Sending Your First SMS Campaign

The Power of SMS Marketing

SMS messages have an average open rate of over 90%, with most being read within 3 minutes of receipt. For time-sensitive promotions, flash sales, and urgent announcements, SMS is unmatched in its ability to drive immediate action.

Prerequisites

Before sending your first SMS, ensure you have:

1. Verified your sending phone number or short code in Settings > Channels > SMS.
2. Collected explicit SMS consent from your subscribers (see the Consent Management article).
3. Completed the A2P 10DLC registration (required for US-based sending). Cavaco guides you through this process in the SMS setup wizard.

Creating an SMS Campaign

1. Navigate to Campaigns > Create Campaign.
2. Select Time-Sensitive and choose SMS as the channel.
3. Select your target audience segment.

Writing Your SMS Message

SMS messages are concise by nature. Keep these principles in mind:

• Lead with value: State the offer or news in the first sentence.
• Include your brand name: Start with your store name so recipients immediately know who is texting them.
• One clear CTA: Include a single link to the relevant page. Use Cavaco's built-in link shortener for clean, trackable URLs.
• Character count: A standard SMS is 160 characters. Cavaco shows a live character count as you type.

Scheduling and Sending

Use the Quiet Hours feature to ensure your SMS is never delivered outside of appropriate hours (9 AM - 8 PM in the recipient's local time zone). Schedule the campaign or send immediately, then monitor delivery and click rates in real time from the campaign report.