This is Part 5 of a 7-part series. Check out the full series below.
- Part 1: Why Text Marketing
- Part 2: List Growth Strategies & Consent
- Part 3: Segmentation Strategies
- Part 4: Campaigns & Automations
- Part 5: Composing Great Messages (You are here)
- Part 6: Measuring & Improving Results
- Part 7: Now What?
Hey again. We’ve made a ton of progress so far.
We set the foundation with why text marketing is so important, we hit on compliance and list building, segmentation of your list, and then got you familiar with the two main types of messaging, automations and campaigns.
Today though, we’re finally going to get really tactical and discuss how to think about composing your text message copy.
At Conversmart, these are some of the principles we’ve found to work best when crafting new messages for campaigns and automations.
So, let’s get into it.
Getting your voice right
It’s important as you start writing your messages that you have a clear sense of your brand voice. The last thing you want to do is change your brand voice every time you message your audience.
Think about it. If you were texting your friends and the way they talked to you sounded different every time, it would be distracting, right?
The same idea applies here. Define how you are going to talk and then stick to it. It’s important to be consistent.
Hook them immediately
The next most important thing to do is to make sure you capture their attention.
Two great ways to do that are through excitement (like an update or special offer) or through emotional connection (how can you make it resonate with them?).
Remember, your first line will convince them whether or not to read the second line, and the second will convince them whether to read the third, and so on so build your message carefully, one line at a time.
Feed their imagination
Another important consideration to keep in mind as you aim to resonate emotionally is to speak to their pain points. What opportunity are they potentially going to miss out on if they don’t take action? Use vivid language and imagery to help bring this home.
Always be personal
This should go without saying, but as a reminder, text is a more personal channel and the more you can align the message content with their prior browsing or purchase history using segmentation, the higher likelihood you’re going to see results from your message.
Keep it simple stupid
Be concise. Be clear. Get to the point. For example, don’t say “has the ability to” when you can say “can.” Not only is this just good clear writing. It also helps cut down on character count.
Format them well
There’s nothing worse than reading a big block of text. Add spacing! Additionally, consider emphasizing important words with caps or emojis, but be cautious. You don’t want to go overboard.
Call them to action
A strong CTA is important, but the specific action will differ depending on your brand. Test out different CTAs with each campaign and learn from each one until you see what works best with your specific audience.
Add some urgency
Finally, you’ll want to add some urgency to encourage them to take action soon. For example, “Hurry! Ends at midnight.”
Now at this point, this may seem pretty overwhelming, and it does take some time and practice to get good at it, but the more you do it, the better you’ll get.
From here, we’re going to move on to data and some of the things you’ll want to look at to improve your performance over time.
This is the section that will help show you where you’re doing well and where you need work.
See you tomorrow!
David
P.S. If you need help with your messages, hit reply and we’ll see how we might be able to help.