SMS blasts are an effective way to engage regularly with customers and drive sales. While sending personalized campaigns is crucial, text blasts give you a quicker way to send mass updates to customers or run any promotions.

SMS blasts are best for:

• Sales, promotions, and coupon distribution
• Launches and announcements
• Event notifications
• Polls and surveys
• Alerts and notifications.

In this post, we will see how you can run an effective SMS blast campaign for your eCommerce business.

1. Create a qualified SMS subscriber list

The first step to planning any SMS campaign is getting users signed up to your SMS list.

The top strategies to get users to opt-in for SMS marketing are:

1.Sign-up form: Create a website pop-up form for subscriptions.

2.Order page: Encourage customers to opt in while placing an order.

3.Social media: Promote the exclusive perks of your SMS list on social media.

4.Discounts and coupons: Offer exclusive discounts or coupons to incentivize sign-ups.

5.Early bird access: Offer early access to new products or sales to SMS subscribers.

6.Contests and giveaways: Run exclusive contests for SMS subscribers.

7.Email Footers: Add a sign-up link to your email footers. It could be your regular newsletters or order delivery emails. 

2. Segment audience

While SMS blasts are, particularly mass marketing, you can still make them a bit more personalized by segmenting your subscribers. 

Segment your SMS list based on the following factors:

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• User activity
• Purchase history
• User lifecycle, such as new users or repeat users.

This segmentation will help you send more relevant and targeted messages to subscribers.

Tip: Use an SMS marketing automation platform like Plivo CX for a simplified segmentation process. It imports subscriber data from the Shopify store and opt-in forms on your website (coming soon).

Further, it automatically divides subscribers into segments based on key attributes, such as demographics, browsing activity, online behavior, etc. 

3. Craft campaigns

The next step is to create the campaign content. Some tips for writing effective campaign messages are:

1. Keep it short: The ideal length for an SMS message is 160 characters. Target this length so the message can be delivered in a single SMS.

2. Follow trends: Take advantage of holidays/festivals and use that as a theme for content.

3. Adopt user-generated content: Share any positive customer experiences to build trust.

4. Build a sense of urgency: Create a sense of urgency by adding countdown timers.

5. Add strong visuals: Add eye-catching images and videos that grab attention and explain your campaigns quickly.

6. Use action-provoking verbs: Use words that encourage action from subscribers, such as 'Shop,' 'Sign-up,' etc.

7. Add a clear call-to-action: Keep it clear on what action you are expecting from the subscribers.

8. Add shortened URLs: Add shortened URLs to stay within the character limit.

9. Test and optimize: Test different messages to find what works best for your brand.

Tip: Use a marketing automation platform with built-in templates for different campaigns to get a starting point for various campaigns. Also, look for an in-built AI copywriting engine to generate fast, highly-tailored copy for your campaigns.  

4. Optimize time and frequency

The next most important step for an effective SMS blast strategy is to find the appropriate timing. Firstly, as per the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, you are not supposed to send SMS before 8 AM or after 9 PM. But beyond this, you still have to find out when your subscribers are most active. You can do this by analyzing past campaigns to find optimal timing.

Tip: Instead of analyzing data manually, use a marketing automation platform with AI capabilities. AI can make this process easier by analyzing historical data, spotting trends, and suggesting optimal message timing for your campaigns.

5. Diversify text blasting strategy

Another important best practice for a successful text blasting strategy is to diversify your campaigns to keep the subscribers hooked. Surprise them with different types of campaigns, such as:

• Flash sales
• Limited-time offers
• Holiday promotions
• Early product launches
• Loyalty programs.

6. Measure results

Keep analyzing campaigns to find what's working and double down on it. Testing different variations of campaigns on a smaller budget also helps. Pull reports to identify what is giving good results and optimize your SMS marketing budget. 

 Tip: Simplify your reporting process by using a marketing automation platform that automatically tracks important metrics such as open rate, click rate, converted rate, and revenue. 

7. Comply with legal regulations

Lastly, always comply with government regulations, such as TCPA and GDPR, to avoid legal penalties. Some best practices to stay compliant are:

1. Get a customer opt-in: Get explicit opt-in from customers before then sending them messages and getting flagged as spam.

2. Add option to opt-out: Add an opt-out option at the end of every message to make it easy to unsubscribe.

3. Send a message at appropriate timing: Stick to the timing suggested by TCPA and send messages only between 8 AM and 9 PM.

4. Save subscriber data diligently: Follow the local data protection standards and save data compliantly.

Tip: Choose a reputable SMS provider that complies with all the relevant regulations.

Run effective campaigns with Plivo CX

Plivo CX is a robust SMS marketing platform that can triple your revenue. You get all the key features required to run effective SMS blast campaigns:

✅Getting customers to opt in

✅Segmenting subscribers

✅Crafting campaigns with in-built templates and AI copywriter

✅Scheduling campaigns with AI assistance

✅Launching campaigns with ease

✅Building reports of campaigns

Apart from all these features, Plivo CX also complies with all industry and government regulations. Plus, Plivo’s premium carrier network enables you to send messages to over 220 countries/territories with higher deliverability and for as little as $0.0065.

Ready to boost revenue with SMS blasts? Schedule a demo today to explore the powerful features and capabilities of Plivo CX.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is an SMS blast?

An SMS blast, or text blast, is a mass text message sent to a large group of consumers. It's a quick and efficient way to reach a wide audience with a specific message. Common SMS blasts are flash sales, announcements, surveys, etc.  

2. Is SMS text blasting legal?

Yes, SMS blasting is legal, but you must stay compliant with government regulations. TCPA is a regulation in the US for SMS marketing that suggests getting explicit opt-in from subscribers before sending messages and not messaging before 8 AM and after 9 PM. Apart from TCPA, different countries also have their data protection regulations.

3. How much does text blasting cost?

The cost of text blasting depends on your provider. By using a premium provider like Plivo CX, you can send text message blasts for as little as $0.0065 per SMS.