Say, do you remember—dancin’ in September?

No? Okay, how about textin’ in September?

We hope you will, because we’re kicking off the fall season with a bounty of reasons to reach out to your SMS subscribers. From college colors and football to wildlife and world gratitude, here are six excellent reasons to message your subscribers this month. (Select from the list below to skip to a particular section.)

1. September 2: College Colors Day

2. September 4: National Wildlife Day

3. September 5: Labor Day

4. September 8: Start of Pro Football Season

5. September 21: World Gratitude Day

6. September 22: First Day of Fall

It’s an old in-office favorite, but with so many folks working from home these days, we’re betting your subscribers would love a reason to deck themselves out in support of their alma mater. So, why not send an interactive campaign inviting them to show off their school spirit? Incentivize responses with a special discount or the chance to win a prize.

Or, simply promote any gameday-related products or collections—like The Impeccable Pig did with this campaign.

It’s a GRRRReat day to send a text! 🐯🦁

This day is all about recognizing and appreciating the multitude of animal species surrounding us—in our own environment and around the world. If you’re an environmentally conscious brand, share how wildlife habitat protection motivates you—or simply reveal some of your team members’ favorite animals (and why). Bonus points for donating a percentage of today’s sales to a wildlife-related cause.

Personal journal brand My Bucket Journals sent two versions of their National Wildlife Day message—one encouraging subscribers to visit a zoo, and the other inviting them to reply with their favorite animal. Both texts promoted their zoo bucket journals as a way to enjoy wildlife explorations even more.

Established to celebrate the American labor movement and the contributions and achievements of American workers, Labor Day has come to be known as the unofficial end to summer—and a major sale weekend for shoppers in the US.

It’s a great time to celebrate your hard-working subscribers—or send a historical fun fact reminding them of what the day is all about.

If you’re running a sale, we highly recommend scheduling multiple sends to announce and remind subscribers about it. Remember, most of them will be inundated with promotional messaging over the weekend, and if you only send one SMS campaign to your full list, you’ll probably get lost in the noise.

If you have a fairly large list, you might also consider segmenting based on subscriber attributes like products purchased, number of purchases, or geographic location. The more personalized your messaging, the more it will stand out.

Here’s a quick example of a multi-message campaign series from water bottle brand HydroJug. They sent subscribers a teaser, an official sale announcement, and a last chance reminder.

Collagen brand Native Path took a similar approach, scheduling a couple of sends to announce the sale—with the first one featuring an eye-catching image and really playing on the VIP nature of the deal—as well as a reminder message that adds urgency with an expiration warning and a last chance message that reinforces that this really is their final opportunity to purchase.

Continuing with the VIP theme, we love how supplement and shapewear brand Boujee Hippie plays up the exclusivity of their SMS-only early access in this text emphasizing that as soon as the clock strikes midnight, their Labor Day sale will open to the public.

Big sale times are also awesome opportunities to promote your loyalty and rewards programs, like hands-free shoe brand Kizik did in this message incentivizing signups and offering triple points on purchases.

Pro tip: If you haven’t used our campaign Flow Builder yet, this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Schedule a weekend’s worth of sale reminders so you can focus on hosting that backyard BBQ instead!

The National Football League kicks off its 2022 season on Thursday, September 8, with a match-up between the Bills and the Rams.

If it fits your brand and audience, take this opportunity to celebrate the start of pro football with a text campaign. Offer a deal to mark the occasion, or simply invite subscribers to reply with their predictions for the game.

Here’s an example Maryland-themed clothing company Route One Apparel sent last fall.

And here’s one promoting a football-themed sale from nutrition brand NuGo.

If you really want to get into it, start your own bracket with your SMS subscribers. Have them respond with a certain keyword if they want to participate, and make it an interactive SMS-only experience all season long.

Thanksgiving is still a couple of months out, but gratitude is a theme we can get behind all year long—especially on World Gratitude Day. So, take a moment to reflect on everything you’re grateful for—and as an ecommerce brand, that surely includes your loyal customers!

Show them how much you appreciate their business by offering a special deal or discount—or simply some heartfelt words of thanks. Another option would be asking folks to reply with what they are grateful for—and possibly even re-sharing your favorite responses on social media.

This is another great opportunity to share your brand mission or your “about us” story. Let subscribers know you’re grateful for their support, but remind them of who you are and why your brand matters, too.

We couldn’t help but tear up at this personal message the founders of Super Coffee sent their subscribers.

If mushy isn’t really your style, take a cue from jewelry brand Blessed Be Magick and keep your words of thanks short and sweet.

The leaves are changing, there’s a nip in the air, and an explosion of all things pumpkin spice has taken over grocery stores across the country. And let’s not forget about those decorative gourds.

To celebrate, fire off a conversational text with a list of fall-themed keywords and ask subscribers to text back the one they are looking forward to most. Or, use this opportunity to kick off a fall sale!

Here’s a nice MMS example from Your Beautiful Boutique. If you’re already creating fall-themed images for social media or email, consider repurposing them for text to make your messages pop.

Apparel brand Vapor95 kicked off the new season with a free gift offer.

U Suck at Golf and The Try Guys also used the changing weather as an opportunity to promote some of their cozier items.

Of course, saying hello to fall also means waving goodbye to summer. So, it’s also a great time to take stock of any extra inventory that needs to move before Q4. Empty out those shelves with a big end-of-summer clearance event. Let your list know it’s your store’s last big sale before Cyber Week hits.

Here’s an example from My Gift Stop.

And here’s one from hydration brand Hydrant.

We also love how this example from edible cookie dough brand Doughp uses fun copy and emojis to grab subscribers’ attention—and FOMO to get them to take action before their summer favorites disappear.

Braxley Bands took a more interactive approach, sending subscribers a rotating GIF of summer UGC and inviting them to continue tagging the brand in their upcoming fall adventures. This is a great strategy for brands that aren’t necessarily running a sale—but still want to engage with their SMS list going into the new season.

There you have it—six great texts for a September to remember! If you’re feeling good about your campaign lineup this month, we also recommend revisiting your automations to make sure they’re optimized for all the major holidays ahead (including BFCM). Check out our top automation tips here!