How to Build the Perfect SMS Subscriber List

Every business needs strong revenues, reputation, and referrals to become successful. Businesses need to not only perfect their products but also connect with their clients. Building the perfect SMS subscriber list is a vital way to establish a connection with clients and drive revenue.

Keep on reading to find out how you can build an SMS subscriber list and why it is important.

What the Perfect SMS Subscriber List Can Do for You

Let’s admit it, no matter how attractive your business promotion emails are, subscribers do not have the time to check them. According to a recent survey, approximately 15% of emails sent to email list subscribers end up going straight to the trash.

This does not mean that you should stop trying to raise your email subscriber engagement or click-through rate. However, you should couple these efforts with other customer engagement ideas, such as sending texts to an SMS subscribers list.

The following statistics underline how powerful mass SMS services are as a means of communication:

• People read 98% of their text messages.
• People read 95% of texts within 3 minutes.
• People respond to text messages within 90 seconds.

In short, the advantage of mass texting is that you can build strong, reliable connections to your subscribers, all with relatively little effort and investment of time.

Promote Your SMS Number and Keyword on Social Media

Social media is the easiest way to build your SMS subscriber list. Post your SMS number and keyword on social media sites, and have people join your list by texting in. Encourage new subscribers to join by seeking feedback or offering a freebie.

As people use your keyword for texting, they can be automatically added to your SMS group and receive your message. Not only this, if you have an email capture service, you can easily capture the names and email addresses of your subscribers when they reply to your text messages.

If you are wondering which platforms you should use to post your keyword, you have plenty of options. You can use virtually any platform, but some of the most popular (and useful) include:

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook page
• Facebook feed
• Postcards, offline media, and direct mail
• Your website
• Mobile coupons and promotions
• Displays and tradeshow signs
• TV spots and radio

Use a “Pop-Up” Feature on Your Website

Another way to grow your list of SMS subscribers is to add “pop-up” software to your website or blog that explains how to use your SMS keyword. To make it sound more beneficial, incorporating an incentive offer is always a good idea.

Here are a few incentives you can use to offer to your subscribers.

• Enter text and WIN contest
• Get two free coupons
• Experience an interesting live demo through SMS

If you do not know which pop-up software is best to use, OptinMonster is a good source for some quick pop-up solutions.

Print a Catchy Flyer

They might seem old fashioned, but flyers are a fast and effective way to build a list of SMS subscribers. You don’t need an SMS software or other advanced text messaging API services to implement this idea. Simply print out a catchy flyer that includes a strong “call to action” for subscribers to join your list.

As with any method, you can offer people discounts, coupons, and “VIP access” or anything specific to your business. For example, if you own a dog store, offer your customers a free dog grooming service upon joining your VIP SMS list.

Decide Between Long and Short Code

Although it’s possible to use both short codes and long codes alongside each other, it is generally wise to select just one to make it a seamless process for your subscribers. It is important to know the difference when building an SMS subscriber list to fit your business needs.

A short code (usually 5–6 digits) is best if you want to reach an unlimited amount of subscribers with automated responses. Note that short code responses are purely automated. In other words, you cannot have a custom, two-way conversation with your customers who are texting in.

Long codes, on the other hand, use a standard 10-digit phone number. This type of code is best when you want to have one-to-one communication with your audience. The long code number becomes your official phone number, making it easy for people to know how to reach you.

When it comes to choosing between the two, remember that short codes are much more expensive than long codes. That said, short codes may be the best option if you want to send lots of messages. Long codes, as compared to short codes, are cheaper and have a personal feel since they let your subscribers communicate with a real person.

Use Text Features to Organize Your Messaging

You might not have heard it before, but SMS features help businesses build their subscriber list passively.

Let’s say someone texts a keyword to join your SMS subscription list while you are out somewhere. He/she will get an autoresponse, and if he/she asks a question after that message, the service will escalate his/her message to your SMS subscription list.

You can make the most of this idea by using the features of SMS. All you need is to streamline the SMS according to their types:

• Groups: It organizes subscribers for their targeted messages and identifies them according to their interests and questions
• Autoresponse: It is an automatic customizable reply to any text from the subscriber that can come in when you are not in the office
• Keywords: It is a word your subscribers text in order to join your list, or opting for promotion and information
• Escalation: It is a customizable timer to alert you automatically for any unanswered messages from your subscribers

Bottom Line

Overall, building an SMS subscriber list is one of the best ways to improve your connection with clients. The ideas in this article can help you grow your SMS subscription list.