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Text messaging is a popular way for businesses to promote products, conduct customer support, and provide delivery updates because of its immediacy, high open rates, and user-friendliness. However, because it is a highly personal channel, customers aren’t afraid to unsubscribe to business texts that feel impersonal or irrelevant.
And, it’s quite easy to do so as customers can simply unsubscribe with a one-word reply. Although the ease of unsubscribing is good for customers, it can lead to high unsubscribe rates for companies that don’t use the channel properly.
In this blog, we'll walk you through 10 proven strategies to help you lower your SMS unsubscribe rate and keep your audience engaged. From crafting the perfect message to optimizing your send frequency, these actionable tips will not only help you retain subscribers but also increase the overall effectiveness of your text campaigns.
Ready to build stronger connections with your audience and cut your unsubscribe rate? Then read on!
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What is an SMS Opt Out?
An SMS opt-out refers to the action taken by a text subscriber who decides to unsubscribe from your SMS marketing list. When someone opts out, they no longer wish to receive text message promotions, updates, or notifications from your business. The SMS opt-out rate, or unsubscribe rate, is the percentage of subscribers who unsubscribed from your messages over a given period.
To calculate your text message opt-out rate, divide the number of unsubscribes by the total number of messages sent, then multiply by 100 to get the percentage. For example, if you sent 10,000 messages and 50 people unsubscribed, your opt-out rate would be 0.5%. A high opt-out rate can indicate that your messaging strategy needs adjustment, while a low rate generally suggests that subscribers are engaged and satisfied with the content you're sending.
What is an Ideal SMS Opt-Out Rate?
A good SMS unsubscribe rate can vary significantly depending on your industry, the nature of your campaign, and how well you’re targeting your audience. For instance, promotional campaigns might see slightly higher opt-out rates than customer service or loyalty-focused SMS messages. In general, however, keeping your opt-out rate below 1% is considered a good benchmark across industries. If you’re above this rate, you may face message deliverability issues or message blocking from mobile carriers.
The key is to regularly assess your opt-out rate in relation to the type of content you’re sending, your audience's preferences, and how often you're reaching out — ensuring that your messages remain relevant and valuable to those on your list.
10 Proven Ways to Reduce SMS Unsubscribe Rates
Now that we have a clear understanding of what an SMS opt-out is and what constitutes an ideal rate, it’s time to explore actionable strategies for lowering your unsubscribe rates. Whether you're just starting out with SMS marketing or looking to optimize your existing campaigns.
Pay Attention to Frequency
One of the most common reasons subscribers opt out of SMS lists is receiving too many messages. Bombarding your audience with constant texts can quickly lead to message fatigue, making them more likely to unsubscribe. To avoid this, it's crucial to test and optimize your messaging frequency. Start by setting a reasonable send cadence — Textedly recommends once or twice a week — and monitor how your audience responds. Pay attention to engagement metrics, like open rates and link clicks,, and be prepared to adjust if you notice a drop-off.
Be Mindful of Your Send Times
In addition to the message content, the send time of your text message matters. Being timely and cognizant of time zones is important to help reduce unsubscribe rates. For example, you don’t want to text your customers too late at night or too early in the morning. The best send time for texts will vary, depending on your message purpose and industry. For example, you’d want to send an order confirmation text immediately, but a restaurant promotional message around mealtimes.
Ensure Your SMS Opt-In is Crystal Clear
Ensure that customers know without a doubt what they are opting into; there should be no surprises. In the opt-in language, share how many texts they will get from you and what type of texts they will receive.
For example, if you’re sending five marketing text messages per month, clearly state that customers will receive just that.
Use a Double Opt-In
With a double opt-in, subscribers are first asked to opt-in by texting in a keyword, providing a phone number, or checking a box, but must confirm their subscription by replying to a follow up text. This extra step ensures people are genuinely interested in receiving text messages and prevents accidental sign-ups. By confirming their intent to receive SMS communications, you’re more likely to build a list of engaged, committed subscribers.
Here’s an example of a double opt-in text:
Use Engaging Welcome Messages
A good welcome message can go a long way in keeping subscribers long-term. This welcome message sets the tone about what customers can expect from staying in your SMS program or can offer a welcome discount off the bat.
An effective welcome message could be a drip campaign where you send a series of well-timed messages to keep customers engaged.
Personalize Your Messages Well
Nothing will make a person unsubscribe faster than receiving a text not meant for them. For example, you’ll likely see higher unsubscribe rates if you misspell someone’s name or wrongly address them. Additionally, super general messages that don’t resonate often result in higher unsubscribe rates. As a result, make sure you personalize, tailor, and proofread your messages.
Provide Relevant and Valuable Content
With SMS, a subscriber’s tolerance for messaging that does not resonate with their needs and interests is low. Ensure that you’re providing relevant and valuable content. For example, if you own a car dealership, subscribers won’t want to get promotional messages about SUVs if they’re looking for a compact car. You should collect data about your subscribers to help you provide better content.
Segment Your Audience
One of the best ways to provide the best content and lower your unsubscribe rate is to group your contact list by demographics, interests, or actions taken. This will help you to help you create and send tailored content at scale.
For example, many Textedly customers create a list of VIP customers who want to receive more texts and discounts.
Collect Feedback from Customers
To lower your unsubscribe rate, it is helpful to understand why your customers unsubscribe. If you have their email address or permission to call them, you could ask them to take a survey about your text marketing program to understand why they unsubscribed.
Most often unsubscribes are due to excessive messaging, poor timing, or unhelpful content. However, asking customers can help you identify the reasons.
A/B Test
Any good marketer runs tests to better understand performance. An A/B test can help you compare two different versions of a message to see what contributes to a higher unsubscribe rate. For example, with an A/B test, you can understand the performance of:
- Different content
- Send times
- Frequencies
- Day of Week
Run these tests and monitor your unsubscribe rate.
Lower Your SMS Unsubscribe Rate with Textedly’s Top Strategies
By implementing the strategies we've outlined in this post, you’ll be well on your way to reducing your SMS unsubscribe rate and building a more engaged, loyal audience. Whether it’s refining your messaging frequency, using a double opt-in, or tailoring your content to be more personalized and relevant, the key is monitoring and testing. Track your results over time to see what resonates with your audience and adjust your approach accordingly for maximum impact.
Textedly makes it easy to monitor and improve your SMS unsubscribe rate. Textedly automatically tracks the opt-out rate for each text marketing campaign to help your business understand performance and succeed.
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