more than 4 msgs/month.

Additionally, wireless carriers have a number of regulations set forth by the MMA: The most updated best practices can be viewed and downloaded here: www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf.

Other List Building Tips:

Positioning: Thinking about how, when, where and why to communicate with a potential group of customers or group members is very important. We suggest keeping in mind a number of things as you build your list and expand your marketing efforts. One of the most effective tactics is to always offer some sort of incentive for subscribing. Whether this is a one-time coupon, discount on a product or service or just a special offer, you want to give your customers a reason to text in. Another method is to position your SMS program as an exclusive program that gives people access to something they could not receive otherwise. If customers think they are getting something special they will be much more likely to subscribe.

Phrasing: Language and vernacular are equally important when conveying a clear and concise message to a large number of people. Nothing is more important than how you phrase your call-to-action. Too often we’ve seen campaigns with low response rates due to poorly phrased opt-in instructions on a print or television advertisement. Ultimately, you want to keep the call-to-action simple: Text {KEYWORD} to {Short Code} for XYZ.

Here are a couple of good examples:

Text LEARN to 59258 for more information on how University of Phoenix can cut your MBA time in half!

Text STEAL to 83624 for an instant 50% discount off your purchase today!

If you have the space, it is also helpful to show an iPhone image showing people what to text in to reduce confusion.

Integration: We cannot stress the importance of integrating your SMS marketing promotion into all of your marketing campaigns. Soon enough, every company will publicize their mobile keyword. So in the same way you have your company’s phone number and website on all advertisement and marketing pieces, start to include your text messaging call-to-actions on these pieces so customers get used to seeing and responding to them.

In general, remember that building a list is a process and takes time. The higher the level of interactivity is with your clients, the better relationships you form, and the more likely your clients are to take advantage of your offers as they become more comfortable with this mode of communication.

Want to learn more? Contact us now.