SMS Quick Start Guide

With over 60% of all website visits in the US coming from mobile phones, it is more important than ever to reach your customers where they shop: on mobile! Sendlane's SMS functionality allows you to send SMS Campaigns and Automation messages to the right customers at the right time.

Sendlane's monthly or annual SMS packages allow you to add SMS marketing to your existing email marketing strategy quickly and seamlessly! 

Read on to learn how to set up and start using Sendlane's SMS services in three quick steps!

  1. Update Your Privacy Policy
  2. Activate SMS
  3. Collect SMS Consent

⚠️ SMS limitations

  • SMS messaging on shortcodes is only available to phone numbers located in the United States or Canada; SMS messaging on a toll free number is available to phone numbers located in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico
  • SMS is only available for businesses with addresses in the United States
  • SMS carriers are experiencing higher than normal wait times in approving phone number applications; the registration process currently takes up to 4 weeks
1

 Update Your Privacy Policy

To send SMS marketing messages, your business' privacy policy must be updated with information on the type and frequency of content you'll send to Contacts. Use the following example as a guide and consult with your legal team on your policy's final language:
 
By entering your phone number in our checkout SMS opt-in, subscribing via our subscription form or via our text-to-join keyword, you agree that By signing up via text, you agree to receive recurring automated promotional and personalized marketing text messages (e.g. cart reminders) from [Company Name] at the cell number used when signing up. You also acknowledge that consent is not a condition for any purchase made on our site.

If you wish to unsubscribe from receiving text marketing messages and notifications reply with STOP to any mobile message sent from us or use the unsubscribe link we provided you within any of our messages. You understand and agree that alternative methods of opting out, such as using alternative words or requests will not be accounted as a reasonable means of opting out. Message and data rates may apply.

For any questions please text HELP to the number you received the messages from. You can also contact us for more information. If you wish to opt out please follow the procedures above.
2

 Activate SMS

Once your automatically generated phone number is registered, you can try Sendlane's SMS functionality risk-free with 50 free sending credits!

To get started with SMS, head to the Billing page by clicking Account Settings > Billing > Set Up SMS

Check out our in-depth SMS Activation guide for more details!

3

Make sure your account has SMS credits available before turning on Sendlane Pop-Ups for collecting SMS consent.

The confirmation text Contacts must reply to in order to have their SMS consent recorded will not be sent if the account does not have sufficient SMS credits.

Contacts must have affirmative consent to receive SMS marketing messages recorded in their Contact Profiles. There are three main ways to collect SMS marketing consent:

  1. Indicate Contacts' consent when uploading Contacts to your account
  2. Send an email with an SMS consent collection opportunity to your Contacts
  3. Use a Sendlane Pop-Up*

*Contacts must reply "Y" to the confirmation text that is automatically sent after any phone number submission to Sendlane Pop-Ups.

4

 Prepare to Import Contacts

If you have Contacts to import, read our guide How to Add Contacts to Your Audience for important information on import file formatting and consent data.


⏭  Next Steps

Send an SMS Campaign

To create an SMS campaign, click the Campaigns icon > New Campaign > SMS Campaign. Select Lists, Tags, or Segments for your Audience, then click Next: Content.

Check out our guide to Sending SMS Campaigns for more details!

Add SMS Messages to Automations

To add an SMS message to an Automation, open an existing Automation or create a new Automation. Click the + button > Send Message > SMS > Send SMS

Check out our guide to Sending SMS Campaigns for details on creating your SMS message within an Automation!

Reply to SMS Messages

Click the Reply Center icon to start communicating directly with your Contacts! You can use text, emojis, and MMS to reply to messages from your Contacts. Tracking links and tagged links are not available in the Reply Center.

Check out our SMS Reply Center guide for more details!

Additional SMS Resources

Check out the Sendlane Marketing Journal for tips, tricks, and best practices for SMS Marketing:

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