Have you been thinking about how to increase your SMS marketing list? well, the truth is that everything good in life takes time
So also building an organic SMS marketing list from the ground up takes time and hard work.
Many marketers bypass this process and buy text lists, only to find unengaged (and now disgruntled) recipients. For the record, purchasing a list is a big no-no.
There are no shortcuts to growing your SMS marketing list
Your list is the lifeblood of your SMS marketing channel. Without a high-quality homegrown list, it doesn’t matter how good your offers are or how clever your copy is—your texts won’t convert.
If you want to grow your SMS list, you’ll need to put in the effort. The good news is that in this article, you’ll discover a few strategies to help accelerate your way to success.
But before we delve into the strategies, let’s answer two important questions. Does SMS marketing works and why should you grow your SMS marketing list?
Does SMS marketing work?
Online marketing channels are on the rise, and choosing the most profitable channel to use to promote your business has become more difficult.
Traditional platforms such as TV and print remain highly expensive and make it hard for small businesses to use.
Using SMS marketing has become one of the most effective marketing channels for businesses due to its high open rates, high conversion and its ability to boost other marketing channels.
The number of mobile phone users has tripled over the past decade, with over 5 billion people using a mobile phone.
With mobile devices in hand, the effectiveness of SMS marketing is on the rise every day.
Consumers spend twice as much time on their phones as they think they are. ask yourself, how many times have you checked your mobile phone today? You can’t count, right?
Now that you know that SMS marketing works, let us answer the second question
Why Should You Grow Your SMS Marketing List?
SMS is a very powerful marketing channel because it allows for business to consumer interactions.
Anyone with a phone has texting capabilities, what this means is that all phones in the world are ready to receive this form of communication.
That’s more than the number of active social media users or people with an email address.
Below are a few reasons why you should grow your email marketing list.
1 The list is yours forever:
as an email list, SMS is an owned channel, not a borrowed channel.
Your account can be blocked on Twitter, and Facebook and Google can decide to change up their algorithms overnight, effectively destroying your reach or organic traffic.
However, once you’ve built an engaged SMS list, no algorithm change or social media platform can delete your list.
2 SMS has a high open-rate:
Text messages have nearly a 98% open rate. If you want to ensure a customer sees your message, SMS is the way to go.
3 Sending unsolicited marketing text messages is illegal:
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits brands from sending marketing text messages to consumers without consent. You need the customer’s permission first.
How to Increase Your SMS Marketing List
1. Offer exclusive SMS deals and discounts
Give your SMS subscribers deals they can’t find anywhere else not even on your website or even your email list. You could use this for a one-off holiday promotion or do it ongoing.
For example, you may run a holiday campaign offering free shipping to all SMS subscribers.
Keep these deals tied to specific channels to encourage your customers to subscribe to all of them.
2. Add a sign-up form to your website
Let all your website visitors know how to join your SMS list. Experiment with embedding a sign-up form in blog posts or even directly on your homepage.
Consider sending your new subscribers free content, such as a brand-related guide or checklist. This might be all your subscribers need to enter their phone numbers.
You can also try adding an SMS sign-up form to your footer, sidebar, or nonintrusive website pop-ups.
Measure each sign-up form’s success to see where you’re getting the most conversions—remove forms that don’t perform well.
3. Convert your existing email subscribers
Let your email subscribers know that they can receive SMS marketing messages, too. Offer a different value proposition to your email list to encourage them to sign up for both.
For example, your email marketing list might receive holiday discounts, while your SMS list receives last-minute surprise deals.
This will entice customers who want to purchase your products at the lowest price to sign up for both lists.
4. Provide checkout bonuses
Offer an in-person (or online) checkout bonus for customers who subscribe to your SMS list. Consider offering a 10% discount or gift item in exchange for their phone number.
Doing this at checkout helps your customers see an instant benefit.
Yes, 10% off coupon codes can be enticing, too, but not quite as effective as a customer seeing a 50% discount before they swipe their credit card.
5. Require SMS numbers for contest entrance
Build your SMS list at conferences and industry events with a contest. Tell your audience to text a keyword (such as “Join” or “Enter”) to a shortcode to be eligible to win prizes or discounts.
6. Entice your social media following to subscribe
Ask your social media followers to subscribe to your SMS list.
These followers have already chosen to like and follow your brand—an SMS channel might be the icing on the cake for them.
You could promote your SMS list on typical feed posts or your stories.
If you’re engaged on social media, you could even do it during a live stream.
Consider adding your SMS shortcode (and enticing offer) to your company description or bio to serve as an evergreen promotion.
7 Use Business Cards and Flyers
If you use business cards or in-store flyers, then you should encourage your customers and clients to stay informed by signing up for your SMS notifications. If you use flyers to showcase your discounts then you can encourage customers to sign up to your SMS marketing list to receive further discounts
8 Presentation
If you frequently give presentations at events, then you can use this as a unique way to build your SMS marketing list.
Once you have finished your speech, you can include a slide that includes a keyword and shortcode that your audience can text to receive the slides.
Then, once you send the slides, you can ask the receipt if they want to remain opted in to receive valuable content from you.
9 Provide an opt-out
Let your customers know how to stop receiving your messages. For instance, you might let them text “STOP” to remove themselves from your list.
If a subscriber can’t get off your list, they might block your number instead, and that can hurt your SMS deliverability in the long run.
10 Send messages at the right time:
You have to respect your subscriber’s time. Don’t send marketing messages at 1 a.m or 2 a.m.
There you have it, ten ways to increase your SMS marketing list. If you implement all the strategies shared you’ll see a significant increase on your SMS marketing list
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