7 Ways to Build Your SMS Marketing List
One key to success with SMS Marketing is to build your list. After all, if you’re sending out messages to a small number of customers, you can’t expect many sales. We’ll use a fictional pizza restaurant who has the keyword PIZZA as our example and show you a few ideas on how to grow your list.
- Add your group name to your receipt.
Almost all cash registers these days allow you to customize what is written on your receipt. Likely your receipt says “Thank You, Come Again”. Turn your receipt into a marketing channel! Change it to “Text PIZZA to 37373 to get coupons and deals via SMS!” - Promote it on your website.
If you already have a website, add a simple call to action on the homepage. For instance, “Text PIZZA to 37373 to get text message coupons from us!” It could sit right next to your Twitter and Facebook buttons. - Promote your SMS list in your print advertising.
If you’re already spending money promoting your business via print, you can squeeze additional effectiveness out of it by simply adding the call to action of “Text PIZZA to 37373 to get coupons and deals via SMS” in addition to your web site URL. The big difference here is that sending a text is very simple and immediate, and once they send the text, they’re subscribed. They don’t need to go to your site and find and fill out a form or anything, it’s just a quick, simple action someone can do from anywhere. - Promote your SMS list on the radio.
Radio can be a very effective way to build your list because people have their phones with them all the time. If you promote a strong offer on the radio that people can simply text in to take advantage of, your response rate can be higher than you think. - Get your customers to share!
We have several customers who are party promoters, so it’s important to them to build a large SMS list and invite people to their events. One thing they do is include the phrase “Please Forward” or “Please Forward to Friends”. Depending on your target customers, you might be able to shorten this to “Pls Fwd”, which is only 7 characters at the end of your message. Watch your offers go viral! - Promote your list in a way that’s unique to your business.
If you’re a pizza restaurant, print it on your pizza boxes. If you’re a plumber, promote your SMS list in your Yellow Pages ad or on your trucks. If you’re an insurance agent and give out free pens, print it on your pens! - Sweeten the deal.
Give customers an instant reward for signing up. If you’re a pizza restaurant, give them a free dessert. If you’re a retail shop, give them $1 off their purchase. The idea is to give them an immediate incentive so they’ll join your list.
Most of building your list is about using your existing marketing channels to get the word out. Our customers are telling us text coupons bring them twice as much business as email promotions. Start building your list today and watch your business grow!
