Okay, so you amassed a substantial SMS marketing list, but what about retaining said list? After all, creating a list is one thing, but keeping it is something else! Check out five of the best practices for retaining your opt-in marketing list and use them to create effective SMS marketing campaigns:

It seems everyone is on their phones these days, and while getting bombarded with advertisements is never fun, receiving exclusive offers, coupons and discounts through text is! Ensure you’re sending customers discounts they can only receive through their phones as opposed to email or snail mail. Most people will be delighted to receive a coupon for 10% off their next vehicle oil change or an alert regarding “big sale” dates and times.

As with most things, it’s important to do a little research before creating a text message campaign. Decrease your opt-out rate significantly by learning what your customers want to hear and receive, which will certainly help you create a much more effective SMS marketing strategy. Learn what’s worked in the past and what hasn’t, what customers are really looking for from a business like yours, and any other helpful information you and your team can use.

Successful SMS marketing campaigns pay attention to timing...and time zones! Besides researching the best times of day to send SMS alerts, remain aware of customer time zones. Sending messages at 6am on a Sunday or 12pm on a Tuesday night is not going to help you retain your SMS marketing list, no matter how great the promotion or discount. Customers will appreciate time zone awareness, which will bolster your relationship with them and even help expand your brand via positive client reviews.

Always, always, always send customers easy-to-digest text messages that don’t require a lot of time and or external device use. For example, very few people are going to be interested in coupons they have to print, especially if they don’t have easy access to a printer! Create an effective text messaging campaign by sending customers deals and discounts with barcodes for easy scanning at the register or ones that otherwise don’t require a lot of work.

Finally, successful SMS marketing campaigns and strategies include monitoring customer opt-out rate. Look at what worked and piqued customer interest, as well as what didn’t work and resulted in opt-outs. This is an essential part of crafting your next text message campaign, so don’t forget to keep a weather eye on those rates!

Keep these tips in mind and see if your next SMS marketing campaign isn’t light years ahead of your last one! Good luck, and stay creative!