Email Marketing and SMS working together Published April 1, 2015 When it comes to marketing, it’s all about integration. No one marketing channel should work alone; in fact, they actually work better when complemented by another platform. The relationship between SMS and email marketing is a fine example of this. The two can bounce off each other; helping keeping a brand alive in prospects’ and existing customers’ minds. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the easiest ways to integrate your email and SMS marketing efforts… <h2>Use SMS-based calls to action in your emails Email marketing and SMS working together</h2> You can make your emails more dynamic and pick up some new names for your SMS marketing database by including an SMS-based call to action. For example, you could send an email offering a 10 per cent discount on any purchase for one month, or free shopping on all orders placed by a certain time. In order to redeem the offers, ask recipients to text a short-code (i.e. ‘DISCOUNT’, ‘March sales’) to a specific number, to which you can respond with the discount code or relevant information. You’ve not only captured a new telephone number (be sure to explain in the email what this means for the recipient – like when they will receive messages, how their information will be kept private etc.) but you’ve also engaged the recipient by offering them something worthwhile in return. To create even further integration, include a link to your website in the SMS response; making the purchase process as easy as possible for the recipient. Follow up on emails with SMS reminders Sending follow-up SMS off the back of emails can work really well in a variety of different ways. For example, if you’ve sent someone an e-ticket for a certain event, send them a text message the day before the event to remind them it’s happening. They may have forgotten, but if not, it’ll at least show that you’re keen for them to attend and value their presence – something that will make them feel good about your brand. Or, looking at it from another angle, you could use SMS to follow up on people that haven’t redeemed any discount offers you’ve sent out via email. Even a simple message such as “Hey John! We’re sad you haven’t redeemed your half-price email voucher yet…” will work well. It’s also worth considering giving people like this a further incentive via said message, for example offering them an even better deal if they text back or click on the email’s call to action. Catch up with stagnant subscribers If you have recipients that have received five or ten emails from your brand but aren’t responding or interacting with you in any way, why not drop them a message to see how they are? People can receive hundreds of emails each day, making it hard to pick out those they really want to read and pay attention to. However, most will receive much fewer text messages, making them much harder to ignore and in some case, a more effective way of getting your prospects’ attention. Don’t use this as a chance to sell to your recipients; simply ask them how they’re doing and if they saw the most recent offer you sent out. Include a link to your website and to a mobile version of your last email newsletter, just to jog their memory. It may be that they’ve simply missed your email and will relish the chance to take up your offer, or that they haven’t had time. Help them make time by bringing it to their attention – you may just find you reignite the interests of your stagnant subscribers.