It’s getting harder and harder to nail your marketing channel mix as an ecommerce brand.

Email is crowded. Paid social is expensive. Acquisition costs are rude. So maybe SMS is the answer? And then you open your own text messages and remember that a lot of brands seem to be competing to be the poster child for “has boundary issues.”

In fact, in the few hours it’s taken me personally to write this article, I’ve received 11 different brand messages via text. Three of those messages were from the same brand.

Look, I’m sorry, [REDACTED BRAND], but it’s 11:10 a.m. on a Thursday as I’m writing this.

I’ve been in back to back to back meetings since 7:30 a.m. Yes, I love your brand, but I’m working on a deadline. I didn’t need complementary back to back to back messages about your “biggest linen drop yet” but also your “biggest dress drop” (and then something about dolman sweaters?) all within a 45-minute period.

And that right there is the tension with SMS marketing.

Used well, it can be one of the highest-performing channels in your stack. It’s direct. It’s fast. It gets seen. It can recover revenue, support launches, drive repeat purchases, and keep your best customers engaged in a way email often can’t.

Used badly, it turns your brand into that person who keeps double- and triple-texting after being ignored the first three times. For example, am I a marketer who wants to help you kill it with SMS marketing? Yes, but I was also ready to chuck my own phone against a wall not five minutes ago for other brands abusing the privilege of having my number.

So if you’re trying to figure out how to use SMS without annoying people, wasting money, or turning your customer list into a churn machine, that’s what we’re going to cover here.

We’re going to get into what actually makes SMS marketing work, what brands keep getting wrong, and the best practices that help you send texts people are more likely to act on instead of deleting with prejudice.

Why SMS marketing gets so much attention

The appeal is obvious.

Let’s start with the fact that we’re all attached to our phones:

It doesn’t matter if we’re in bed, eating dinner, watching TV, or out with our friends… there’s a good chance we’re on our phones, or it’s at least within reaching distance.

Now, for the sake of today’s conversation, I’m going to set aside the negative health implications surrounding such high phone usage for obvious reasons — you’ve got an ecommerce brand to run, and I don’t want to look too closely at my own bad habits right now.

So, let’s focus on the good of what that data tells us about why SMS marketing is so lucrative. Everyone is attached to their phones, right? That means your text messages get seen quickly. They feel immediate. They sit in a space people usually reserve for actual humans, not brands with quarterly revenue targets and a new spring capsule drop.

That’s why SMS can perform so well when the message deserves the interruption.

But the last half of that statement — “when the message deserves the interruption” — is the most important part. 

SMS isn’t just “email, but shorter.”

It’s a higher-friction, higher-visibility channel. You are showing up in a more personal place. The tolerance for fluff is lower. The tolerance for repetition is lower. The tolerance for “Hey girl, just circling back on the 10% off code you ignored yesterday” is somewhere below sea level.

That means the best SMS programs are not the ones sending the most. They’re the ones sending with the clearest reason.

The first rule of SMS marketing: earn the right to text people

Before we get into copy, timing, segmentation, automation, or examples, let’s start here. Your SMS program lives or dies on whether people feel glad they signed up.

The problem is that a lot of ecommerce brands get distracted by list growth and forget that a text subscriber is not just a contact record. That number on your list represents an honest-to-goodness human being who has given you to one of the most tightly guarded spaces on their phone.

So, if your entire strategy is “collect the number, then hammer away until conversion happens,” congratulations! You’re that girl who showed up on every season of America’s Next Top Model declaring on purpose: “This doesn’t say America’s Next Top Best Friend!” She never won, by the way. And no one liked her.

That means your goal isn’t to send more texts, to hell with social norms or boundaries; you need to care about being liked. Every time you send a message, you should make the customer think, “Yeah, these are worth getting.”

That usually comes down to three things:

You can get away with a lot in email. You can ramble a little. You can include extra context. You can recover from a mediocre subject line. SMS is less forgiving. So if your message comes off as useless, weirdly timed, and tone deaf, your customers will reply with “STOP” faster than you can imagine.

OK, with that bit of table-setting out of the way, let’s talk shop.

Best practice #1: Have a clear job for every text

This sounds basic, but it’s where a lot of SMS programs start drifting from profit centers to intrusive noise machines.

Bottom line, every text you send should have a specific, clearly defined job.

And no: “drive engagement” or “stay top-of-mind” aren’t good enough. 

That’s like a content marketer saying they’re writing an ebook for “brand awareness,” because “sales enablement doesn’t drive traffic and isn’t a priority right now.” But when pressed, they can’t give you metrics for what “successful brand awareness” would even look like.

I’m sorry, then what’s the “brand awareness” for?

So prospects will become “aware” of our brand enough to want to go to brunch with us? No, absolutely not.

To avoid this trap, here are examples of what specific goals look like:

If you skip this step, your SMS strategy will devolve into a stream of messages all basically saying some version of:

“Hey! Remember that one time you liked us? Probably to just get the 20% discount code… but that’s OK. So, uh, wanna buy something? Maybe later? OK… how about now?”

Yuck.

To nail your approach, ask yourself:

Why is this message being sent, to whom, and what action should it help move forward?

If you can’t answer that cleanly, don’t send it.

Examples

Weak SMS: Hey! Don’t miss out on our amazing products. Shop now: [link]

Better SMS: Your cart’s still waiting. The serum you picked is almost sold out, and we saved your cart here: [link]

The second one has a job. The first one is loitering… thanks for the reminder about your “amazing products,” I guess?

Best practice #2: Segment like you mean it

One of the fastest ways to make SMS feel sloppy is to send the same message to everybody.

For those of you thinking “but Liz, one-to-many messages are super efficient,” you need to remember something:

Not every subscriber you have is in the same relationship with your brand. Some people just signed up. Some are repeat buyers. Some only shop sales. Some buy one product every six weeks like freakin’ clockwork. And some browsed once and vanished like the ghost of a Victorian child who passed away from “consumption,” or some other vague affliction.

Those groups, more often than not, shouldn’t be getting the same texts.

Segmentation matters in every channel, but it matters even more in SMS because the cost of irrelevance is higher. When a text feels pointless, annoying, or mistimed, the reaction is immediate.

You want to segment based on behavior, not just demographics.

Useful segments often include:

The more your SMS strategy proves over and over that you know who your customers are and what their specific relationship is to you, the more they’re going to like you. They’re also going to pay closer attention to the messages you send over time, because you’re always sending them something relevant.

And relevancy moves units, folks.

Examples

Behavior should shape the message.

Best practice #3: Write like a normal human being, not a robot or a try-hard

SMS copy has a very specific job. It needs to be clear, fast, and easy to act on. That means two very important things about your messaging:

Good SMS copy usually has a few traits in common:

You don’t have much room, and frankly, you don’t need much. The best texts usually feel simple because they are doing one thing well.

Examples

Too stiff: Reminder: Your previously selected items remain available for purchase. Complete checkout here: [link]

Too try-hard: Bestie. BESTIE. You left the cutest things in your cart and we are emotionally attached to them. Come back!! [link]

Better: You left something behind. Don’t worry though, we saved your cart for you: [link]

That’s clear. It sounds normal. It respects the medium.

Best practice #4: Stop treating urgency like a seasoning you dump on everything

I live in Maryland, but I’m not from Maryland originally. I’m from Washington, D.C. No, it’s not far, but if you’re not from the area, you don’t know how much of a different world Maryland is. And I say that as a positive, I love it here!

But when I first moved to Annapolis, the thing I found the most jarring was how much they put Old Bay seasoning on everything. And I mean everything: crabs, fries, burgers, sauces, BEER, and yes, even ICE CREAM. Basically, in the Old Line State, nothing is more sacred than Old Bay, which also means absolutely nothing is safe from it.

If you’re not smart, you can accidentally turn concepts of “scarcity” and “urgency” (two of our favorite messaging lanes in ecommerce) into your version of Old Bay. Sure, used appropriately, you’ll crush it. Used too much, you’re going to turn-off your customers.

Because they catch on fast when every single message says:

If every text is urgent, none of them are.

Urgency works when it’s attached to something real:

When urgency is fake or constant, you train people to discount your messages, because they know you’re lying. Nothing is almost gone, they can wait as long as they want, and this isn’t anywhere near their last chance to get in on whatever it is you’re trying to sell to them.

I don’t think I need to tell you why your customers thinking of you as a full-of-it Chicken Little is a big problem.

Examples

Weak: This is your last chance! Shop now before it’s too late!!! [link]

Better: Restock just landed, and this one sold out in 13 hours last time. If you’ve been waiting for your shade, here it is: [link]

That feels more credible because it is anchored in an actual shopper scenario.

Best practice #5: Use automation for the moments that deserve follow-up

Campaigns get most of the attention because they’re visible and easy to obsess over. Automations are where a lot of the real money gets made.

Why? Because the message is tied to behavior.

That’s where SMS gets smarter.

Strong automated SMS flows often include:

These messages work because the customer did something that gave you context. You are not inventing a reason to text them. You are responding to one. That makes the channel feel more relevant and less random.

Examples

A back-in-stock text has a clean reason to exist:

The product the customer wanted is available again.

That’s useful. But a generic weekend promo sent to everyone because the calendar said Saturday is a much shakier proposition.

This doesn’t mean campaigns have no place. They do. Product launches, VIP access, major promotions, holiday pushes, and key sales moments can work very well over SMS. It does mean, however, you should not build your whole program on blast sends and then wonder why unsubscribe rates are giving you side-eye.

Best practice #6: Respect timing like your revenue depends on it, because it does

A good message sent at the wrong time (or all the time) becomes a bad message. Timing affects performance. It also affects how customers feel about your brand, which is harder to measure and easier to damage.

Here are a few timing realities worth respecting:

You may be sensing a theme.

Your would-be customers want to buy from you. But they’re also cagey about how often you’re blowing up the device in their hand that might as well be

The right send time depends on your customer, your product, and the reason for the message. A replenishment reminder has a different rhythm than a flash sale. A shipping update is welcome in a way that a promotional text at 9:47 p.m. absolutely is not.

You should also think about timing in relation to behavior.

Someone who abandoned their cart 20 minutes ago may need a different message than someone who abandoned their cart three days ago. Someone who just purchased probably does not need a hard sell text the next morning unless your idea of customer retention is “test their patience and see what happens.”

Example

For cart recovery:

Use some restraint. It’s attractive.

Best practice #7: Don’t overtext your list into the ground

A lot of brands treat SMS like a revenue lever they can just keep pulling harder. That works right up until it doesn’t.

The problem with over-sending is not just unsubscribes. It’s message fatigue. It’s lower response. It’s training customers to ignore you. It’s slowly turning a high-attention channel into a background hum.

Frequency should be earned.

(I kid you not, a different brand from the one I mentioned in my introduction just sent me a second SMS text within an hour about the same sale. This brand needs to hire us so this madness stops.)

If you have frequent texts that genuinely help customers, great. If you sell a product with regular drops, real urgency, or loyal repeat demand, your cadence may look different than a brand with a longer buying cycle.

But “we have a revenue goal” is not, in itself, a good reason to text people more often.

Watch:

If you’re sending more and getting less, the answer is probably not “send even more and see if that fixes it.”

Best practice #8: Make the value of subscribing painfully clear

A lot of SMS signup forms are weirdly vague:

“Sign up for texts.”

For what, exactly? The thrill of being interrupted? The rush of being disappointed that it’s you texting me, and not Jack Black letting me know he’s single and wants to go out for drinks?

People are more likely to subscribe when they understand what they’re getting and why it’s worth giving you their number.

That value could be:

Specificity helps here. So does honesty. If your texts are mostly promotions, say that in a cleaner way. If they include service messages and helpful alerts, say that. Set expectations like an adult.

The same rule applies after signup. Your welcome message should quickly reinforce the value of being there.

Example

Weak signup language: Join our SMS list

Better signup language:

That gives people a reason.

Best practice #9: Match the message to the stage of the customer relationship

This is one of the most useful strategic filters you can apply.

A first-time site visitor should not get the same tone, offer, or ask as a repeat customer with three purchases and a clear product preference.

SMS works better when it reflects where the customer is in the relationship.

Think in terms of stages:

A browse abandonment text shouldn’t sound like a loyalty text. A win-back message should not sound like a welcome message. A post-purchase message should not read like you’ve already forgotten they bought something and would love for them to prove themselves all over again.

This sounds obvious when you say it out loud. And yet.

Example

Post-purchase weak: Still thinking about it? Shop now: [link]

That message to a recent buyer makes your brand look like it has the short-term memory of a goldfish. Or that you’re just a lazy copywriter who desperately wants money while also wanting to put in as little effort as possible.

Better post-purchase: Your order’s on the way. We’ll text you when it lands. In the meantime, here’s how to get the best results from it: [link]

That’s more useful, and it builds trust.

A few SMS mistakes brands make over and over

Let’s save you some pain, shall we?

Mistake 1: Sending the same promo language over and over

If every text sounds like a remix of the last one, customers stop paying attention.

Mistake 2: Treating SMS like a discount channel only

Discounts can work. So can service, access, reminders, education, and good timing. If every text is an offer, you flatten the channel.

Mistake 3: Ignoring the post-purchase window

A lot of brands spend all their energy chasing the first conversion and then go quiet after the sale. That’s lazy. Post-purchase SMS can reduce anxiety, improve experience, support retention, and set up future revenue.

Mistake 4: Letting paid acquisition do all the work

If you’re spending a fortune to get people in the door and then doing a mediocre job of following up through owned channels, that is a strategy problem.

Mistake 5: Confusing activity with performance

More sends do not automatically mean more value. A noisier program is not a better program.

The best SMS marketing strategy is usually the one with the least nonsense in it

Strong SMS marketing doesn’t require you to become a text-message comedian, a fake best friend, or a human foghorn screaming about urgency every 12 hours.

It requires you to understand:

Basically, you need to treat them like the human beings they actually are.

So, just because you’re messaging them as a BRAND doesn’t mean you suddenly don’t get to play by the rules of one-to-one human communication.

In fact, because you’re a brand, they’re not going to be as forgiving of you as they would their best friend texting them too early, too late, and too often. (Hey, we’ve all got that one friend who needs a little extra TLC. Am I that friend? Maybe, but this conversation isn’t about me. Stop prying.)

If you want to nail your SMS strategy, you can’t treat texting your customers as a break-in-case-of-emergency strategy when you want to drum up extra revenue because you’re running into a shortfall of expected cash in the door.

Instead, you’re going to be smart: you’re going to segment your lists based on behavior, you’re going to write clearly without pandering or lapsing into overly familiar slang, you’re going to automate around real moments, and you’re going to stay focused on your message.

Most importantly, you’re going to remember that attention is valuable, and patience is finite.

Show the channel some respect, and it’ll deliver.