Text message marketing: a guide for pros
What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.
Offering text message marketing
You send promotions, reminders and updates by text to clients' customers who opted in, handling list setup, message writing, scheduling and opt out handling. Your value is short, useful messages that reach people who asked for them and follow the consent rules.
What customers ask
- Can you send texts to my whole customer list?
- How do customers sign up?
- What do you do when someone replies STOP?
- How many texts can I send each month?
- Will the texts be delivered?
How to win the job
- On the first call, ask for the list source, the opt in method, the goals, the message types and the approval contact, then confirm them in writing.
- Audit the list before the first send, and remove any number without a record of consent.
- Set up a clear sign up method with the business name and the purpose on the form, and keep a dated record of each opt in.
- Write each message with the business name, the purpose and the opt out instruction, and get the client's approval before scheduling.
- Process opt outs quickly and record the time, and confirm that the list is updated before the next send.
- Report deliveries, replies, opt outs and the actions taken, and recommend the message frequency based on those numbers.
What to put on your profile
- List the message types you run, such as offers, reminders and service updates.
- Describe your consent and opt out process in plain steps.
- Post examples of approved messages with client details removed.
Follow-up that helps the customer
- Offer a review of the list each quarter, to remove inactive or opted out numbers.
- Suggest a reminder flow for appointments or renewals, with the customer's consent.
- Recommend a short survey by text after a service, with a clear opt out.
Licenses and permits
Text message marketing is usually not licensed. Keep your business registration current; marketing texts are subject to consent and opt out rules that apply where the messages are sent, so verify consent for every number and follow the rules for every campaign.
Questions
Do I need a license to send marketing texts?
Usually not. Check your state or local rules if you operate as a registered business, and follow the consent and opt out rules that apply to each campaign.
What if a client wants to text a bought list?
Decline in writing. Explain the consent risk and offer to build a list from people who opt in through the client's own channels.
How do I handle a complaint that a text was unwanted?
Remove the number at once, record the complaint and check the opt in record that brought the number in.
Pro reviewers
Pros who offer text message marketing remotely can improve this guide, like Wikipedia. We check every edit before it goes live. Every approved edit is credited in the edit history and on the pro's profile.
Edit history
- Oct 29, 2026: Drafted by infinibell to our content guidelines.
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