7 Welcome Text Tips (and How to Send Them)

Welcome texts are an important part of your relationship with your text subscribers. 

See, there’s a lot of trust inherent in texting. Where most people will give out their email address without much thought, the same doesn’t hold true for their phone numbers. 

Luckily for you, 71% of consumers opted in to get texts from at least one business in 2023. That’s a lot of contacts that you’ll really want to keep around.

So, when you do get a customer’s phone number, it’s essential to get your welcome text right to set expectations and give them a reason to keep engaging with your messages.

Why Do Welcome Texts Matter?

At its core, a welcome text message is just your first message to a new contact (or contacts). What’s the big deal? 

Besides being that first point of contact, welcome texts serve a few important functions:

• They keep that opt-in momentum going. What I mean by that is, your new subscriber joined your list because you caught their eye. Don’t let that interest fade by failing to follow up. Reach out immediately to keep them invested.
• A good welcome text helps you introduce your brand in the most advantageous way possible. 
• Starting conversations is hard, so a welcome text takes the pressure off your contacts to kick off interactions with your organization.

How to Write Effective Welcome Texts

We’ll cover the top seven tips to help you write the perfect welcome text message for new customers.

1. Remind People What They Signed Up For

When a customer joins your text list, send a welcome message that reminds them what they signed up for. You’ll also need to let them know what they will receive from you, when, and how often.

SimpleTexting simplifies compliance so you can spend more time focusing on making new contacts feel welcome. How do we do this?

We send a free best practice compliance message as a separate text. It automatically sends anytime new customers sign up to receive your texts.

This standalone compliance text does the following:

• Includes the frequency of messages
• Adds the option to ask for assistance
• Offers the ability to opt-out
• Lets them know that–in rare cases–message and data rates may apply

2. Be Prompt

SimpleTexting users often ask the question, “When should I send new contacts their welcome text?” 

The answer is simple: right away.

If someone signs up to receive your text messages and they don’t hear from you for a while, they might not remember why they originally signed up and then unsubscribe or ignore it when you do get around to texting them.

3. Don’t Forget Your Manners

Unless you were raised by a pack of wolves, you know that it’s good manners to say “Thank you.”

Your welcome text message for new customers is a great opportunity to let your customers know that you see them as individuals (not numbers) and you’re grateful for their business.

Simply put, welcome texts should thank the customer for signing up and make them feel comfortable.

4. Offer a Discount Code

Offering a discount code in the welcome text is a triple threat.

• It makes a great first impression. 
• It shows that your text marketing program is (and will continue to be) valuable. 
• It also increases the chances that they’ll purchase your product or service. It’s a win-win-win. 😁

This really works, by the way. Welstand Boutique offers a coupon code in their welcome text message and they’ve seen a 50% mobile coupon redemption rate as a result.

5. Think Outside the Alphabet

Consider adding images to your welcome message for customers by sending MMS messages. We found that texts with a photo led to a 52% higher click-through rate than SMS alone. 

If you want people to engage with your texts, it’s best to show and not tell (or at least do both).

6. Ensure It’s On Brand

Texting is an intimate way to connect with your customers–it’s how people communicate with their family and friends, after all.

Don’t be afraid to let your brand’s personality shine through in your welcome message. The fear of fitting into a character count can often make brands sound dull.

Of course, if your brand is professional and not known for its witty wordplay, then it’s best to stay true to that.

The last thing you want to do is make one type of first impression on your customers and throw them for a loop when you change it later.

7. Send a Series of Welcome Texts

Not only are contacts most engaged when they first sign up for your text messages, but the experience they have in the first few weeks will also set the tone for the rest of their time on your list.

That’s a lot of pressure to place on one text. As with any relationship, it can take time to understand each other, build trust, and set expectations. 

So, why not send a series of well-crafted welcome messages instead of just one?

Our drip campaigns feature allows you to send out several text messages at intervals that you set, from one hour to several weeks, or even months. 

It’s also a good idea to send links to a blog post, ask contacts to follow you on social media, or try out different calls to action.

Drip campaigns are particularly powerful when combined with our segment and data collection features. Here’s an article on creating text message drip campaigns using segments and autoresponders.

How to Send a Welcome Text

You’ve got the welcome text tips, now it’s time to put them into practice. While the process may look a little different between different SMS platforms, here are a few options for sending your welcome text with SimpleTexting.

Psst…Not sure what to write? Check out these welcome text templates.

Auto-Confirmation Messages

If you’re using a keyword or web form to help subscribers opt into your messages, you’ll find an option to customize your auto-confirmation message (the message that sends automatically once someone joins your list).

This auto-confirmation can essentially be your welcome text, and you would then include all the elements we’ve talked about here. 

Autoresponders

Autoresponders (also known as the drip campaigns we discussed earlier) are another type of automatic message you can use to send your welcome text. Where auto-confirmation messages send immediately when someone opts into your list, you have to set an autoresponder to send a certain amount of time after they do so. 

To set up an autoresponder, you simply:

1. Choose Autoresponders on the left-hand menu of your SimpleTexting account screen and hit New autoresponder.
2. Decide which list you’ll connect your autoresponder to. 
3. Write out your message. 

4. Set the delay that your message will send on.
5. Set up any advanced scheduling parameters you’d like and save your autoresponder.

You can also make your autoresponders work in conjunction with your auto-confirmation message. You could:

• Thank subscribers and introduce your brand in your auto-confirmation message and tease the content you’ll send in your autoresponder. You can then introduce the kinds of messages you plan to send and what contacts can expect.
• Use the auto-confirmation message as your welcome text and include questions in your autoresponder to gather relevant details like contact locations, product preferences, or other information.
• Send your welcome text in your auto-confirmation message and include information your contacts might need in your autoresponder (like store hours, onboarding steps, or ways to contact your team).

Inbox

If you’re looking to send a welcome text message to just one contact at a time, your best option is to use the SimpleTexting inbox. 

1. Head to Inbox on the left-hand menu.
2. Start a new conversation or open an existing one. 

3. Type out your message in the message box and send it immediately or select the clock icon to schedule it in advance. 

Pro tip: You can add your standard welcome message as a template so it’s ready to go with just a couple of clicks each time.

Campaigns

Campaigns are a good way to get your welcome message to lots of contacts at once. They’re also very simple to set up, send, or schedule.

1. Choose Campaigns from the left-hand menu and click New.
2. Name your campaign and write out your message. 

3. Decide which list will receive your campaign.
4. Send it immediately or fill out the scheduling fields.