Nonprofit SMS Marketing · SMS Marketing Best Practices

Personalized SMS Marketing 101: How to Capture Attention

A person using a smartphone, representing the idea of receiving personalized SMS marketing messages.

You’ve just perfected your latest marketing message, and it’s finally time to send it out to your audience. But sometimes, it can feel like you’re sending message after message out into the void. In today’s noisy, distraction-filled world, it takes a lot of effort and creativity to stand out, whether you’re raising money for a nonprofit or running a political campaign.

Effective marketing is no longer about broadcasting to a crowd but rather connecting with each individual in that crowd—and personalized SMS marketing is the perfect way to do so.

In this guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to start engaging your audience with personalized text messaging, including:

With the average American spending 4 hours and 37 minutes a day—or about 70 days a year—looking at their phone screens, it’s time to adjust your marketing strategy to meet your audience members where they already are.
Leverage all of the benefits of personalized SMS marketing with Tatango. Click to schedule a free demo.

Personalized SMS Marketing: FAQs

Before we jump into how your organization can make the most of text messaging as a channel, let’s start by ensuring you understand the basics:

What is a personalized text message?

A personalized text message is a message that you send via a short message service (SMS) that is tailored to the recipient, referencing details such as their name and past interactions.

Depending on the purpose of the text, you might mention:

  • Past donations
  • Previous event attendance
  • Milestones with your organization
  • Location-based updates
  • Follow-up confirmations

However, this doesn’t mean that your team has to manually personalize every text message. By using an SMS marketing platform, you can automate sending personalized text messages based on predefined criteria or triggers.

What are the benefits of personalized SMS marketing?

Whether you’re new to SMS marketing or looking to improve your existing strategies, incorporating personalized text messaging allows you to:

  • Reach a wider audience. Since 90% of Americans own a smartphone, SMS is an easy, direct way to get in front of more potential supporters.
  • Strengthen existing relationships. Meet your supporters where they already are—on their phones! Connect with your audience regularly to strengthen relationships and build a sustainable donation pipeline.
  • Encourage more immediate responses. Text messages have a 99% open rate and a 90% read rate within just three minutes of sending.

While it’s best to engage your audience through multiple channels to appeal to various preferences and diversify your content, personalized text messages can significantly enhance how your organization interacts with its supporters.

How can you use personalized text messaging?

Nonprofits, businesses, and political campaigners can all harness the power of personalized SMS marketing to support their goals.

For example, you can use text messages to:

  • Communicate urgent fundraising appeals.
  • Provide event reminders and updates.
  • Share exclusive deals or opportunities.
  • Collect direct feedback.
  • Send birthday and holiday wishes.

Consider how you currently engage with your audience and identify where you can incorporate personalized SMS messages to resonate more with each recipient.

Explore how a top nonprofit uses SMS marketing to engage more supporters. Click to read the case study.

How to Get Started with Personalized Text Messaging

To prepare your team for a successful personalized SMS marketing campaign, follow these basic steps:

1. Select a text messaging partner.

Equip your team with all the tools you need to send engaging text messages by investing in a dedicated SMS platform. Keep an eye out for these essential features:

  • Personalization. Open up authentic, one-on-one communications by segmenting recipients based on their interests, preferences, and giving history.
  • Automation. Stay at the top of supporters’ minds by creating an automated welcome message series or automating donation thank-you messages.
  • MMS Messaging. With a 5,000-character limit and the ability to use emojis, GIFs, videos, audio, and images, your messages are sure to stand out!
  • Secure Sending. Security is top of mind when holding private donation data. Ensure that the platform you choose to partner with is SOC-2 certified and follows important security measures.
  • Reporting. Your text messaging partner should have robust reporting capabilities. Learn how your campaign is working in real time and adjust your approach as needed.

Read online reviews, ask for recommendations from your peers, and request demos of your top picks to find a text messaging solution that fits your specific needs.

Leverage all of the benefits of personalized SMS marketing with Tatango. Click to schedule a free demo.

2. Choose a relevant keyword.

Your SMS marketing provider should provide your organization with a 5-digit short code or a 10-digit long code. Supporters will message a certain keyword to this number to opt-in to receive your texts.

When coming up with your keyword, ensure that it is:

  • Short and simple to type.
  • Specific to your organization.
  • Easy to remember.

For example, let’s say that you’re trying to connect with potential donors for your nonprofit food bank. You might pick a keyword like “DOLLARS4DINNERS,” which makes it clear what donors can expect when they text your nonprofit and opt-in to receiving your communications.

A nonprofit SMS marketing example that uses the keyword “DOLLARS4DINNERS” to receive a donation link.

3. Build your text messaging contact list.

Before you can start engaging your audience with personalized SMS marketing messages, you first need to assemble a contact list. Encourage your supporters to opt-in to receive your texts by promoting your number and keyword via the following channels:

  • Website. Create a banner or popup on your mobile-responsive site or donation landing page that encourages supporters to subscribe to your text messaging list.
  • Email. Cross-promote your texting campaigns and communications via email, elaborating on the impactful stories you share with your audience.
  • Social Media. Include your keyword and shortcode across all your social media channels and in individual posts to encourage supporters to opt-in to your text campaign.

The Telephone Protection Act (TCPA) protects consumers from receiving unwanted or unsolicited messages and phone calls. Nonprofits have specific rules and regulations they must follow within the TCPA to avoid legal fines.

4. Segment your audience members.

To send personalized text messages that appeal to each recipient, segment your contact list based on relevant characteristics, such as:

  • Location
  • Occupation
  • Income level
  • Engagement history
  • Interests

From there, craft relevant messages that you can schedule to send out to the appropriate segments. If your SMS marketing platform has A/B testing functionality, you can use it to experiment with message variations and improve the effectiveness of personalized texts over time.
A personalized SMS marketing example that addresses the recipient by name.

Personalized SMS Marketing for Nonprofits: 3 Tips

Text messaging has become an increasingly popular tool for nonprofits to connect with donors and raise funds through text-to-give. According to M+R, fundraising mobile messages generated $92 in revenue for every 1,000 messages sent, compared to $76 for every 1,000 emails.

To tap into the full potential of personalized SMS marketing for your nonprofit, keep these tips in mind:

  • Encourage two-way communication. Create a dialogue with your supporters and encourage engagement by sending polls, surveys, and more.
  • Communicate at the right times. Find the right frequency and cadence for your organization. Monitor opt-outs, open rates, and click-through rates to ensure that you send your communications at optimal times.
  • Include a clear call to action. Compelling calls to action make it easy for supporters to understand the action you want them to take. Use bold text or eye-catching buttons to catch their attention.

Additionally, ensure that your donor database is organized and up to date at all times. With accurate data you can count on, you can continually personalize your text messages to supporters in the ways that matter most.

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Top Personalized Text Messaging Examples to Inspire You

To inspire your organization’s approach to personalized SMS marketing, check out the following examples:

A personalized SMS marketing message example for fundraising.

  • Fundraising Appeal: “Hi [Name], we have exciting news! We’ve just launched a new campaign to [Campaign Goal]. Can you help us make it happen with a donation of $25? Click here to give: [Link].”
  • Donation Follow-Up: “Hi [Name], thank you for your generous donation of $75! Because of your support, we’ll be able to [Impact Statement]. For more detailed updates on your impact, please visit our blog: [Link].”
  • Feedback Request: “Hi [Name], we want to hear from you! Please take a moment to fill out our survey and let us know how we can improve your experience with [Organization Name]: [Link].”
  • Birthday Greeting: “Happy Birthday, [Name]! We’re so grateful to have you as part of our community. If you’d like to learn about our current initiatives, please visit our website: [Link]. Here’s to another year of impact together!”

Incorporate a mixture of compelling images, video clips, and emojis to make your text messages even more eye-catching and engaging.

Personalizing Your Nonprofit’s Text Messages with Tatango

As you continue to use personalized SMS text marketing to support your organization’s goals, keep track of metrics such as your open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates to assess your performance over time.

With a comprehensive text messaging platform like Tatango, you can continually evaluate and improve your SMS strategy with detailed reporting and A/B testing. Contact us today to learn how we’ve helped nonprofits earn $5 in donations for every $1 spent in text messaging—and how you can start seeing these results for your organization.

To learn more tips and best practices for incorporating text messaging into your organization’s strategies, check out these additional resources:

Transform your ROI with the best text messaging provider, Tatango. Get a demo today to learn how the platform can skyrocket your revenue.


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