Text messages with discounts work. See for yourself:
The conversion rate of text marketing is 5x higher than email marketing. We’ve seen SMS conversion rates that hover around 45%. We’ve even seen a 156x ROI on one of our customer’s discount messages.
Combine those numbers with a few key tips for writing an effective discount text and you have a winning formula. TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is a discount offer text message?Why send discount offers through text messages?Good discount messages vs great onesReinforce the benefitsDescribe the benefits in your CTACreate a sense of urgencyAppeal to exclusivityBe original and uniqueInclude visualsHow to send discount offer text messages
What is a discount offer text message?
A discount offer text message is a text message that contains a discount. That discount might come in the form of a special code, a personalized link, or a set of directions for redeeming the offer.
Why send discount offers through text messages?
First, let’s talk about why you want to include special offers in your text messages. Consider why people sign up for texts from brands in the first place. They want something. It could be: Most of the time, though, what they’re looking for is access to exclusive discounts and promotions. According to our 2020 Text Marketing Report, 50% of respondents said that flash sales and time-sensitive promotions would encourage them to opt into a business’s text messages. Discount messages are the best tool for text marketers who want to keep subscribers engaged and see an immediate uptick in sales.
Good discount offer text messages vs. great ones
A discount message goes for the close. And like great salespeople, it influences someone to reach for their credit card. Here are six ways you can increase sales from your next SMS marketing campaign. Great discount offer messages:
1. Reinforce the benefits of your product or service
Sure, a discount offer or coupon is great. But why does that really matter to your subscribers? You need to reinforce why someone should act on your promotion. Making a case for your product in a discount offer message does three things: Put another way, get your audience itching to click the link in your text by reminding them of the main benefits of your product or service. Here’s a discount message example that uses this tactic. Here’s one more discount example that draws on benefits:
2. Describe the benefits with a call to action (CTA)
Everywhere people look they’re told to “Buy Now” or “Shop Here.” It’s too generic a CTA to motivate someone to take action these days. You want to elicit a strong response from your audience with a benefits-focused CTA. Instead of “Check out today’s deals!” consider something like, “Your next summer dress is right at your fingertips.” Here’s how it works in practice. My go-to haircare brand Vegamour is great at this. In this text, they built up a lot of mystery around the product they’re highlighting just before the CTA. I won’t lie to you; I definitely clicked. Here’s one more discount offer text message sample that draws on benefits within the call to action:
3. Create a sense of urgency
Nothing slows down your text message’s conversion rate faster than customer hesitation. Anytime a customer thinks “maybe later,” there’s a high chance they’re going to ghost you. With text messages, you can create a very strong sense of urgency because 90% of text messages are opened within three minutes. You don’t have to worry that your customer won’t see your message. There are a ton of different creative ways to do this — you could offer free shipping or reward for a limited number of buyers. The most important element of this tactic is that it’s something tangible — not just a vague reference to “limited supplies” or “limited time”. In this example from my own inbox, Fashion Nova is very clear about how long I have to use the code they sent, which is a good way to motivate subscribers to click through. Here’s another discount example that draws on urgency:
4. Make offers (actually) exclusive
There are a bunch of ways you can make your discount messages exclusive. You can combine urgency and exclusivity with a “while-supplies-last” offer or provide early access to a sale. If you want to be super clever, you can use your text messages to create a sense of belonging and exclusivity. For example, your text message copy could tell a story about an exclusive set of members who enjoy the awesome benefits of using your service, making them want to belong, too. This example comes from a SimpleTexting team member who notes that the attached image was actually a GIF (another great way to catch your customers’ eyes). Here’s one last discount offer message example that appeals to exclusivity:
5. Get original with your wording
People are bombarded with offers all day long. Here’s a screenshot of just one email inbox searching for the term “10% off”. As you can tell, some of these emails are never opened even though they’re all offering something of value. In your fight against getting lost in the crowd, creativity and novelty are secret weapons. You want your discount offer messages to point to the fact that you’re offering something new and exciting. Here’s a discount message example that takes that approach. This example is super simple, right? But using an emoji got my attention immediately and gave me serious FOMO. Here’s one more discount message example that takes into account the power of novelty.
6. Include visuals like images, GIFs, or videos
This example is backed with data from an A/B test we ran. It showed that texts with photos generate a higher click-through rate. Without getting too scientific, 50% of our brain is dedicated to visual processing. It’s why your discount messages can benefit significantly from a strategic image that either reinforces the core benefit or shows someone enjoying the product. Here’s one more example of a visual discount offer text message: Our customer Year Round Brown sends a graphic of a tanned woman that highlights the primary 50% off tanning offer. The tanning salon used this tactic to grow revenue by 20%.
How to send a discount offer text message
Now you have a few ideas on how to write your messages, but how can you send them once you’re done? Here are a few popular methods within SimpleTexting.
Campaigns
Campaigns are a great method to send your discount text messages to many or all of your contacts at once, and you can send them out in seconds.
The Inbox
Texting coupons through the inbox is a much more individual method, and we would recommend this option for one-on-one conversations.
Autoresponders
Autoresponders are a good way to set up your discount texts to send automatically when a subscriber joins your list.
The takeaway from 6 discount offer text message examples
Creating a relevant discount message sounds easy-ish. After all, you’ve created a product for this particular audience and then offered them a discount code. What more could they ask for? The problem is that customers are fussy. Their attention is pulled in a million different directions. We’ve provided you with six great tactics to apply to your discount text messages and drive action. They’ll help get your audience excited about your texts, and the all-important sales will soon follow. This article was originally published July 28, 2020. It was most recently updated September 26, 2023. Drew Wilkinson contributed to this piece.
