The short answer: a campaign message that works says who is sending, makes one offer, says until when it is valid, how to take it up and how to stop receiving messages. Almost every weak message misses one of those five. Below are real "before and after" examples, with what changed in each one.
The five parts of a good message
| 1 |
Who is sending, right at the start. Your company name opens the message, even if you use a Sender ID. People decide in seconds whether a message is for them.
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| 2 |
A concrete benefit. "20% off all shoes" says more than "huge savings".
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| 3 |
A deadline. "Until Sunday" gets people moving; "for a limited time" does not.
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| 4 |
How to take it up. Show the SMS at the till, call a number, open your website.
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| 5 |
Contact and opt-out. Named senders cannot receive replies, so include a phone number, an e-mail or your website, and say how to stop receiving messages.
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Before and after
The parts in square brackets, such as [COMPANY] or [PHONE], are placeholders for your own details.
| Before |
The problem |
After |
| Dear customers, we are pleased to inform you that we have several promotions on a range of products. Visit us! |
It does not say who is sending, what the offer is or until when. Characters are wasted on pleasantries. |
[COMPANY]: 20% off all shoes until Sunday. Show this SMS at the till. Opt out: [PHONE] |
| SALE!!! HUGE DISCOUNTS!!! DON'T MISS OUT!!! |
Capitals and exclamation marks look like fraud. There is no brand, offer or deadline. |
Hi {$contact_first_name}, this week [COMPANY] has 2 pizzas for the price of 1, Monday to Thursday. Bookings: [PHONE] |
| Reply YES to get your discount. |
The customer replies and nobody receives it. |
[COMPANY]: your 10% discount is active until the 30th. Show this SMS when you pay. Questions: [PHONE] |
| Win now! Click here: [SHORTENED LINK] |
An unknown shortened link with no brand is exactly what a scam looks like. |
[COMPANY]: the new collection is now on [WEBSITE]. Free delivery until Saturday. |
| Deals on rice, oil and sugar, 2 for 1 on juices, a gift with detergent and a prize draw on Saturday! |
Four offers in one message: nobody remembers any of them, and the text splits into several parts. |
[COMPANY]: 2 juices for the price of 1, this Saturday only. See you there! Opt out: [PHONE] |
Shorter costs less
Each SMS part uses 1 credit per number. A message in plain letters fits 160 characters; a single "ã" or "ç" drops the limit to 70. On a list of 3,000 numbers, going from 2 parts to 1 saves 3,000 credits. Before you confirm, the SMS Center shows how many parts the message has: if it is more than 1, cut pleasantries, repetition and adjectives. The details are in how many credits an SMS uses.
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Write it, read it aloud and cut a third. If the sentence still makes sense without a word, the word was not needed. Then send the final version to your own phone and read it the way a customer would.
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Do not hide the opt-out. A message with no way to stop receiving may bring one more sale today, and complaints tomorrow. See SMS good practices and consent.
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