When you compare it to email marketing, direct mail and many other forms of marketing, text message marketing has one big advantage — it’s instant.

Text message marketing is a fantastic way to get instant traffic to your online store and drive sales. The question is, how do you best take advantage of it in your e-commerce marketing strategy? Here are a few things you can do to get it right.

9 text message marketing tips for online stores

#1. Choose the right text message marketing software

First off, make sure to get set up with text message marketing software that’s easy to use. You can’t do text message marketing without a tool, and you can’t do it effectively without the right tool.

Look for software that’s easy to use, that will allow your customers to opt-in with their phone and add them into automated campaigns. Create campaigns to send one-off text messages to your followers. Schedule different text messages on certain holidays or on people’s birthdays.

#2. Understand the difference between email and text message marketing

We often hear from e-commerce businesses that they don’t really need to do text message marketing because they’re already doing email marketing. But, it’s important to understand that while these two may be different sides of the same coin, they’re not the same.

Email marketing is great but the one downside is that it isn’t as real-time as text message marketing is. The way it typically goes is that you’ll send lots of emails. Some people will open them right away, and others will open them tomorrow, the next day or not at all.

In fact, email open rates are generally 20% or less. Essentially, 80% of the people that you’re emailing are never even looking at your emails. But with text message marketing, everybody you send it to will see your message.

Not only do people open text messages, but they also do so in real-time. The key to using text message marketing effectively is learning to take advantage of that real-time connection without abusing it.

Make sure that you’re only texting high-value content, like VIP deals, great coupons, important news information — valuable stuff. Also, don’t text people very often. Once a month is ideal, unless you specifically have a program where they’re opting in to receive daily or weekly updates.

To grow your text message marketing recipient list, you need people to opt-in. And, if you overload them with texts all the time, people are going to start opting out. To grow your list over time, make sure that you’re sending very valuable content that people want and refraining from overloading them with texts.

#3. Build your subscriber list

Before you can send text messages, you need subscribers. To build your recipient list, you really need to spread the word about your text message program and how people can opt-in.

Promote it on posts on social media, and ask people to opt-in. Put the information on your website. Send it in emails. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, put a sign by your cash register.

Make it visible anywhere and everywhere your customers may see it, and once people have opted in, keep them happy by sending them offers and other content they actually want.

#4. Use the right call to action (CTA)

One effective way to grow your subscriber list is to put a CTA or a banner on your website (your cart page is a good place for this), directing your customers to text you a code to a specific number to receive VIP deals, an immediate discount or an instant coupon.

These kinds of offers really work, because when people see them, they’re like, “Oh wow. I can get an instant coupon right now before I check out. That’s a no-brainer.”

It’s a win-win that motivates them to go ahead and check out, and lessens the risk that they’ll abandon the cart. When they opt-in, you have them on your list, and you can send them great deals in the future to get them back in the door.

#5. Send happy birthday texts

Birthdays are a great opportunity to send some love to your customers via text, and it’s a fantastic way to differentiate yourself from your competition and show that you care.

Store your customers’ birthdays in the database, and build automated campaigns to send happy birthday texts to your customers, as well as curated offers and special birthday deals.

People like to feel special on their birthday, and with automated birthday campaigns, you can celebrate your customers’ birthdays without having to devote a lot of your time or energy. Plus, it’s an effective way to stay connected and drive sales.

#6. Build holiday-centered campaigns

When building campaigns in your text message marketing software, make sure that you keep the holidays in mind.

Almost every month has a main holiday. An easy way to get started with text message marketing is to build out messages for specific holidays and schedule out on those holidays, or send lead-up messages for upcoming holiday sales and deals.

Send out content that’s going to make them feel valued but that will also provide them with value, like a gift card or a coupon. That’s a powerful way to get in front of your customer base each month and get more sales.

#7. Use SMS marketing to move excess inventory

If your online store is like most, every so often, you have excess inventory on your hands that you just can’t seem to sell. SMS is a great option for preventing difficult-to-move inventory from clogging your shelves.

Think about offering deep-discount promotions on your excess inventory via text message. You may not sell your excess inventory for as much as you would have, but some revenue is always better than none.

Offering deals on excess inventory through text messages is a great way to drive additional sales while also clearing out your excess inventory.

#8. Ask for referrals and reviews

Not only is text message marketing the ideal channel for staying connected with your customers and driving sales, but it’s also the perfect option for generating referrals and reviews.

A few days after a customer has made a purchase, send them a friendly text asking if they are satisfied and requesting feedback. You can also ask them to refer your products to friends and family if they are happy with them.

Online consumers want to read product reviews before they make their final purchase decision. Text message marketing is a powerful tool for getting the reviews that you need to build trust and make sales.

#9. Keep your texts short and sweet

No one wants to read a novel of a text message. And in general, the longer your text message is, the more likely your recipients are not to actually read it.

Keep your text message short, sweet and to the point so that you don’t lose your readers. And, as always, only send your readers texts that add value.

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