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Jacob Morrow

2025-02-27 15:10:40

6214 Views, 7 min read

Sending text messages continues to be a popular form of marketing for all types of businesses and organizations due to the massive reach of SMS. However, choosing the perfect text message template and content is not easy, so it is important to look at some of the best templates for different types of businesses and industries.

Explore the best practices for writing engaging SMS content, along with the best text message templates.

Example of a text message template

Source:textmagic

How Should an Engaging SMS Message Be Written?

Just like in any other form of marketing channel, you need to make your content engaging enough to appeal to the target audience and turn them into loyal customers. There are many standards, best practices, and strategies you can utilize to ensure your SMS content is written in an engaging manner meant to boost conversions.

Let's discuss some of the key best practices you can follow to maximize the effectiveness of your SMS messages:

1. Personalize your Messages

Sending generic marketing messages typically does not help brands in achieving their sales goals. They can even hurt your business as many people block generic marketing messages sent in bulk.

Therefore, it is vital that you personalize your SMS messages so that they act like a one-on-one conversation between friends. The exact content, tone, and overall design of the SMS is also dependent on your specific niche. So, you should have a clear idea about your target audience, their expectations, and the content that is relevant and appealing to them.

2. Highlight the Value

SMS is short, so you have very limited space to convince the reader that you have the perfect product or service that they are looking for. You can make the best of this space by highlighting your value from the very first line.

Whether you are launching new products, offering discounts, or simply inviting potential customers to an event, you should include such information in the very first line of your SMS. Another way to think of this strategy is that the beginning of your SMS is like the subject line of your email.

3. Be Clear & Concise

An SMS has a character limit of only 160 characters. Therefore, your SMS messaging must be clear, direct, and concise. The key is to use simple language that your entire target audience can understand without any unnecessary slang or abbreviations.

Another way of writing a clear and concise SMS message is to focus on only one specific idea per message. Don't try to promote multiple aspects of your brand in a single message. Sticking to the main theme of your SMS will help you capture the audience's attention in a much more effective manner.

Here's an example of a promotional text message that is clear and concise enough to immediately provide valuable content to the reader:

Promotional Text Message

Obtaining customers' consent to send them marketing messages is a great way of making sure you have permission and the authority to send messages to your target audience. Other than this being a best practice, you also need to keep in mind that obtaining the customer's consent to send them marketing messages is a legal requirement in many countries, including the European nations.

5. Offer Time-Restricted Discounts

Creating urgency in your marketing content, such as in SMS, can compel the readers to become your client immediately. You can include phrases like "offer valid till tomorrow," "offer ending soon," and "avail discount today" to get your potential customers to take some action, like contacting you or buying your product/service immediately.

6. Write Visually Appealing SMS Messages

Just because you cannot add multiple images to an SMS does not mean you cannot make it visually appealing. Adding lots of text in a single text can bore the readers and even stop them from reading your entire message.

You should properly format your message by breaking it into multiple paragraphs, punctuation, capitalization, and line breaks. A visually appealing SMS ultimately means the message's readability will be higher, leading to higher engagement and conversion.

Visually Appealing Message

Source:https://cdn.prod.website-files.com

7. Automate Holiday Messages

Holiday events and festivals are a great opportunity for every other type of business and brand to market their products and services. However, running multiple marketing campaigns on different holiday occasions can be an overwhelming task if you are doing it manually.

Therefore, it is recommended that you use a platform like EngageLab to automate the process of sending SMS so that you never miss out on an important event and opportunity to reach your audience.

8. Add A Compelling CTA

An impressive marketing SMS without a proper CTA is not an effective way of turning your target audience into loyal customers. Whenever you are sending a marketing SMS, you also need to include what you want the readers to do after reading your message.

Ensure your SMS has a clear and concise CTA. It is recommended that you use action-oriented language like "Explroe Now," "Buy Today" etc, to compel the potential customer to take the next step.

25+ Text Message Templates For Different Business

Choosing the right text message template is the key to speeding up the SMS marketing process and making sure your content is compelling enough to attract more people and make them your loyal customers.

Here are some of the best templates for text messages for different types of businesses:

1. Healthcare Text Message Templates

Healthcare service providers need to be extremely careful while sending text messages because they have to bring the perfect balance of clarity, legal requirements, and professionalism.

Healthcare Text Message Example

The following text message templates are specifically designed to help healthcare organizations streamline their communication with their patients:

Appointment Reminders
  1. "Hi [Name], your appointment at [Practice Name] is scheduled for [Date] at [Time]. Please reply to Y to confirm or N to reschedule. If you have any questions, call us at [Phone Number]."
  2. "[First Name], this is [Hospital / Clinic Name]. Your procedure is confirmed for tomorrow at [Time]. Please remember to fast for 8 hours prior. Need to reschedule? Call [Phone Number]."
Health Updates
  1. "[First Name], your recent test results are available. Please log in to your patient portal or call [Phone Number] to discuss with Dr. [Name]."
  2. "[First Name], your prescription has been sent to [Pharmacy Name]. It should be ready for pickup in 1 hour. Questions? Call us at [Phone Number]."
Follow-up
  • "[Name], Dr. [Name] here checking on your recovery. How are you feeling after today's visit? Reply with any concerns, or call [Phone Number] if needed."

2. E-commerce & Retail

Consistent and engaging communication is the cornerstone of running a successful e-commerce business. All e-commerce businesses should be using a well-designed professional text message template to ensure they can provide timely order information to users and also handle other common issues in an online business, such as cart abandonment and building customer loyalty.

E-Commerce Text Message

Source:https://images.ctfassets.net/

Here are some text templates that an e-commerce store can use to expand their reach and boost sales:

Order Management
  1. "Thank you for shopping with [Store Name]! Your order #[Number] is confirmed. Total: $[Amount]. Track your delivery here: [Link]"
  2. "Great news! Your [Store Name] order has shipped and will arrive by [Date]. Track your package: [Link]"
Cart Recovery
  1. "Hey [First Name]! The items in your [Store Name] cart are waiting. Complete your purchase now and save 10%: [Link]."
  2. "[First Name], don't miss out! Your cart at [Store Name] is saved, but items may sell out. Shop now with free shipping: [Link]"
Customer Engagement
  1. "[First Name], enjoying your recent purchase from [Store Name]? Share your experience and get 15% off your next order: [Link]"
  2. "[First Name], that [Product Name] you wanted is back in stock! Shop now before it's gone again: [Link]"
Special Discounts
  1. "[First Name]: 6-hour flash sale at [Store Name]! Take 40% off everything. Use code: FLASH40. Shop now: [Link]."
  2. "Exclusive invite for [First Name]! Join our VIP preview sale this Thursday. Get early access and an extra 25% off: [Link]."

3. Beauty & Wellness Services

Another industry that truly values personal communication is the beauty and wellness industry. Whether it is appointment scheduling, sending reminders, or simply sending a follow-up thank you, you can use different types of text message templates to build strong client relationships.

Beauty & Wellness Text Message template

Source:https://www.firetext.co.uk/

SMS Templates for Appointment Management
  1. "[First Name], enjoying your recent purchase from [Store Name]? Share your experience and get 15% off your next order: [Link]"
  2. "[First Name], that [Product Name] you wanted is back in stock! Shop now before it's gone again: [Link]"
Service Follow-up
  1. "Thanks for visiting [Salon/Spa Name], [First Name]! For best results, remember to [Care Tip]. Questions about your treatment? Text us!"
  2. "[First Name], it's time to maintain your [Service] results! Book your next appointment and enjoy 10% off: [Booking Link]."
Special Offers
  • "[First Name], we had a cancellation! Book today's [Time] slot with [Stylist/Therapist Name] and save 20%. Reply YES to grab it!"

4. Real Estate

Real estate is a highly competitive industry where businesses and agencies are always at risk of losing their clients to another agency. Hence, real-estate professionals need to use relevant text message templates to interact with clients and manage common processes like managing viewings, sending follow-ups, etc.

Real-Estate Text Message

Source:https://www.momentumvirtualtours.com

Property Viewings
  1. "[First Name], your viewing of [Property Address] is confirmed for [Date] at [Time]. Your agent [Agent Name] will meet you there. Reply C to confirm."
  2. "Don't miss our open house today! Visit [Property Address] between [Start Time]-[End Time]. [Agent Name] will be there to assist you."
Client Updates
  1. "[First Name], great news! The property at [Address] you liked is now [Price Change] at $[New Price]. Want to schedule a viewing?"
  2. "Based on your criteria: New [Bedrooms]bed/[Bathrooms]bath home in [Area] at $[Price]. The first showings are this weekend. Reply to book: [Link]"
Follow-up
  1. "Hi [First Name], [Agent Name] here. How did you like [Property Address]? I'd love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions."

5. Professional Services

Professional Services Text Message<

Source:https://www.openphone.com/

Other than industry-specific text message templates like the ones discussed above, there are a bunch of other service-based companies that require constant engagement with the customers. Such companies can use the following text message templates:

Appointment Scheduling
  1. "[First Name], your consultation with [Professional Name] at [Firm Name] is scheduled for [Date] at [Time]. Location: [Address]. Need to reschedule? Call [Phone]."
  2. "[First Name], a reminder to bring [Document List] to your appointment on [Date]. Questions? Contact [Professional Name]: [Phone]"
Client Communication
  1. "[First Name], update on your [Project/Case]: [Brief Status]. Next steps: [Action Items]. Questions? Reply or call [Phone]."
  2. "Thanks for meeting today, [First Name]. Key points discussed: [Brief Summary]. Next meeting: [Date]. Full notes sent to your email."
Payment & Administrative
  1. "[Firm Name] received your payment of $[Amount] for [Service]. Receipt sent to [Email]. Questions? Call [Phone]."
  2. "[First Name], your [Document Type] is ready for review. Access securely: [Link]. Please review by [Date]. Questions? Reply here."

How to Set Up A Text Message Template with EngageLab?

Now that you have a wide range of text message templates in hand, it is time to set them up with a reliable and user-friendly tool like EngageLab.

Let's discuss this entire process step by step:

First of all, you have to sign in to your EngageLab account to access its dashboard. If you don't have an account, you can easily create a new one with your email or simply log in with your Google, Facebook, Apple, or GitHub account.

EngageLab Sign-in / Sign-Up

On the dashboard, click on SMS to access different features, including creating and configuring text message templates.

EngageLab Dashboard

Once you are on the SMS dashboard, click on the SMS template option and select more, so you can create a new template.

EngageLab SMS Template Option

Click on the Create Template. EngageLab supports creating text message templates for three different types of content, including:

  • Verification Code: These text templates are similar to OTP. These are typically sent by SaaS companies and apps for verification purposes.
  • EngageLab Verification Code SMS Template
  • Industry Notice: These are short text messages sent to provide important industry-related updates and news to the users.
  • Industry Notice SMS Template
  • Marketing: Marketing text message templates are the most common because most companies use SMS for marketing purposes.

Once the actual content of your SMS is finalized, you need to configure other key things like selecting your target countries and choosing whether the SMS is being sent to a subscriber or a new user. Moreover, add the number of SMS you want to send.

SMS Template Configuration

If you have entered all the relevant details, submit the SMS template for auditing or save it as a draft.

Best Practices to Automate SMS Marketing with EngageLab

Once you have made a text message template within EngageLab, you can start sending messages to your target audience as long as you follow these best practices:

Template Requirements

  • Maximum template name length: 64 characters
  • Content must include an approved signature
  • Templates require review approval before sending
  • Test messages before bulk sending to verify character account

Variables

  • Use format: %variablename%
  • Variables must be in English characters only
  • Place spaces before and after URLs
  • URLs must start with http:// or https://

Content Guidelines

  • Avoid using square brackets: [ ], 【】
  • Do not use test-related words (e.g., "test")
  • Include signature in content
  • Verify final message length with variables included

Technical Considerations

  • Character count may vary between preview and actual delivery
  • Final billing based on the operator's message delivery count
  • Monitor template status in [Send Related] - [SMS Template]
  • Regular template performance review is recommended

Open EngageLab to start automating your SMS campaigns!

Conclusion

So, do you want to make the best out of the professional text message examples and templates discussed throughout this article? If so, don't hesitate to sign up for EngageLab and start experimenting with different templates.

Whether you have a service-based business or a company that sells products, you can use these text message templates and strategies to reach your target audience and turn them into loyal customers.