The SMS channel is really effective if you want your message to be seen by your target audience within a short time. This is partly due to the average open rate of 98% and the fact that an SMS is often considered important and something that needs to be acted upon.
But how do you write the perfect SMS message that both captures the reader's attention and leads to the desired action? You'll find the answer to that below.
How to write the perfect SMS
There is no golden formula that ensures your recipients always respond to your text messages - unfortunately. Every audience and every recipient is different, so you should always make sure that you communicate in a way that appeals to your audience.
However, there are 8 guidelines for SMS texts that you can follow to increase the chance of recipients responding positively to your messages. We'll go through them here.
1. Be clear and concise
If you exceed 160 characters, your text will take up (and cost) 2 SMS messages etc. So while our modern phones are capable of merging multiple messages together to look like one to the recipient, there's good reason to keep your messages short.
Also read: How many characters can an SMS contain?
The natural limitation of SMS means that the recipient must be able to quickly read the text and decode the message, otherwise the message is simply closed down again without action. Therefore, write clearly and without too much space, and make sure your point of the message is clear.
2. Create exclusivity and urgency
If you're using SMS for sales and offers, phrases like "exclusive", "limited time", "today only" or "while stocks last" will create a sense of urgency and increase the likelihood that the recipient will respond quickly to your message.
If you are inviting people to events or sharing important information that requires a response, you should also give a specific deadline, such as "Reply by 12 noon" or "Registration must be done by Monday". A concrete deadline for your message means you are more likely to get a (quick) response from your recipients.
This is not to say that you should use this strategy in all campaigns, as it can risk diluting the effect over time. Use urgency when you actually have a deadline or it makes particularly good sense for the message.
3. Clear CTA
If you want the recipient to respond to your message, it must be clear what action you want them to take after reading the message. There must be a clear CTA (Call to Action).
For example, should the recipient click on a link, use a code in the store, reply back or something else entirely? It's important to make it clear and easy to understand, and as easy as possible to perform the desired action. For example, you can do this by using links in SMS.
4. Personalise
If you have access to it, feel free to use the recipient's first name or other information about preferences and behaviour. It makes the message more personalised and relevant to the recipient and increases the chance of them engaging with your message.
There are many ways you can work with personalisation. Below are a few examples.
#1 Insert recipient's name
Most people want access to the recipient's first name. If you're not already collecting names along with your SMS permissions, you should start. Including the recipient's first name is one of the easiest ways to create a more personalised connection through your message.
#2 Use purchase and behavioural history
Do you have access to the recipient's history with your business, such as what they've bought in the past or which pages on your website they frequently visit? You can then use this information to further personalise your SMS messages and ensure relevance for the recipient. For example, you can send a message when there's a special offer on their favourite products or if an out-of-stock item the recipient has shown interest in is back in stock.
#3 Birthday greeting
Do you know your recipient's birthday? Then send them a birthday greeting. Most people will appreciate it, especially if it comes with a small gift. A birthday message is a great way to create a better relationship between you and your SMS recipients.
5. Focus on value creation
If you want to retain your SMS followers, it's crucial that your SMS messages create value for the recipient - otherwise you risk them unsubscribing again. Keep your SMS subscribers engaged by sending messages with information they can't get anywhere else. This could be exclusive SMS offers, invitations to events, useful reminders or exciting competitions.
6. Remember legislation
As with most other channels, there are also SMS laws that you need to follow.
If you send marketing SMS messages, you are required by law to first obtain proper consent (authorisation) to send the messages. In addition, your SMS recipients should also always have easy access to withdraw their SMS consent. For example, by using an unsubscribe link. We've made it easy to use link cancellation in SMS, see how in our Guide to link cancellation in SMS.
You can read the rules for electronic communication for marketing purposes in the Danish Marketing Practices Act (chapter 3). If you are unsure about the legal requirements for sending text messages, you should always seek legal advice.
7. Timing
Timing can be crucial when it comes to good SMS communication. Therefore, you should consider when your recipients are most receptive to the message you are sharing via SMS. For example, if you share a day offer, send it in the morning.
It's also a good idea to consider what times of day your recipients are most active and send your messages then. If you have a webshop, you can, for example, analyse when in the day/week/month your site receives the most visitors. Use this knowledge to time your programmes.
Also, be aware of time zones if you're shipping internationally.
Read more about timing in the article: "When to send text messages?".
8. Test, test, test
When working with SMS communication, you should continuously test your broadcasts. It may take time to test, but in the long run it can also have a big impact on the performance of your SMS messages and whether they have the desired effect on the recipients.
Among other things, it may be relevant to test on:
- Timing
- Frequencies
- Messages
- CTAs.
You should only test on one element at a time, and preferably test the same function multiple times for the most accurate result. Monitor and analyse the performance of your SMS campaigns on an ongoing basis and determine what works best for your business and your target audience. Use this knowledge to fine-tune your messaging and optimise your strategy continuously.
Be careful with…
Now you know what you should do if you want to write a good SMS. Let's round off with three things that many people use in their text messages that you should think twice about.
Abbreviations
Because the SMS format has a natural character limit, it can be tempting to use abbreviations. However, you should do this with great caution, as you can never be sure that your recipients know the meaning of the abbreviations.
If you use a lot of abbreviations, you also run the risk of your text looking like spam and the recipient being annoyed by the incorrect grammar. In fact, figures show that on average 44% of people will unsubscribe if a text message has grammar and spelling mistakes.
Excessive punctuation
An SMS message is basically simple. For example, it's not possible to underline or highlight words as it is with other formats. Therefore, you can use capitalisation and punctuation to clarify points or emphasise specific words.
It can work really well, but be careful not to let it get out of hand. For example, writing the majority of your message in capital letters can be interpreted as overbearing, as capitalisation is often seen as the digital equivalent of shouting.
The same goes for exaggerated punctuation.
Emojis
The SMS format was invented long before the emoji was, so special rules apply if you use emojis in SMS. A text message can contain a maximum of 160 characters, and you might think that an emoji counts as one character. Unfortunately, this is not the case, an emoji is typically 2-4 characters long, but they can be much longer than that.
At the same time, a message with emojis transitions from GSM7 format to UCS2 format, and in the latter format, an SMS can only contain 70 characters (instead of the normal 160 characters). Finally, there is also the risk that your recipients may not interpret an emoji's meaning in the same way that you do.
Although emojis have many good qualities, you should think twice before using them professionally.
Read more in our article: Emojis in SMS: Go or no-go?
Summarising
Hopefully, you now feel well equipped to write your own SMS messages. At least that's our take on 8 guidelines on how to write the perfect SMS. Combine them with our 10 basic rules for an effective SMS campaign and you've come a long way.
For the sake of clarity, we summarise the 8 guidelines here:
1. Keep your SMS simple
2. Use urgency to increase engagement
3. Have a clear CTA
4. Use personalisation
5. Focus on value creation
6. Remember the law
7. Timing is important
8. Test, test, test.
And watch out for abbreviations, capitalisation, excessive punctuation and emojis.
If you keep these guidelines in mind, you'll have a great foundation for writing engaging and converting SMS messages that your SMS followers will want to keep receiving.
Need more inspiration? Then read on in this article: "SMS communication - why you need to communicate sharply".
