Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to build a relationship with your customers and drive more direct bookings. When coupled with SMS marketing, your marketing efforts can go even further.
SMS marketing reaches your customers through the devices they use the most: their smartphones. A quick and easy promotional text can drive a series of conversions, especially if sent to the right customers at the right time.
Setting up your SMS marketing is similar to creating your email campaigns. Once a customer opts in, you’ll send them a “thank you for subscribing” text to welcome them. That first welcome message can dictate whether future texts are opened or not — so it’s important to get it right.
In this post, you’ll learn how to write an efficient “thank you for subscribing” text that makes customers excited to book with you.
When to send an automated thank you text
What should be included in a “thank you” campaign for new customers
6 tips for writing a good welcome text for new subscribers
- First, get permission
- Identify yourself
- Keep it short
- Offer an incentive
- Personalize your message
- Use emojis
What is SMS marketing?
There are many ways to send marketing messages to your customers, such as via email or text message. SMS marketing is the latter. SMS marketing is when a business sends promotional messages via text directly to a customers’ mobile phone.
Text messages have an incredibly high open rate compared to email, which has an average open rate of about 20%. Retailers and ecommerce stores often use SMS marketing to promote new products, time-sensitive offers, and holiday discounts.
These short and sweet text messages quickly appear on a customer’s smartphone — making it easy for them to digest it on the go. When done right, SMS marketing can help you drive more direct bookings.
You can use both email and SMS marketing to successfully reach your customers at the right time and place.
When to send an automated thank you text
You can send an automated “thank you” text as soon as a subscriber confirms the double opt-in for your text campaigns.
You must also be mindful of the federal SMS compliance requirements. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) states that texts can’t be sent between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the recipients’ time zone. These are considered “quiet hours.”
Overall, you don’t want to bombard your customers with too many text messages. Try limiting promotional texts to once a week or less.
What should be included in a “thank you” campaign for new customers
A “thank you” campaign is the perfect way to welcome your new subscribers. Your welcome text will let them know they successfully subscribed to receive text updates from your company. It’ll also set the tone for future interactions.
These virtual interactions start creating a positive guest experience before guests ever arrive at your tour or attraction.
Writing a welcome text is easy. It can be as simple as “Thank you for subscribing!” Aside from a short and sweet “Thank you,” here are the five components to include in every welcome text:
- A double opt-in: Ask customers to confirm their subscription via text. Your text message opt-in needs to be separate from your email opt-in.
- Introduction: Tell the customer who the text is coming from.
- Set expectations: Explain what types of messages they’ll receive and how often.
- Call to action: Drive people back to your website by including a booking link.
- An unsubscribe option: Tell customers how they can opt out.
Here is an example message with all of these components included:
Opt-in: Please reply “Yes” to receive special deals & promotions from [Company Name]. Reply “Stop” to cancel.
Thank you text: Thank you for subscribing to [Company Name]’s text campaigns!
We’ll send special offers & deal alerts 1/week. Book: [LINK]
Reply “Stop” to cancel.
6 tips for writing a good welcome text for new subscribers
You now have a good idea of what include in your “thank you” campaign. Although these messages are relatively simple, there are a few ways to make them stand out:
1. First, get permission
You can only send a welcome text to someone who has opten in. Once they’ve given you their phone number, send them a text confirming their subscription. This will ensure your SMS marketing is in compliance with federal regulations.
Please reply “Yes” to receive special deals & promotions from [Company Name]. Reply “Help” for help, “Stop” to cancel.
2. Identify yourself
Your message will come from an unknown number. Make sure customers instantly recognize your brand by introducing your company early on in the text. For example, you can lead with “Thank you for subscribing to [Company Name]’s texts!”
3. Keep it short
Text messages aren’t approached the same way as emails. While long-form messages are expected via email, text messages should be easy to read at a glance. The best advice is to skip the fluff and get to the point quickly. It’s recommended to keep your text within 160 or fewer characters.
4. Offer an incentive
Show your customers the benefit of signing up for your text messages right off the bat. Offer them a members-only discount to use on their next booking. The message might look something like this:
Thank you for subscribing to [Company name]’s text campaigns! Use offer code “NewMember” for 15% off your next booking: [Link to booking page].
5. Personalize your message
Aside from using your customers’ first names, you can further segment your customers based on their buying behaviors, locations, and past visits. You can then create different thank you messages that resonate most with each group of customers.
6. Use emojis
Emojis can make a text feel more human. In fact, 60% of people say they are likely to open an email or push notification that contains an emoji, according to Adobe’s Global Emoji Trend Report. Emojis may even drive more bookings: 42% of people say they are more likely to make a purchase when emojis are used in an ad.
***
SMS marketing is an effective way to send promotional offers to your guests and increase conversions.
The welcome text sets the tone for future interactions going forward, all of which make up your guest experience. It should fall in line with the positive experience you strive to provide them with during their visit.
Use these tips to write a “thank you” text that makes guests excited to book their next tour or visit with you.
