Distribution

SMS Marketing

Understand why text messages get almost everyone's attention within minutes — and why that power demands restraint, consent, and care.

  • Beginner
  • 11 min total
  • 11 chapters

What decision this helps you make: Whether and how to use SMS as a channel without burning the trust (and breaking the laws) that make it work.

What this topic is

SMS marketing reaches customers by text message. Its defining trait is attention: open/read rates are commonly cited around 95–98%, with most texts read within minutes — far above email. But it's intrusive, costs money per message, and is tightly regulated (explicit opt-in consent required).

Why it matters

SMS commands near-total, near-immediate attention no other channel matches — powerful for genuinely timely, valuable messages. But that same power makes it easy to abuse: over-texting annoys people into opting out, and marketing texts without consent are illegal. Understanding SMS lets you use its attention where it counts while respecting the restraint and consent it demands.

Who should learn it

Anyone considering SMS as a channel — and anyone who has felt the difference between a welcome text and an annoying one.

What you will understand

  • Understand why SMS commands near-total, immediate attention
  • See why that power demands restraint and consent
  • Know the legal and cost constraints of texting
  • Use SMS for the genuinely timely and valuable

Prerequisites

Common misconception

"SMS gets a 98% open rate, so I should text customers constantly." The high open rate is exactly why restraint matters: texting is intrusive, so over-messaging annoys people into opting out fast — and marketing texts without explicit consent are illegal. SMS's power works only when reserved for genuinely timely, valuable, wanted messages to people who opted in.