How to Personalize SMS Marketing Campaigns for Better ROI

Launching personalized SMS marketing campaigns is one of the smartest moves your team can make for your business.

Sending personalized SMS messages tailored specifically for each recipient helps drive conversions because you’ll get better engagement—which means, better ROI.

In this guide, we’ll explain how to create and send personalized SMS campaigns.

How to create and send personalized text messages

Sending personalized SMS messages that speak directly to the recipient and resonate with them requires researching, planning, and optimizing. But when you use simple tools built for that process, you can quickly create and send out your message in just a few minutes.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Choose a reliable personalized SMS marketing API / software

When choosing a tool for your personalized messages, look out for features like an API with solid documentation and support, audience segmentation, customization, automation, link tracking, analytics, and reporting. These features make it easier to plan, track, and evaluate your team's SMS marketing campaigns.

For the purpose of this article, we will be using Mobile Text Alerts. You can either download the app or create an account on the website to launch your personalized SMS marketing campaign.

2. Add subscribers

Once you have created an account, you can now add subscribers to your subscriber list. Make sure that these are people who have consented to receiving messages from your team in order to avoid coming off as spammy (or facing potential legal issues).

Here are the different ways you can add subscribers to your account:

Add subscribers through integrations

Fewer tools to micromanage means a more efficient team.

You can natively integrate with Zoom and HubSpot, for example.

Through Zapier, you can add subscribers from thousands of integrations, including Salesforce and Mailchimp.

Add subscribers via an API

If you want to develop your own SMS opt-in process, you can use the service’s API.

On your Mobile Text Alerts account, navigate to the settings tab and select the “developer” option. Click on the “generate a new key” button and enter a new API key name.

You can check out the developer center and API documentation here.

Add subscribers by using a spreadsheet

You can import subscribers from a spreadsheet to your Mobile Text Alerts account, which is great if you have a list of subscribers you collected through in-person events or other methods.

Go to the subscriber’s tab, use the drop-down arrow beside “add subscribers,” and select the import spreadsheet. You can then choose the file type you want to import. Mobile Text Alerts supports XLS, XLSX, ODS, or CSV formats. You can group your subscribers using any characteristic you want including age, income level, and product preferences.

Alternatively, you can use the “add multiple subscribers” option and paste the information you want to add with only one record per line.

Add an opt-in form to your website

Opt-in forms allow you to collect customer information and add subscribers to your messaging list. Navigate to the Growth tab on your Mobile Text Alerts account and click on “opt-in forms.”

Your team can customize the form with your company name, logo, and a special message. You can also collect any data points you’d like from your subscribers use the information to develop personalized campaigns.

After you’ve customized your form, your team can embed the popup directly on your website, copy the link, or generate a QR code.

Easy opt-in with SMS keywords

People who already interact with your brand can subscribe to receive SMS messages by texting a keyword to your account’s free phone number.

To set this up, log in to your Mobile Text Alerts account, navigate to the Growth tab, and select “keywords.” Add an opt-in keyword to help customers easily subscribe to your SMS alerts.

Use a scannable QR code

Prospects can easily subscribe to your messages by scanning a QR code. Go to the Growth tab, select “keywords”, and click on “QR code” to instantly generate a scannable QR code. Your team can print out this code and place it in your walk-in store or office or add it to your website, socials, and email newsletters.

Add contacts manually

One option is to manually type the information into your subscriber list on Mobile Text Alerts. To add contacts manually, go to the Subscriber's tab and click “Add a Subscriber.” Enter details like name, phone number, and any custom fields (e.g., location, purchase type, etc.).

3. Segment your audience

“Segmentation allows you to create dynamic groups that reflect real-time behaviors and preferences, ensuring your messages hit the mark every time.” —Matt Coleborne, CEO Growth Gurus

As with any area of marketing, SMS audience segmentation involves grouping your subscriber list based on specific characteristics, interests, and behaviors—for example, demographic information, buyer’s journey, device usage, geographic location (which can generally be determined by the recipient’s area code), gender, age, education, income, ethnicity, previous product interests, or previous engagement with your SMS.

Segmenting your audience, of course, helps you send more targeted SMS marketing campaigns, which will lead to better conversions (and increased ROI!).

But to segment your audience properly, you have to start by collecting the necessary data. Here’s how to gather data about your audience to use in SMS campaigns:

• Through sign-up forms generated by your SMS software (for example, with the sign-up forms provided by Mobile Text Alerts you can collect information like name, age, location, and preferences).
• Through in-app behavior tracking tools (for example, Mobile Text Alerts has built-in link tracking and conversion tracking tools).
• You can also collect data from third-party websites like Shopify, Mailchimp and CRMs and load it into your SMS software by uploading a spreadsheet or using integrations.

How to segment your audience using Mobile Text Alerts

Go to the Groups tab, click on “add group,” and enter a group name and a brief description.

For example:

Group name: Abandoned Cart

Description: Users who added items to the cart but didn’t complete the purchase.

After typing in the group name and description, select the “adaptive” feature and choose the characteristics you want to use to segment your audience from the list that appears. You could select features like name, address, home number, email, opt-in source, joined date, or clicked link. The tool will automatically segment current and future subscribers based on these criteria.

After segmenting your audience, your team can create highly customized SMS campaigns and workflows to get maximum ROI.

4. Create and send your personalized SMS

Create messages that feel personal

Your team should try to create personalized messages that feel like they were written specifically for the recipient. Here are a few best practices for personalizing SMS messages to share with your team:

Include data variables

As with email, you can include data variables within your team’s SMS campaigns. To send a personalized text with subscriber variables, create your message including the variable name inside brackets.

You can do this within the “Send a Message” section of the platform, when creating an automated workflow, or when sending messages via API.

For example:

Hi [first name], we noticed you left something behind. Here’s 10% off to complete your order: [link]

Hint: Your team can do this with any subscriber data variable—so, for example, you could include subscribers’ individual appointment dates/times, location, or any other personalized info.

Be conscious that subscribers are intolerant of irrelevant messages

While people can tolerate a lot of promotional material in their email inboxes, they’re less patient when it comes to SMS. Your content must indeed be truly valuable to them in order to earn its position on your subscriber’s personal phone.

Whether that’s informing them of a new product launch (that they have previously indicated interest in), a discount, or any other promotion. It could even be a survey with the promise that it would help your business improve services.

For example:

Hi Sarah, we just restocked the natural skincare line you loved last month! Grab 15% off for the next 48 hrs as a thank-you for your feedback. Use code: NATURALSKIN15 [link]

Make messages feel like a one-on-one chat

In general, your team should use a conversational tone because it sounds more personal and friendly. Formal tones, on the other hand, can sound cold and create a distance.

Of course, this may vary depending on your brand, so ultimately you should use the tone that you think is the best fit for your brand).

For example:

✅ Hey [first name], we saved your cart for you. Ready to check out? Use code JUST4U to get 10% off [link]

❌ Dear [first name], this is a reminder that your order is still pending. Please complete your purchase at your earliest convenience [link]

Time and timezone segmenting

Choose a time when your customers are most active, which is usually mid morning to early evening. Your team can use engagement analytics like click through rates or run A/B tests to find out when your subscribers are most active.

If you have subscribers from different countries, consider segmenting them based on time zones. You can send the campaigns at a time that’s most convenient for your recipients using the Mobile Text Alerts scheduling or workflow features.

Tell subscribers what to do next

Make sure your team’s call-to-actions move people easily into the next stage of the funnel or customer journey with content that grabs attention, has a good value proposition, contains clear instructions and has a sense of urgency.

For example:

Tap to grab your discount: [link]

Reply YES to confirm your spot.

Book now and get a free upgrade on your next order!

Hey [first name], your reserved cart is expiring tap to complete your order before it’s gone: [link]

Set up a trigger-based workflow

For the best chance at a the most ROI, your team can maximize personalization by building entire flows that respond to your subscribers’ actions in real time.

Use Mobile Text Alerts’ workflow builder to create a sequence based on a specific action or event. For instance, you can send a welcome message to someone as soon as they opt in through a form or a keyword.

Example: Someone texts “JOIN” to your number. The workflow sends them a thank-you message immediately and adds them to a group labeled “New Subscribers.”

Layer in adaptive groups for more precision

Once you’ve built your workflows, your team can take personalization a step further by setting up adaptive groups. These are smart, dynamic groups that automatically update based on subscriber behavior or profile information, such as clicking a link or selecting a preference.

To set up an adaptive group in Mobile Text Alerts, go to the Groups tab in your dashboard and click on “add group,” then give it a name and description. Toggle the adaptive group option and set conditions for who should be added. For example, you can choose to add subscribers who clicked on a particular link or add subscribers who joined within the last 7 days.

Grouping your subscribers this way will help your team fine-tune your messaging. For instance, if someone clicks a product link in your message, you can automatically move them into a group that has a subsequent campaign for more details or a limited-time offer about that product. If they don’t engage, you can place them in a group that receives reminders or other types of content to spark interest.

Use message branching for deeper personalization

Message branching allows your team to send different follow-up messages based on how each subscriber responds to a previous message. This gives you the ability to personalize your campaigns on an even deeper level by creating tailored experiences.

Within Mobile Text Alerts, you can do this by going to the Workflows tab in your dashboard and creating a new workflow. After adding your first message, you can add a branch. This lets you set conditions and choose different paths depending on how subscribers interact with your message.

For example, you can create a condition where if someone clicks a link, they receive a follow-up message with more details. If they don’t click, they receive a reminder or a different offer. You can also create branches based on subscriber replies, such as replying “YES” or “NO,” and send tailored responses to each one.

Set up recurring messages

Setting up recurring messages helps your team keep your timing consistent with reduced manual effort, which could lead to greater engagement and ROI. You can use recurring messages to send weekly appointment reminders or monthly billing alerts without having to resend them manually.

Navigate to the “Scheduler” tab on your Mobile Text Alerts account and choose how frequently you want your subscribers to receive the message. This could be daily, weekly, monthly, or even on specific days.

5. Optimized based on data

Marketers know that campaigns are not complete without tracking performance. And personalized SMS marketing is no different. Tracking and measuring performance helps you see what’s working and what’s not so you can make necessary adjustments to your strategy. Performance data also enables you to refine your segments and tailor your messages even better.

For example, if a particular group clicks more often on promo codes sent in the morning, you can double down on that timing and format.

By tracking and analyzing performance, you can improve personalization, optimize timing and frequency, increase conversions, and lower unsubscribe rates. Here are some of the elements your team can keep track of (many of which will be similar to email):

Message content

A content audit helps you evaluate each message’s performance and identify areas for improvement, such as tone, CTA, or specific messaging.

On your Mobile Text Alerts account, navigate to the “message logs” section to see a repository of all the messages and campaigns you have launched over time and received.

Tracking ROI through in-platform conversion data

To track conversions and inform your ROI analysis, go to your account settings on Mobile Text Alerts and select “tracking.” You can enter your website’s home page URL or copy a code and add it to every page on your website. You can also choose specific pages to designate as “events” you want to record as a conversion. For instance, you can set a conversion event for when someone visits a checkout page, a newsletter sign-up page, or a resource download page.

This way, you’ll be able to measure exactly which personalized SMS messages are driving meaningful actions.

Table stakes link tracking

Outbound campaigns require the ability to track link clicks (at the very least).

Visit the Analytics tab on your Mobile Text Alerts account and select the link tracking option to see how many people click on your link.

Active vs. dormant subscribers

When your team knows who’s engaging (active) and who isn’t (dormant), you can improve your message targeting and relevance.

For instance, you can send exclusive offers or upsells to active users in your SMS list or win-back campaigns to re-engage dormant users.

Conversely, you can also choose to segment dormant subscribers out to reduce SMS spend. Visit the analytics tab on your Mobile Text Alerts account to see and monitor subscriber activity.

Subscriber growth

Tracking subscriber growth gives you a window into the effectives of your team's SMS campaigns - and whether or not people find them valuable. Getting new subscribers means you are doing something right, and an increase in opt-outs may be a sign to refine your strategy.

In the Mobile Text Alerts dashboard, navigate to the subscriber reports and see how many new subscribers you have gotten during a specific period and where these subscribers are coming from. You can also see the number of people who have chosen to opt out of your messages. With this information, you can refine:

• segments,
• messaging formats,
• timing,
• and copy.

More complex data points

Anoush Gomes discusses more in-depth engagement data you can track, which would include:

• Response time distribution (how quickly do subscribers respond to your messages?)
• Conversation depth (how many 1-on-1 exchanges do you have with your subscribers?)
• Sentiment analysis of your subscribers’ responses
• Behavior across channels
• Engagement half-life (how long does engagement continue?)

What now?

Personalized SMS marketing is a proven way to build stronger customer relationships so you can drive ROI. By grouping your audience based on behavior, preferences, and demographics, you can send the right message to the right person at exactly the right time.

Start your 14-day free trial with Mobile Text Alerts today and boost ROI with every message you send.

FAQs - personalized SMS marketing

What is personalized SMS marketing?

Personalized SMS marketing involves tailoring SMS messages to individual subscribers based on their interests, behaviors, or demographics. It makes your messages relevant and more likely to convert.

What are the benefits of personalized SMS marketing?

Personalized SMS marketing involves using customer data to create and send messages tailored specifically to each person. 75% of consumers admit they prefer receiving promotions via SMS rather than emails. This makes personalized SMS marketing a great choice for businesses looking to stand out in a crowded market and increase ROI. Here are some of the benefits:

High open rate

SMS has a 100% view rate and a 55% open rate. This gives your message more visibility compared to other channels and increases the chance the customer will act on it.

It’s easy to automate

With the right setup, you can run highly personalized campaigns without needing to monitor every single step. Adaptive groups and workflows let you send messages based on behavior or preferences, so your audience hears from you at the right time while you focus on other priorities.

It makes 1-on-1 communication feel effortless

Personalized SMS lets you have direct conversations with your audience in a way that feels personal and engaging. Even though you're sending messages at scale, each recipient feels seen. You can also monitor replies in an online inbox and jump in whenever you need to.

It pairs well with email

SMS and email work best when used together. Email is great for longer updates or detailed content, while SMS is ideal for short, timely nudges. When you tie the two together, you create a stronger, more consistent experience for your audience.

It increases conversions

Personalized SMS messages produce a 35% higher conversion rate than generic messages according to one report. By sending tailored messages, you can target the recipient’s specific needs and encourage them to take action.

For example, let’s say your customer research reveals that a particular group of subscribers love tweed jackets. If you’re running a sale, sending them a message that highlights discounts on tweed jackets rather than something unrelated, like backpacks, is far more likely to drive conversions.

Why is personalized SMS marketing more effective than bulk messaging?

Unlike bulk messaging, where the same message is sent to everyone, Personalized SMS marketing speaks directly to each person and their preferences. This makes it more engaging and increases your chances of getting a response or sale.

Can small businesses benefit from personalized SMS marketing too?

Yes, small businesses often see faster results because personalized SMS marketing builds strong customer relationships and drives repeat business without a huge marketing budget.

What kind of data do I need to personalize my SMS messages?

You can start with readily available data like name, location, or purchase history. The more you learn about your subscribers, the more personalized and effective your SMS campaigns can become.

Do I need special tools to do personalized SMS marketing?

Yes, you will need an SMS platform that allows for segmentation, personalization tags (like [First Name]) and automation. Tools like Mobile Text Alerts are designed for this.