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Optimization & Performance

Automations, Segments, and Smarter Sends

There’s a difference between sending a lot of texts and sending the right ones. Optimization is where your SMS program shifts from good to great—from broadcasting messages to engineering a revenue machine.
If list growth fills your tank and conversations make your engine hum, optimization is the tuning that ensures every drop of fuel is used efficiently.

This guide covers how to squeeze more revenue from every message you send—without annoying your subscribers or burning through your list.

Why Optimization Matters

Even with a healthy list and a strong conversational strategy, many brands are still leaving money on the table. Why?

Typically because they are:

  • Over-sending to disengaged subscribers

  • Under-utilizing automations

  • Running generic campaigns instead of segmented sends

The fix isn’t necessarily sending less. It’s sending smarter, through better targeting, better timing, and better use of automations.

Smart Send

Automations: Your 24/7 Revenue Engine

Let’s start with the biggest opportunity most brands still underutilize: automations.

You probably already have an abandoned cart flow and a welcome series. Great! Now it’s time to expand and refine. Here are some underrated, high-ROI Automations we recommend:

  • Link Click Abandonment: Targets shoppers who clicked a product page but didn’t add to cart

  • Price Drop Alerts: Notifies subscribers when a viewed product goes on sale

  • Post-Purchase Journeys: Customizes follow-up messages based on purchase count (first-time vs. loyal customers)

  • Re-engagement Flows: Target subs who opted in but haven’t purchased in 30+ days

  • Back in Stock: back in stock have some of the highest EPMs compared to other automations (avg. $11.86 overall industries)

Each of these automations acts as part of the revenue engine, firing at the exact right moment in the customer journey with minimal ongoing effort.

Segment Like a Strategist

Blasting your entire list should only be allowed for major sales and announcements. Otherwise? It’s a recipe for opt-outs. Instead, create dynamic segments based on:


  • Recent clicks or purchases

  • Level of engagement (opened/clicked in the last 30, 60, 90 days)

  • Survey responses from previous conversational campaigns

  • Lifetime purchase count or total spend

By messaging each segment with unique content, you:


  • Save money by not sending to the unengaged 

  • Personalize copy (so it feels relevant)

  • Increase ROI (by focusing on the folks most likely to convert)

Testing: The Most Underutilized Tool in SMS

It’s easy to A/B test two message variants and call it a day. But here’s what you could be testing:

  • Different CTAs or tones of voice

  • Timing (sending at noon vs. 8 PM)

  • Audience size and segmentation

  • Cadence of sends within a campaign flow

  • Different incentives like discounts vs CashBack


Example: True Classic tested their offer. It paid off.
Example: True Classic tested their offer. It paid off.

True Classic ran an A/B test on its standard 20% off welcome coupon vs. a 20% CashBack offer through Fondue. The feedback was undeniable: thanks to CashBack, they saw a 4.6% profit margin boost and a 67% increase in welcome series revenue. The only way they could’ve seen those results is by testing.

Challenge all assumptions and continue to test your marketing strategies over time, not just once. What works in July might flop in December. Optimization is a living process.

Bubsnax AB Message Testing

Engagement Tiers Will Save You Tears

Not all subscribers are created equal. Some open and click everything. Others are ghosts.

By building engagement tiers, you can:

Send more frequently to high-intent subscribers and stay top of mind
Win back past purchasers with personalized reactivation messages
Pause sends to completely inactive subscribers to help preserve your sender reputation

Example Tiering Framework:

  • Tier 1: Clicked or purchased in last 30 days

  • Tier 2: Clicked in last 60–120 days

  • Tier 3: No activity in 120+ days

Each tier gets its own cadence, tone, and offers. Think of it like a built-in loyalty program that rewards your subscribers and keeps campaigns efficient.

Engagement Tiers
Portland Leather Reaction Hearts
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Optimize like Portland Leather

Portland Leather used AI to test and optimize abandoned cart messages across new and returning customers.


Results:

  • 34% lift in conversion rate for returning customer abandoned cart messages

  • 96% increase in CTR for new customer abandoned cart messages

  • 31% lift in EPM for returning customer abandoned cart messages

They didn’t guess what would work. They tested it—with automated variant generation and real holdout methodology.

Optimization & Performance? Check. Here’s what’s next:

AI Tools That Drive Revenue

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