# Guide To Bulk SMS: Send Messages People Actually Want To Receive > This guide will: Help you understand some of the rules that apply to SMS marketing (US and Canada). Maximize the impact of SMS for: Client responses… - Source: https://docs.ghlcustomercare.com/docs/university/prospecting-and-sales/guide-to-bulk-sms-send-messages-people-actually-want-to-receive - Section: University / Prospecting & Sales - Reading time: 4 min - Modified on Fri, 15 Mar, 2024 at 11:06 AM --- ## This guide will: - Help you understand some of the rules that apply to SMS marketing (US and Canada). - Maximize the impact of SMS for: - Client responses - Marketing ppt Ins - Appointment conversions - Closing sales ## Composing Your Message ### Compliance in your SMS body - Seek consent from your text recipient before including them in your SMS campaign - Always identify yourself and your business by name. - If it’s the first time you’re messaging a contact, OR if it’s been 90 days or more since you last messaged them, be sure to add an unsubscribe clause at the very end of your message. - “Reply STOP to opt out.” - “If you’d like us to stop texting you, just reply STOP.” - If someone opts out of receiving future texts, be sure to remove them from your future SMS campaigns! ### Strategic Best Practices - Greet each contact by using the first name custom value → {{contact.first\_name}} - Use sparingly, no more than once per month - Respect people’s time and attention by only sending in specific time windows that are least likely to disturb personal time - For measurable results, use a strong offer - Make your message clear and concise to avoid turning people off and increasing unsubscribes. - Consider offering something for free to maximize interest or responses - Minimal commitment now = maximum number of conversations that will build trust and belief throughout the sales process - Keep messages short and exciting - Think about how your message will make the average contact feel - Avoid needless punctuation, specifically overuse of exclamation points, to increase reading speed - Avoid formal writing styles and match the casual tone of a typical text message conversation - Spark conversations - Creating live conversations = a direct connection with a potential customer - It builds trust - Which leads to increased sales momentum - Which builds your reputation - Ask a direct question to prompt responses - Do not ask more than one question, as this can cause confusion - Do not overuse emojis - Avoid sending links - This can cause deliverability issues - It also neglects all the great benefits of chat conversations - Only send out messages when you know you can respond in a timely manner - Contacts who respond right away and then never hear back will think your message was sent in bulk or spam - As such, contacts who get responses right away will be more likely to convert - Be prepared for unsubscribes - You will always get some people responding STOP - You will always get some people to ask not to be texted anymore - Respect their wishes, mark them DND, and move on ### Bad Example “Hello, this is Ashley from Bob’s Fitness ?? We’re the best gym in town! All our members are models! It’s ? $175/month ? to join and there’s an extra $150 new member fee ?… We have a lot of spots to fill so we hope you can afford it! We also have personal training, group classes, a 6 week challenge, nutrition plans, sauna, ice baths, an inner circle club, work-trade spots available, and many other add-ons!” ### Good Example “Hi {{contact.first\_name}}, this is Ashley from Bob’s Fitness, we’re giving out a few 10-day passes and I wondered if you’d like one? If you’d like for us to stop texting you, reply STOP” ### Technical Setup and Execution - Select the contacts you’d like to message. Need help filtering a list? Check out "[Getting Started with Smart Lists](https://docs.ghlcustomercare.com/docs/contacts/smart-lists/how-to-create-manage-smart-lists)" - Click the “Send SMS” button (picture of icon) - Click “Ok, Proceed” - Type your message - Title the action for internal reference - If you want to send the message to everyone at the same time immediately, leave the toggle on “Send all at once.” - This is good for 1-way announcements you do not expect to turn into conversations and want to send right away. - If you want to send the message to everyone at the same time later, select “Send all at schedule time” and then set the send time in the “Start On” field. - This is good for 1-way announcements you do not expect to turn into conversations and want to send automatically at a later time - If you want to slowly deliver the message to the list of contacts over time, select “Send in drip mode” - This is good for messages you expect to generate responses and conversations - Start On - The day and time when messages should start sending - Batch Quantity - The number of messages that sends each time the Repeat After condition is met - Repeat After - The amount of time to wait until sending out the next Batch Quantity - Send On - The days of the week the system will allow messages to send - Process Between Hours (optional) - The window, or timeframe within each day in which the system will send messages.. - Example of a Drip sending 100 messages per day spread out between 10:30am-11:00am each day. - Action: “Database Reactivation: Black Friday Weekend Promo” - Start On: November 29th - Batch Quantity: 10 - Repeat After: 3 minutes - Send On: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thr, Fri, Sat, Sun - Process Between - Start From: - 10:30AM - End At - 11:00AM --- Documentation for GHL Customer Care. Support: support@ghlcustomercare.com