Promotional SMS

A promotional SMS is a message sent by a brand to prospects and customers informing them about promotions, discounts, and offers. Marketers run promotional campaigns to increase customer engagement and rocket sales. SendPulse allows you to create branded subscription forms, automate SMS sending, and personalize the messages for better performance.

Companies can send promotional SMS only to prospects and customers with non-DND status and opt-in numbers. When done right, this kind of SMS can help a brand attract new customers and, thus, achieve more sales. That said, it is quite easy to reap these benefits by using a reliable service such as SendPulse to send promotional SMS.

What is the difference between transactional and promotional SMS

Transactional SMS are messages used for sending order and booking alerts and informational messages to registered customers. These messages are not for marketing purposes. They're sent to all the recipients regardless of their DND status 24/7 without any time restriction. Transactional SMS can be identified via a 6-character Sender ID a company chooses. This identifier should correspond with the company or product name.

Promotional SMS is used for sending marketing and sales messages. They are delivered only to opt-in and non-DND numbers. Promotional SMS should be sent between 9 am and 9 pm. Promotional messages have a random 6-character Sender ID determined by the network operator.

Marketers have to write enticing text to improve their promotional SMS. On that note, below are some tips for creating compelling messages for SMS customers.

Personalize the message and target

Personalizing your message is a sure way to create a great promotional SMS. Businesses must craft messages while taking into account the demographics of their audience, for instance, age, gender, occupation, and so forth. Also, it is vital to compose messages that factor in various marketing metrics. That way, a company can send targeted messages that appeal to the recipients more.

Be professional

Refrain from using slang, abbreviations, and emoticons when communicating with clients via promotional SMS. Apart from that, here are some other tips for creating appealing messages while maintaining professionalism:

• Do not be impersonal as if you are talking to a robot.
• Use language that is consistent with the brand’s identity and style.
• Only use an emoticon if it adds substantial value to the message.
• Never use caps.
• Refrain from using too many question marks or exclamations.
• Use a single exclamation and question marks when necessary.

Be precise

Marketers should ensure that their promotional SMS conveys their desired message with ease. For instance, if a brand is advertising a sale, the SMS should say when the sale begins and when it ends. Moreover, marketers should make sure they specify what items are on sale. Merely stating “enjoy discounts” can be quite misleading. Instead, you could say, “enjoy 15% discounts on all baby shoes.” The bottom line here: the more specific the information, the better.

Write brief messages

When writing a promotional SMS, it is best to write short messages that get to the point right away. Marketers should ensure that they communicate their message in the 160 characters allowed for SMS. Achieving this can be quite tricky, so here are some tips to help:

• Identify the main message you want to deliver. Is it a free meal, appointment reminder, or invitation?
• Determine the relevant points you want to get across. If you want the customer to learn more about a service or product you offer, provide a link instead of trying to explain it in detail.

Include a call-to-action button

Writing an excellent message alone won’t do the trick. Infusing a CTA in the text enables the customer to take advantage of the opportunity that has been presented. Failure to include a compelling CTA can result in low click-through rates and conversions. Make sure that your CTA button is eye-catching and clear.

Now that you know how to write a promotional SMS step by step let's get started!

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Sending a promotional SMS campaign with SendPulse is a simple 4-step process.

1. Register with SendPulse. To register, provide the name, email address, phone number, and password on the registration form. After that, check the “Terms of Use” prompt and click “Sign up.”
2. Pick your pricing plan. Learn about the price of one SMS for the country you wish to send promotional SMS in. To get this information, click on the pricing plan when logged in to your SendPulse account. Then, click on “SMS plans” and then “Add funds.” Read this article for more details.
3. Upload contacts. Create and name your mailing list. After that, click “Add” and then proceed to upload your contacts. You can also import your mailing list or copy and paste the phone numbers. Note that you don’t have to provide email addresses for the numbers you input on your mailing list.
4. Create a promotional SMS campaign. To create a promotional SMS campaign, click on “Send SMS” while in your SendPulse account. After that, provide the sender’s name (stick to 11 digits or characters.) Then, compose your message, select the mailing list you wish to send the message to, and choose the time for sending the message. With all this accomplished, preview your message, and if it is okay, click “Send.” Follow this step-by-step guide.

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Examples of Promotional SMS Messages

Here are some excellent examples of promotional messages sent by different businesses.

Below is the way a fitness club encourages new members.

Tommy Hilfiger is quite specific about its offers. They give a promo code and state the discount clearly.

Check out Starbucks SMS marketing. They offer a quiz with a unique gift.

Send promotional SMS

Last Updated: 12.09.2023