SMS Marketing for Ecommerce

SMS Marketing For Ecommerce: How To Craft SMS That Sells

SMS marketing has been around for sometime now but like most things technology, it too has evolved. From being used as a strictly broadcast or one:to:one communication, it’s evolved to become an effective marketing tool that can be used to send personalised, customised and well-timed communication.

However with all marketing channels, certain rules and hacks apply to get the most out of SMS given its length and format features. SMS copy is only a few words long so it might look simple – but don’t be fooled. There are some key factors involved in writing effective SMS’s. These factors will help you to craft copy that converts.

In this brief SMS marketing copywriting guide, we will share our some of our best tried and tested best practices to help you how to write SMS copy that attracts, engages and ultimately converts.

1

Keep it Short, Without Losing The Essence

The medium demands you get your point across quickly as you only have the recipient’s attention for a few seconds. Even if you are writing a double SMS or an MMS, keep your copy short.

The shorter the copy, the more impactful the message.

Run a concurrent email campaign where you can go into more detail with your messaging but only include vital information in the SMS copy.

2

Personalise It

Unlike emails, SMS’s are only read on a mobile device — a very personal device to its owners — making them an incredibly personal form of communication by association which calls for a way to personalise the SMS so it doesn’t feel like a broadcast to all, but rather tailored to the specific person it’s going out to.

The three most basic ways to personalize your SMS copy:

Open with the
recipient’s first
name.

Use user-centric language like ‘you’ and ‘your’ to build trust.

Use data specific to that user. (By sending a message to a segment).

3

Bake Current Events Into The Promotion

Given its low preparation and design and copy requirements, SMS is the perfect platform to customise content to current events. The one advantage of SMS over any other channel is that SMS can reach the recipient anywhere, even when they don’t have network. So you can plan a quick campaign to even send on the day. Perfect to send those weather related promotions on the fly!

4

Always Add Value Through An SMS

When a customer gives their mobile number – a personal communication medium – to a brand, it is a sign of trust and they expect to receive valuable communication in return. Value can come in the form of:

A. Offer

B. Heads-up about new product drops

C. Early bird previews or sales for a chosen few

5

Create A Sense of FOMO Through:

A. Scarcity: Limited stock

Create an illusion or highlight an actual scarcity by mentioning that a product or offer is time-limited or supply-limited.

B. URGENCY: Include a time sensitive deadline

Create an illusion or highlight an actual scarcity by mentioning that a product or offer is time-limited or supply-limited.

6

Include A Clear CTA

You’ve crafted your SMS copy in such a way that the recipient has all the information they need at their fingertips. But sometimes even a great copy and offer may get lost if there’s no CTA or an action item for the recipient of the offer. The usual CTAs are “Shop now”, “Buy now”, but based on the offer, customise your CTA to include “check out more”, “register now” and so on.

Think you’re closing to understand SMS marketing better but would like a trusted expert to manage it for your store? Give us a call today and let us offer you a customised solution that will help your brand realise its untapped potential and grow with SMS.