SMS Marketing Best Practices: 10 Rules That Work

Your SMS marketing list is an asset you can torch in about 30 seconds. Send one poorly timed text, forget an opt-out link, or blast the same promo to your entire list three days in a row, and the STOP replies will come in faster than your CEO can close Slack. Start with proper SMS opt-in practices and the right SMS platform.

SMS marketing best practices aren't complicated. They're just ignored constantly.

This is what separates brands running 35-45% click rates from brands desperately emailing their unsubscribed contacts because they burned the better channel first.

1. Get Express Written Consent Before You Do Anything

This isn't optional. It's not a "technically you should." Under the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act), you need documented, express written consent before you send a single marketing text.

What that actually means in practice:

• A checkbox on your signup form that says "I agree to receive marketing texts"
• The checkbox cannot be pre-checked
• You must state your brand name, message frequency, and that message/data rates apply
• You need a clear opt-out instruction right there in the disclosure

Compliant opt-in copy looks something like this: "By checking this box, you agree to receive marketing texts from [Brand] at the number provided. Up to 6 msgs/month. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe."

Annoying to write? A little. A $500 per message TCPA violation annoying? Not even close.

For a full breakdown of what compliant opt-ins look like across different formats, this guide to SMS opt-in best practices covers every edge case and the compliance nuances that actually matter.

2. Put an Opt-Out in Every Single Message

Every marketing text legally requires an opt-out mechanism. "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" at the end of every message.

Yes, even if you're texting loyal customers. Yes, even if you've been texting them for two years. Every message.

The bigger issue: once someone texts STOP, your platform needs to honor it immediately and automatically. If a subscriber opts out and gets another message from you 48 hours later because of a segmentation error, that's a legal problem and a trust problem at the same time.

Most enterprise SMS platforms handle opt-outs correctly. Most budget platforms... do not. Test this before you scale past a few thousand contacts. Seriously. You'll thank yourself later.

3. Respect Quiet Hours (Yes, They're Enforced)

Nobody wants a "FLASH SALE ENDS TONIGHT" text at 6:15 AM.

The FCC guidelines prohibit marketing texts before 8 AM or after 9 PM in the recipient's local time zone. Most reputable platforms enforce this automatically. But "local time zone" is the key phrase, and it trips people up constantly when they have nationwide lists.

If your list spans multiple time zones, send between 10 AM and 2 PM. That window hits the engagement sweet spot across most data sets. Noon on a weekday consistently outperforms 7 PM in split tests, for whatever reason.

Also: avoid Sunday mornings. People are eating cereal and ignoring their phone. Fun.

4. Stay Under 160 Characters (or Commit to MMS)

One standard SMS = 160 characters. Go over 160 and carriers split it into multiple message segments, which costs more, sometimes renders weird, and occasionally arrives out of order.

Write like you're paying per word. Because you kind of are.

That said, MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) lets you include images, GIFs, and up to 1,600 characters for a slightly higher cost per send. For product launches, abandoned cart recovery, and visual promotions, MMS typically outperforms SMS by 15-20% on click-through rate. When you have a product that needs to be seen, pay the extra few cents.

Know what you're sending before you send it. Check the character count. This is not complicated.

5. Lead With Value in the First Sentence

You have one sentence before someone decides if your text is worth reading or not. That sentence has to include the actual value, not your brand name, not a greeting, not a warm-up.

Wrong: "Hey Sarah! Inbox Connect here. We've got some exciting news about a special sale we're running this weekend that we think you'll love!"

Right: "Sarah, 25% off sitewide ends midnight tonight. SAVE25 at checkout: [link]"

The value comes first. The offer is the message. Everything else is noise.

SMS subscribers have essentially zero patience for pleasantries. They opted in to get deals, relevant updates, or time-sensitive information. Give them that. Nothing else.

6. Cap Your Send Frequency at 4-6 Per Month

Here's the number that creates the most pushback: 4-6 texts per month is the upper limit for most consumer-facing brands.

Not per week. Per month.

This feels impossibly low to email marketers used to sending three campaigns a week. SMS is not email. The channel feels more personal, the tolerance for frequency is completely different, and the opt-out threshold is much lower.

Across client accounts, opt-out rates stay flat at 3-4 sends per month, then climb noticeably at 7 or more per month. By daily sends, you're destroying the list faster than you're converting anyone.

Exceptions exist: transactional programs (shipping updates, appointment reminders) run at higher frequency because the context is expected. Flash-sale brands where subscribers explicitly opted in for daily deal texts can push higher. If you're unsure which bucket you're in, start at 4 per month and test upward from there.

7. Personalize Beyond "Hi [First Name]"

"Hi [First Name]" is table stakes. If that's your entire personalization strategy, your CTR will confirm it.

Real personalization in SMS looks like:

• Behavior-triggered messages: A repeat buyer gets a loyalty reward text; a one-time buyer gets an educational follow-up
• Geographic relevance: A local event invite only goes to subscribers within 50 miles of the venue
• Browse signals: Someone viewed the same product category three times in a week, send a targeted promo for that category
• VIP tiering: Your top 20% of buyers by lifetime value gets early access and exclusive codes before the general list

Personalized messages drive 25-35% higher click-through rates compared to generic blasts. That's not marketing mythology. When 98% of your messages get opened, the difference between relevant and irrelevant is the difference between a click and a STOP reply.

8. Segment Before You Blast

Full-list sends have their place. Major product launches. Sitewide sales. Brand announcements that genuinely apply to everyone.

That's maybe 3-4 times a year.

Everything else should be segmented. The logic is pretty basic: if you're sending a re-engagement offer to customers who purchased last week, you're burning credits and introducing doubt in people who were already happy. If you're sending a "we miss you" text to someone who has never left, congratulations, you've just made them feel like a number.

Five segments worth building immediately:

• Active vs. inactive (by purchase or engagement date)
• VIP buyers (top 20% by revenue)
• Product category purchasers
• Browse abandoners
• Cart abandoners

The guide to email list segmentation maps out most of this same logic. The segmentation thinking carries directly into SMS.

9. A/B Test Your Sends

Every assumption you have about your SMS list is probably wrong for at least 30% of your subscribers.

Send time? Test it. Message length? Test it. CTA phrasing (dollar off vs. percentage off)? Test it. Tone (formal vs. casual)? Test it.

The mechanics are simple: split a segment into two groups, change one variable, send both, measure click-through rate. Do not change two things at once or you will not know what moved the needle.

Most SMS platforms have A/B testing built in. If yours doesn't, here's how A/B testing actually works and how to run it manually without a platform feature.

Brands that test improve SMS performance by 30-50% over 90 days. Brands that don't test keep sending the same thing while wondering why engagement keeps declining. Ask me how I know.

10. Use SMS and Email Together, Not Instead of Each Other

SMS and email are not competing channels. They are complementary. Treating them as an either/or choice is leaving conversion on the table.

Here's how they work together well:

An abandoned cart sequence using both channels typically recovers 15-25% more revenue than either channel alone. That's consistent across industry data.

The simplest version to implement right now: when someone goes through your 3-step email cart sequence and still hasn't converted, fire one SMS. Just one. "Hey, your cart is still here. Use [code] for 10% off before midnight: [link]."

That single text, sequenced after the email flow, converts 4-8% of remaining holdouts. Nice.

FAQ

How often should you send SMS marketing messages?

For most e-commerce and retail brands, 4-6 texts per month is the sweet spot. Opt-out rates stay flat in that range and start climbing noticeably at 7 or more per month. Transactional programs (shipping updates, appointment reminders) can run at higher frequency because the context is expected and welcomed.

What is the 160 character limit in SMS?

A standard SMS message is 160 characters. Go over and carriers split it into multiple segments, which increases your cost and can render out of order on some devices. MMS allows images and up to 1,600 characters at a slightly higher per-send cost. MMS typically outperforms SMS by 15-20% on click-through rate for visual products.

Is SMS marketing consent legally required?

Yes, in the United States under the TCPA, express written consent is required before sending any marketing text. This means a clearly labeled opt-in with your brand name, message frequency, opt-out instructions, and rate disclosure. Sending without documented consent can mean fines of $500 to $1,500 per message.

What is a good click-through rate for SMS marketing?

SMS average CTR runs around 20-35% across most industries, compared to 2-5% for email. High-performing campaigns with strong segmentation and personalization regularly hit 30-45% CTR. If you're below 10%, your message relevance or targeting needs work.

Is SMS marketing better than email marketing?

Different tools for different jobs. SMS wins on urgency, immediacy, and open rates (98% vs. roughly 20-25% for email). Email wins on detailed content, longer nurture sequences, and storytelling. The brands with the best retention metrics use both. Pick your channel based on what the message actually requires.