BUILD YOUR SMS MESSAGING CONTACT LIST
A “best practices” primer on building your contact list quickly, efficiently, and legally.
OK, we’ve been super serious with you as we went through all the rules and risks of text messaging here. We’ve studied the TCPA and CAN-SPAM, and we’ve built our company to help you stay compliant.
getLouie can get strict when we need to. It’s the only way we got our accounting department to start wearing shoes.
Now let’s have some fun: with the ultimate guide to building your text message contact list. Not only can this be fun and lucrative for you, but it can also be fantastic for your customers. In today’s marketplace, we all care about our relationship with our favorite companies, and a text conversation can cement that loyalty.
We love our stats, most notably this one: almost 90% of customers say they want to use messaging to communicate with businesses.
So let’s make your people happy while you grow your revenue.
HOW TO ADD CONTACTS TO YOUR SMS MARKETING DATABASE
You now know that you can’t just simply migrate your contact list over to your getLouie and account and start texting. If your customers don’t opt-in, and you text them without their consent, you could be facing a $500- $1,500 penalty for each text you send.
That’s why getLouie has an automatic double opt-in feature. We automatically store all consents for each new customer contact.
There are other ways to sign up your customers. Remember, all of these methods have to be clear, and you need to save the sign up. You can also have customers opt-in via:
- Old-fashioned paper form – they can sign up at your establishment
- Online form – signups on a dedicated page on your website
- Website popups – we see these more and more, and they can be a convenient method for sign
You may notice we didn’t include keywords- those ads you see to text “XXXX” to a number that’s shorter than a standard telephone number. Those are called shared “shortcodes,” and the major cell carriers have stared to discontinued them. Only leaving you the choice of a single short code which can been costly.
The standard is now long code (10DLC). That’s why we’re in a Campaign Service Provider with The Campaign Registry, which is the gold standard for registering 10DLC messaging campaigns.
WHAT YOU SHOULD LET YOUR CUSTOMERS KNOW WHEN THEY SIGN UP
Transparency is the keyword here. Let your customers know what kind of messages and how many they sign up for when they opt-in.
- A description of your texting program
- The approximate number of messages your customer should expect in a week or month
- Instructions on how to opt-out or get help (STOP or HELP messages)
- A link to your terms and conditions and privacy policy.
getLouie automatically helps you out with all of these steps when your customers opt in, but especially with the last. Most companies don’t have their own terms and conditions or privacy notices, and hiring a lawyer can be expensive. We can auto-generate those essential T&C&Ps for you right on your signup!
HOW TO ENCOURAGE YOUR CUSTOMERS TO SIGN UP
For some companies, this proves to be a difficult step. If you’ve signed up for a texting service already and barely used it, or if you’re worried not enough people will sign on to make a subscription worth the cost, follow the Immortal Trinity of Acquiring Wonderful Contacts.
(or I-TAWK…Mike in our content department is from Brooklyn.)
ALWAYS PROVIDE:
- Value
- Clarity
- Relevance
Value: give them something to sign up that also gets the customer to try out your goods or services. You’d be surprised how many contacts you can get with a free mini muffin or 5% off their next purchase.
Clarity: When you put out your call to action, make sure that there is one action for your customer to take: SUBSCRIBE. With all of the input and stimuli we deal with on a daily basis, clarity is key.
Relevance: This is a constantly moving target and requires your marketing team’s imagination. What your customers think of as relevant can change yearly and through the year (think the holidays!). Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and offer a relevant message with each “subscribe” call to action.
And finally: stay with your voice! Too often, we see companies put out a simple “subscribe here.” But, unfortunately, if a customer is in your store or browsing your wares online, that bland command is not likely to push through the noise of their everyday life.
Invite them in your brand’s unique voice, and bring that subscriber into your business family. Remember: they want you to text them! Help your customers get exactly what they want and help your business at the same time.
—————-
The Articles published on the getLouie.ai blogs are to be regarded as an online educational resource for text messaging and SMS marketing. The User in use of this content must fully comply with the legal requirements of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (TCPA). All contents of Blog are to be used for informational and education purposes only and not as legal advice or a replacement for legal representation. Upon using the Blog, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and this TCPA disclaimer policy. Under the Terms of Use, you acknowledge that any use of the Blog does not serve as legal advice.
All information within the Blog is not guaranteed to reflect the most current legal standards or to be correct with up-to-date developments. Efforts by Blog editors to modify and update information on the Blog do not guarantee the information is most up-to-date or still legally active. getLouie.ai is not liable for outdated information.
