Master the Welcome Series SMS: 5 Examples from Top DTC Brands
Introduction
How you introduce your brand to new subscribers is important, as your first impression will determine whether you’re able to create long-lasting business relationships...or have subscribers flag your content as spam.
What if there was a way to engage subscribers from the moment they opt in your marketing campaign?
Good news. You can, and it’s easier than you think. All you have to do is create a welcome series SMS campaign that engages customers and leaves them wanting more.In this post, we’re going to look at some SMS welcome series examples that will help you achieve your marketing objectives, then you will learn how easy it is to create a welcome series SMS of your own. Also, be sure to check out this blog post to learn 4 creative strategies for making your welcome series stand out to new subscribers.
Okay, let’s get started.
In this article (click to jump to a particular section):
What Is a Welcome Series SMS Campaign?
Brands have been sending automated welcome messages to new subscribers for some time now, but many ecommerce companies find that engagement increases when they send a series of welcoming messages (rather than one first email immediately after a subscriber opts in.)
While commonly used in email marketing campaigns, welcome series SMS campaigns have become increasingly popular for one simple reason—SMS marketing is *really* effective. Brands can see as much as a 45x ROI on SMS marketing campaigns thanks to higher open rates than emails.So, how does a welcome series SMS campaign work?An effective welcome series SMS campaign reaches out to new subscribers with the aim of:
Welcoming them to your brand for the first time after subscribing
Increasing engagement
A run-of-the-mill welcome SMS simply introduces new subscribers to your brand. A welcome series SMS campaign doesn’t just welcome them, it also and acts as a content drip by inviting further actions like encouraging subscribers to:
View a new product line
Purchase an item on sale
Use a promo code or coupon to make their first purchase
Take surveys
Because of this, SMS welcome series campaigns have become an important marketing tool for ecommerce companies.You can even use them as an opportunity to strengthen your relationship with new subscribers and enhance the customer experience. Simply send follow-up messages designed to familiarize them with your brand’s philosophy, mission, and core values.
How Brands Use Welcome Series SMS Campaigns
Now that we’ve talked about what a welcome series SMS is, let’s look at how ecommerce brands are using them. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best SMS welcome series examples below.
1. Funboy
Upon opting in, Funboy sends new users a welcome message and a discount promo code for their first purchase.
The next day, Funboy sends subscribers a follow-up message reminding them to use the promo code. They also use this time to promote their new line of products.
Funboy sends a final text message four days later reminding customers to use the discount code before it expires.
2. Lovepop
Lovepop kicks off their series with a standard welcome message. They also use this opportunity to show an image of one of their products, while telling subscribers they’ll receive notification of new product updates in the future.
Two weeks later, they send another message to new subscribers about new products and where they can be purchased.
Ready Set Judy sends their first welcome series SMS an hour after the shopper opts in. They also use this opportunity to welcome new customers and give them a promo code with their purchase.
They send a second SMS the following day reminding subscribers to use their coupon. This is a great opportunity to drive conversions.
Using scarcity as a marketing technique, Ready Set Judy sends a final SMS four days later urging customers to use their promo code before it expires. Note how they increased the discount from 10% to 15%.
Snow Teeth Whitening starts the welcome series with a promo code.
They send another message the next day highlighting the benefits of their whitening solution, while reminding subscribers to use the discount before it expires.
They send the subscriber another SMS two days after the first welcome message. This time, Snow Teeth Whitening encourages readers to comment with any questions or concerns they have. This is an example of how customer service can be integrated into the welcome series.
5. Grinds
Grinds starts the conversation by giving customers a coupon while introducing a new product.
Four hours after the first SMS, Grinds sends another message encouraging indecisive readers to purchase a sampler pack.
Grinds sends the third SMS 20 hours later. This time, they use the power of social proof to drive conversion.
Strategy for Putting Together Your Own SMS Welcome Series
Ready to create your own SMS welcome series for your ecommerce brand? We’ve got some tips to help you get the most from your campaign.
Personalize your messages
Use personalization to speak directly to the customer. Use their first name in the message and keep a conversational tone like all the examples shown above.
Have a discussion
Use your welcome series campaign as an opportunity for real engagement. Elicit feedback, ask questions, and respond to customers’ messages.
Collect customer data
You can’t create personalized messages if you don’t get to know your customers. Collect customer data and use it to create hyper-targeted messages. Information like birthdays and items on wish lists can go a long way in helping you target customers with relevant material.
Use images
A plain text message is easily overlooked, but an MMS with attention-grabbing visuals isn’t. Add some flair to your text message with graphics like:
Branded images
Pictures of products
Memes or reaction gifs
This will make your messages more memorable, which can help boost conversions.
Include opt-out keywords
Make it easy for subscribers to opt out of your SMS campaign whenever they want by using keywords like stop, end, unsubscribe, and cancel. Postscript takes care of this for you, and even recognizes “fuzzy opt-out” keywords.
How to Put Together a Welcome Series SMS Campaign Using Postscript
Postscript makes it easy for you to create a welcome series SMS campaign of your own.
That’s because Postscript does the heavy lifting by building the workflows for you. All you have to do is tweak the templates by:
Choosing the images you want to include in each welcome series SMS
Modify the existing messages or create your own from scratch
Choose the delay between each SMS sent to your subscribers
The result is an automated welcome series SMS campaign that is visually stunning and effective at boosting conversions. That way, you can get the most out of your DTC marketing campaign.
Want to add coupons to your welcome series SMS campaign? Check out our step-by-step guide to learn more.
Looking for a welcome series template? Download one here.
