SMS marketing examples that don't feel like spam

This is for Shopify founders who've just turned on SMS and want texts that read like a helpful reminder instead of spam.

What makes an SMS feel like spam?

Mostly the same things that make an email feel like spam, with less room for error.

SMS is a more acute form of marketing than email: timely and urgent, with very little room for brand awareness. It lands on someone's phone next to texts from their friends. Klaviyo's email-and-SMS guide says texts are seen by almost all recipients, often within seconds. That's why a bad text costs more than a bad email.

From Klaviyo's guides, the patterns to avoid:

• No brand name. Klaviyo says to indicate your company or brand in every SMS.
• Too long. Klaviyo says shorter messages, under 160 characters, tend to perform better. If you need to say more, use email.
• A wall of emoji. Klaviyo says emojis should be used sparingly, and an entire message of emojis may confuse people.
• Text-speak and acronyms. Klaviyo says one or maybe two abbreviations is fine. Acronyms can confuse people unless you know your audience gets them.
• Mystery links. Klaviyo says make sure people know where the link is taking them, and don't use a third-party link shortener, which will likely break the link.
• Too often. Klaviyo's best practices page suggests 1 to 2 texts a week. Its guide to crafting messages says 2 to 6 a month. Those two pages don't match, so I'd stay at the lower end until you see how your list responds.

And one from me. The most common mistake I see in Black Friday subject lines is being too crafty: people want to know what they'll get and where. That was about email subject lines, but it applies even more to a text. A clever text that makes people work to find the offer is a text that gets ignored.

What's the basic structure of a good marketing text?

Four parts, in this order:

1. Brand name. "[Brand]:" at the start works.
2. The reason. What's new, what's back, what's ending.
3. One link. Klaviyo says only one link, as the CTA, and not at the beginning of the message.
4. Opt-out. For example "Reply STOP to opt out," if your number can receive replies.

A note on links: Klaviyo's guide says links shortened with its link shortener are typically 24 to 25 characters. Budget for that in your 160.

SMS marketing examples you can adapt

These are templates written for this post, not real sends from any brand. Swap in your own details. [Brand] is your brand name and [LINK] is your Klaviyo-shortened link.

New product launch

[Brand]: It's here. [Product] just launched and early orders ship first. Shop it: [LINK] Reply STOP to opt out

Why it works: the news is the first thing they read, the benefit of acting now is clear, one link.

Restock

[Brand]: [Product] is back in stock. It sold out last time, so grab yours while it's here: [LINK] Reply STOP to opt out

Why it works: "back in stock" is the whole message. Only say it sold out if it did.

Abandoned cart

[Brand]: You left something in your cart. It's saved here: [LINK] Reply STOP to opt out

Why it works: no pressure, no story, one tap back to checkout. Klaviyo's US rules for abandoned cart texts say only one per person, within 48 hours, with double opt-in. More in abandoned cart SMS.

Shipping cutoff

[Brand]: Last day to order for delivery by [date]. Order here: [LINK] Reply STOP to opt out

Why it works: a deadline is the most useful thing a text can carry. I send at least one text on cutoff day or the day before, and if there's room, one a week or two ahead. My full approach is in holiday shipping cutoff email.

Post-purchase upsell (2 weeks or more after the order)

[Brand]: Loving [Product]? Here's [offer] on [second product] this week: [LINK] Reply STOP to opt out

Why it works: it goes out no less than 2 weeks after the order, and it carries an offer. I'd include a discount in an SMS upsell. That's my preference, not a rule. More in SMS post-purchase upsell.

Email reminder

[Brand]: Our guide to getting the most out of [Product] just hit your inbox. Quick read, worth it. Check your email or read it here: [LINK]

Why it works: this is the text doing its real job, reminding people to read the email. Add your opt-out line if it fits. Klaviyo's best practices say SMS tends to perform better sent before email, so you can also flip it: text first, then the email for everyone who didn't click.

Should you use emojis in marketing texts?

Sparingly, and knowing the cost.

Klaviyo's guide says one emoji drops the single-segment limit from 160 characters to 70. Klaviyo's special characters article adds that one emoji changes the encoding for the whole message, and some emojis count as 2 characters. Each extra segment is another charge. Some symbols, like curly brackets, the tilde and the euro sign, count double too.

Klaviyo's best practices page also says texts without media or emojis "tend to perform just as well, or even better" than texts with them.

For what it's worth on the email side, emoji in subject lines helped two brands and hurt two across 4 brands in the same category. That's email data, but the lesson holds: test on your own list instead of copying someone else's habit. What emojis do to your bill is in Klaviyo SMS credits.

How long should a marketing text be?

One segment. That's 160 standard characters, and Klaviyo suggests aiming under 155 to leave room for personalization like a first name. Klaviyo's example: a name like "Alexander" is 9 characters, longer than the 6 you might budget.

If you personalize, set a fallback. Klaviyo's guide uses "friend" as the default when there's no first name.

Shorter tends to win in email too. One sports tech brand's subject lines of 20 characters or fewer got more than 2x the clicks of 41 to 60 character lines. Again, email, not SMS. But nobody has ever wished a text was longer.

Should you send MMS instead of SMS?

Test it before you make it the default. Klaviyo's guide says MMS typically performs similarly to SMS, and SMS tends to perform better than MMS in most cases. It suggests trying MMS for launches or abandoned cart reminders. MMS costs more per message and is only available on certain numbers, including US toll-free and short codes.

What rules does every marketing text need to follow?

This is general information, not legal advice. From Klaviyo's SMS best practices and compliance pages:

• Consent first. Klaviyo says agreeing to email, general marketing or one-time transactional SMS isn't enough for marketing texts. See SMS marketing consent for Shopify.
• Brand identification in every text.
• An opt-out in your campaign and flow texts, like a STOP keyword.
• Send hours. Klaviyo's best practices say avoid before 9 a.m. or after 8 p.m. in the recipient's local time, and follow any stricter local rules.
• No prohibited content. Klaviyo says don't include SHAFT or other prohibited content.

FAQ

WRITTEN BY Jack White

Founder of Bardown Digital, a Chicago-based Klaviyo email and retention agency for Shopify brands. He's worked with brands doing $500K to $100M a year, with $100M+ in email-attributed revenue across them.

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