Ron Kinkade
With a 98% open rate, text messages are the best way to contact customers, clients, or employees. However, for a text message to be compelling, it needs to be written and sent to get the recipient's attention. You don't want them to dismiss it as spam or ignore the message because it arrives at an inconvenient time. It should be engaging and encourage the recipient to take action, whether you want patients to book their flu shots or inform employees about a policy change.
Writing a good text message may not be as intuitive as you think, so look at our six tips for writing an effective text.
1. Identify yourself
While texting from a local or toll-free number has the added benefit of not having to give out your personal information, you don't want to be too anonymous. If your contact doesn't recognize your number, there's a high probability that they'll delete the message to keep themselves safe from spam. That's why it's imperative to identify yourself in your first message and in every new broadcast. This provides a sense of security and trust and makes it more likely for the text to be read.
Text-Em-All offers a text templates feature that will allow you to add a previously created message into your text broadcast. You can use this feature as a personal introduction or a signature to help your audience identify you every time you send a message.
2. Make your message clear
The first step to writing a clear and effective text is identifying the why behind the message. What's the point of your message? Once you've identified the point, write and re-write the message until you have a concise, straightforward message. Keeping the message brief and unambiguous will ensure your contacts don't just glance over the message without fully understanding its intent.
3. Make it personal
Text messages don't have to sound like an AI chatbot wrote them. Part of what sets today's business texts apart from spammy, unwanted texts is that they provide the opportunity to give meaningful, personalized information.
The simplest way to personalize your message is to include your contact's name in the message. Not only does this make the message more personal, but it also ensures they know the message is intended for them. At Text-Em-All, our platform offers a personalization feature that inserts custom fields (First Name, Last Name, Company, etc.) into your text broadcast by automatically filling in your contacts information.
4. Stay Professional
While being friendly and personal in texts is good, you must also keep the message professional. You should avoid emojis, abbreviations, and other text elements that could harm the impression you are trying to create. You should only capitalize proper nouns and the first word of each sentence and check each message to ensure your grammar and spelling are correct.
5. End with a call to action
A call to action encourages recipients of your text to take the next step. There are a variety of actions that you could want your contact to take, but here are some common CTAs.
- "Please respond to this message if you are interested."
- "Go to ________.com to register."
- "Check your progress/grades/schedule at ________."
- "Call us at 888-xxx-xxx to ______."
Whichever CTA you use, make it clear what you want them to do next, whether it's making a call, sending a text message back, clicking a link, or something else.
6. Optimize your messaging schedule
It's not just about what you say in your text messages but also when you choose to send them. Scheduling your text messages at the right time can be just as important as writing them well. If people receive your messages at a time that's not convenient for them, they might choose to ignore them. Studies have shown that mid-to-late afternoon is the best time to send a text message if you want reasonable open rates and responses. About 6 pm, just after many people finish work, is one of the best times to send your text.
An effectively written text message is more likely to connect with your intended audience. It can also help you to get the response that you want. Before you send your message, test it to ensure it reads correctly and has no mistakes. Get someone else to look it over, too, so you have another set of eyes to check it.
Overall, texting is a really effective way to get in touch with your contacts, but writing a compelling text shouldn't be stressful. Just focus on the content of your message, keeping it short and sweet, and your audience will be grateful.