SMS marketing: consent, timing and what to send.

What counts as consent for marketing texts?

In the United States, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requires prior express written consent before sending automated marketing texts. In practice, that means:

• A separate, unticked checkbox or a keyword the customer texts to you — not buried in your terms.
• Clear wording at the point of sign-up: who is texting, what kind of messages, roughly how often, that message and data rates may apply, and how to opt out.
• A record of when and how each person agreed.
• Consent can’t be a condition of buying.

Other countries have their own rules — Canada’s CASL, the UK’s PECR and the EU’s GDPR among them. If you text customers abroad, check the rules where they live.

How should opt-outs work?

Every marketing message should tell people how to stop — usually “Reply STOP to opt out”. When someone replies STOP (or a common equivalent like UNSUBSCRIBE or CANCEL), send one confirmation and then nothing more. Make sure your SMS platform honors opt-outs across every number and campaign you run, and that the opt-out syncs back to your store or CRM.

What time of day should you send marketing texts?

Send during sensible daytime hours in the recipient’s time zone, not yours. US rules restrict calls and texts to between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time, and some states set narrower windows or limit how many messages you can send in a day. A safe habit: weekdays, mid-morning to early evening, no Sundays or public holidays unless the message is genuinely time-sensitive.

Transactional texts — order shipped, appointment tomorrow — are expected and can follow the customer’s activity more closely, but still avoid the middle of the night.

What messages are worth a text?

Text is best for short, timely messages a customer is glad to receive. Longer stories belong in email.

• Order and delivery updates — Shipped, out for delivery, ready to collect.
• Appointment reminders — With an easy way to confirm or reschedule.
• Back in stock — Only for people who asked to be told.
• Time-limited offers — Genuine deadlines, sent sparingly.
• Review requests — One message after the job or delivery.
• Loyalty updates — Points earned or rewards ready to use.

What does a good marketing text look like?

Do

• Say who you are at the start
• One clear point and one link
• Keep it short enough to fit one message
• Include “Reply STOP to opt out”
• Use a link on your own domain

Don’t

• Text people who didn’t opt in
• Use ALL CAPS and lots of emoji
• Send several texts a day
• Hide the opt-out
• Use fake urgency or misleading claims

How often should you send marketing texts?

Less often than email. Tell people at sign-up roughly how often you’ll text, then stick to it. Watch your opt-out rate after every send; if it jumps, you sent too often or the message wasn’t relevant. Many stores do well with texts reserved for their most important moments and email doing the everyday work.

In the US, business texting from ordinary long numbers also requires 10DLC registration of your brand and campaigns with the carriers, and unregistered traffic can be filtered or blocked. Your SMS provider handles the paperwork, but it takes time — start early.