By picking the SMS mail-out as a tool of business promotion, many people hope that they will have immediate positive effect. But it is not always so. Sometimes, by ignorance, people start to send spam instead of effective promotional messages. Sometimes they do it properly.
We’ve decided to help you to avoid mistakes that can make you a spammer.
First, let’s try to figure out what spam is. Unfortunately, there is no official definition. The closest one is this:
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send an unsolicited message (spam), especially advertising, as well as sending messages repeatedly to the same recipient.
So, we can say that your message is spam if the subscriber hasn’t given conscious, explicit consent to receive SMS mail-outs, and if there is no opt-out mechanism to them.
To identify whether your SMS mail-out is spam, answer the following questions:
Has the subscriber consciously agreed to receive your SMS mail-out?
Yes. So, everything is OK and you shouldn’t worry.
No. Your SMS mail-out is spam.
Moreover, you are breaking the law. All countries have their own bodies which regulate the sending of SMS, for example, in America, there is the CTIA, in Britain there is the PECR. The legal environment of each country has its own specific nuances. But in all of them, each SMS mail-out must have an opt-in mechanism and a subscriber needs to give his consent to receive messages from you.
There is only one exception; if you are sending the subscriber very important information. But this only applies to public services, informing people about imminent danger.
Do you have an opt-out mechanism?
Yes. Probably, you are on the right path.
No. In this case, you are a spammer.
It’s not enough to have a subscriber’s consent for a legal SMS mail-out. Without an opt-out mechanism, your messages will be spam. Every person has the right to refuse to receive SMS, and you must provide this opportunity to them.
Is your content relevant?
Yes. Congratulations! Your messages are not spam.
No. Please, stop sending spam to people.
Relevant content is content which meets the expectations of subscribers. One of the most common mistakes of novice marketer is that they measure the interest of the target audience according their own opinion and assume that if they are interested in something, the clients will also be interested in it. Don’t repeat this mistake.
Don’t forget that even if subscribers give you consent to receive your messages, this doesn’t mean that they want to receive information that won’t be interesting to them.
Have you picked the right time to send your SMS?
Yes. There is a 90% probability your SMS will be read..
No. Seriously, stop spamming.
Your SMS mail-out can be classified as spam by other criteria than rules and regulations. Each subscriber has their own opinion. believe us, nobody likes to receive messages at 6am on Sunday.
If you have answered ‘Yes’ to all of these questions, you can be sure that your SMS mail-out is not spam and your subscribers won’t feel antagonised by it.
If you have answered ‘No’ to at least one question, you have time to correct something in your SMS mail-out to make your messages more effective.
If you have answered ‘No’ to every question, you must stop your SMS mail-outs. You will not achieve anything positive with messages like this, you’ll only cause annoyance to your subscribers.
Read more about how to create an effective SMS mail-out in our blog.
