June is here! We know there’s not a lot of time to do your SMS marketing this month because it is, in fact, finally time for summer—and we are high-key ready to go into beach-and-BBQ mode.

There’s a lot to pack into this month, with some huge holidays (Juneteenth and Father’s Day) falling on the same day. This doesn’t mean you can’t acknowledge both via SMS, but you might want to be strategic about when you’re sending (and to whom).

Kick up those feet! We’ve got your entire month mapped out so you can hop into our Flow Builder, schedule out your campaigns, and get back to grilling. 

We’re always proud and happy to support all our LGBTQ+ merchants here at Postscript, and we encourage anyone who can, to shop from stores and donate to charities that support the power of Pride all month long.

June is officially known as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, and it’s an incredible opportunity for brands to send Pride-focused messages.

Last year, we were inspired by the all fun and compelling ways brands showed their support. 

Only Human is an apparel brand that gives back in a big way—each month they donate 10% of their profits to a charitable cause. Last year they shared and collected coming out stories.

Not only were these stories heartfelt and intimate, but they captured the essence of the Only Human brand, too. 

If you’re a merchant with your own personal story to share, consider writing it up as a blog post or as a text to your subscribers.

This is also a great time to simply connect with your audience and let them know you’re an ally.

Bra brand Harper Wilde released limited edition rainbow products along with pledging a percentage of the proceeds to The Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to lifting up LGBTQ youth.

And if you simply want to celebrate with a sale, that works, too. We loved the creative messaging from underwear brand EBY for Pride month. 

Love who you love, y’all.

Lucy and Ethel. Oprah and Gayle. Maddy and Cassie. The world is filled with iconic best friends.

Help subscribers celebrate their better halves with a big promotion. With holidays like this, a BOGO promotion or free gift with purchase are perfect for gifting both the purchaser and their bestie on June 8.

Here’s a fantastic example from Crossnet, where they both tell their brand story and celebrate friendship with a coupon code for all subscribers.

Take inspiration from Rose Skin Co. and riff on the “friends don’t let friends” warning for your brand. Friends don’t let friends buy bad shoes, eat bad snacks, wear bad pants—you get the idea.

Best Friends Day is built for celebrating relationships, so it’s a natural time to connect with your subscribers using conversations.

Consider sending out one of these texts to your list—no sale or promotion needed:

Happy Best Friends Day! Who is your best friend? What makes them so special to you? Our favorite answers will win a $5 voucher to our store.

It’s Best Friends Day! I’m the founder of [brand] and I wanted to tell you a story about a life-changing friendship…

In honor of Best Friends Day, tell us what friendship means to you. First person to make us cry gets a free gift.

Happy Best Friends Day! Do you need a friend today? Send us a text—we’d love to connect. 

Just remember that sending a conversational text means you need to be ready to respond to incoming replies—whether you use our dashboard or one of our many help desk integrations. 

Push some of your brand’s higher-priced items and offer an incentive to purchase, because it’s National Splurge Day, y’all!

This holiday is also a perfect opportunity to A/B test an upsell you’ve been noodling on.

Here’s a few options to do this:

Send an Early Refill Reminder

Encourage customers to opt into subscribing by offering a one-time deal if they sign up for recurring orders from you. Reward them and earn them as repeat customers.

Offer a Free Gift

Sell mattresses? Throw in a free pillow. Sell luxury watches? Include a free accessory. Get subscribers to finally pull the trigger on big ticket purchases with an add-on.

Take a Gifting Approach

You might not be able to convince someone to buy for themselves, but you could try running a BOGO sale so they can gift it forward in honor of the holiday. 

Take a Gift Yo’self Approach

Although Treat Yo’self Day was first coined by Donna and Tom, that doesn’t actually happen until October. But you can still take a “treat yourself, you deserve it approach” by throwing together a branded big sale event for the occasion. 

Here’s how lash brand ForChics celebrated this momentous occasion last year.

This day happens to fall on a Saturday this year, and “The Saturday Splurge Event” does have a nice ring to it.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday and the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It’s an opportunity as a brand to celebrate African-American culture, especially if you are a Black-owned store.

We encourage all brands to be mindful of how you promote and celebrate this holiday. If you are not a Black-owned store, consider promoting some of your favorite brands to your subscriber list. Or use the day as a way to recognize the achievements of the Black community. 

Here are a few Postscript merchants that joined in the Juneteeth celebrations last year using SMS.

I’Mare Boutique went big with a blow-out sale for the occasion. 

Uniqurl hosted a flash sale pushing urgency with a blast to their list.

A simple promotion and stunning creative kept the Juneteenth celebration going with a promo code to subscribers from The Wrap Life. 

As a merchant, a sale can be a great way to celebrate the holiday, but acknowledgement can be just as powerful. If you have a personal note you’d like to share with your subscribers, don’t hesitate. Taking the time to share a message on such an important holiday can be a dynamic way to connect with your subscribers and engage in conversation.

Brands have it so easy these days. The internet is rife with some of the best dad jokes of all time. They’re perfect fodder for sharing over text on such a momentous occasion as a day dedicated to honoring Dad.

We saw some great campaigns last year leading up to Father’s Day, but we’ll kick things off with an original idea:

Send your subscriber base your favorite text from your own dad. We challenge anyone to find a better texter in their inbox than dear old Dad (maybe Mom), and this is a fun way to create camaraderie around father figures. 

Or kick things off with a challenge. Ask your subscribers to text Dad and ask him what his favorite thing about being a dad is (awwww) or if he’s got a solid joke to share (lolz) and have them text the best responses back.

We know a lot of brands focus on sales and last minute gift cards for Dad—which we are 100% behind. But there’s just something about wanting to share funny moments with Dad that are destined for text.

A few other ideas:

• Apparel brands? Ask for photos of the best dad style out there. Encourage subscribers to send a photo of best-dressed dads.

• Spin up some funny dadcentric Slack channels in the office and share a screenshot with subscribers. Maybe #best-tube-sock-brands or #lawnmowingtips-ftw?

• Go the heartfelt route and ask for subscribers to share the best piece of advice they’ve ever gotten from Dad.

• Make it personal and share your own father story—whether it’s uplifting, tough, or about becoming one yourself.

Here are a few more campaigns Postscript merchants sent last year:

We also should note that we always suggest offering your subscribers the option to opt out of these holiday messages the month before (seeTexts to Send in May). Although Father’s Day can be fun for some, for others it can be a hard holiday, and it’s important to be empathetic to that group of subscribers.

Did you hear that? It was a collective sigh of relief, because summer is officially here! Here’s a hit list of some SMS ideas you could send out to celebrate summer.

Playlist - Put together your own playlist for folks to spin at their next outdoor hang.

Scavenger Hunt - Hide a few summer-centric icons around your site. Alert subscribers to find the hidden images—and while they’re busy clicking around your site, they might see some things they need to add to their cart, too. Offer a discount code to anyone who finds them all.

Summer Nostalgia - Anyone else spend far too long in the back of a station wagon without AC as a kiddo? Cue those summer vibes with a campaign that speaks to summer, like this road trip campaign from Native.

Packing Musts - Vacation’s on everyone’s mind, so whether you sling stuff that’s perfect for travel or you simply want to share your founder’s packing strategies, go on vacay mode with a packing list campaign.

Sale - When in doubt, kick the season off with a sitewide sale or flash sale to get folks ready for sandal-shorts-sunscreen season like Clevr Brands.

This holiday is an ideal opportunity for brands in the health and wellness space, but any brand can carve out a zen moment on International Yoga Day.

Don’t think this day isn’t a fit for your brand? Here’s a few ideas so you don’t have to hunker down in child’s pose to think:

• Share your own practice with your subscribers and ask them to share theirs.

• Send out a playlist for 30 minutes of mediation for the day.

• Ask subscribers to name their own yoga pose (Perplexed Peony?!) and award the best response a free gift card.

• Encourage subscribers to take a tech-free hour out of their day to create a moment of personal calm.

• Spin up your favorite yoga video playlist on YouTube and share it.

Namaste.

If Postscript had a corporate HQ, we’re pretty sure every day would be Take Your Dog to Work Day—but if you currently have an office pup or fur baby-friendly policy, share it with your subscribers.

This is a fun opportunity for brands in the pet space to get creative. But if you want to celebrate pets, but don’t think this is the best time to do it, fear not—there are literally hundreds of pet-related calendar events throughout the year. 

Take a Staff and Pup Photo
Celebrate this in real-time and snap a photo to show your subscribers how much you love bringing your pups to work.

Host a Photo Contest
Take inspiration from pet carrier brand Gunner, which hosts an annual photo contest. Create your own for UGC purposes or simply to award one lucky pet and pet parent a prize for best pic.

Send Out Pet Best Practices
Encourage subscribers to celebrate this holiday, but maybe consider sending out a list of tips or related blog content for bringing pets into a new space. They’ll appreciate the nod to the holiday and the advice.

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June is jam-packed. School’s almost out, summer’s in full swing, and your subscribers want those texts. Don’t forget about them this month!