SMS marketing — campaigns that actually get read
SMS marketing is using text messages to reach customers with promotions, announcements and reminders. It works because an SMS is almost always read, usually within minutes — but that is exactly why you have to use it carefully. Below you can read how to do it correctly and measurably.
Why SMS alongside email?
SMS and email are not competitors but complements. Email lends itself to the story, the visuals and extensive content. SMS is the right choice when a message is short, urgent or time-sensitive and absolutely has to be seen. The reverse is true as well: anyone who uses SMS for everything that could just as easily have been an email loses their recipients fast.
| SMS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Strength | Almost always read, usually within minutes | Room for imagery, layout and long content |
| Length | 160 characters per message | Practically unlimited |
| Suited for | Flash promotions, reminders, confirmations, alerts | Newsletters, product stories, offers with imagery |
| Acceptable frequency | Low — a few times a year up to monthly | Higher — weekly is common |
| Cost model | Per message sent, from €0.06 | Per subscription or per contact |
Would you like both channels with the same partner? Besides SMSBOX, JAAN also provides email marketing and SMTP relay through its sister brand 2Mail.
Your first SMS campaign in 5 steps
Collect consent
Ask recipients explicitly for consent and record when and how they gave it.
Define your audience
Create a group in your phone book or import a list with the details you want to personalize.
Write the message
Stay within 160 characters, name your company, give one clear action and state how to opt out.
Choose the sending moment
Schedule the campaign at a time that suits your audience and avoid evenings, Sundays and public holidays.
Measure the result
Track the delivery status and measure the response through a shortened link with click tracking.
Consent, opt-out and the rules
For commercial messages to private individuals, Belgium applies an opt-in requirement: the recipient must have given explicit consent in advance. Operational messages that are part of a service the customer requested themselves — an order confirmation, an appointment reminder, an outage notification — do not fall under this. The points below are the practical minimum; they are general information and not legal advice about your specific situation.
Opt-outs come in as an ordinary reply on your virtual number or on our shared shortcode, and appear in your dashboard — or automatically in your own system via a webhook. All processing takes place on Belgian servers, within the GDPR.
160 characters, one message
One SMS holds 160 characters in the standard GSM alphabet. If you use emoji or special characters, the message switches to Unicode and the limit drops to 70 characters per part. Longer messages are split automatically and reassembled at the recipient's end — but you do pay per part.
That limitation is an advantage: it forces you into one message and one clear action. State your company name, what you are offering, until when it is valid and what the recipient should do.
"Summer discount at Bakery De Meule: -20% on all cakes, this weekend only. Show this SMS in store. Stop? Reply STOP."
142 characters — one SMS, one action, opt-out included
Knowing what your campaign delivers
An SMS has no open rate like email — you measure the response by what the recipient actually does. Shorten your link with the built-in URL shortener: it saves characters and records every click, including the country of the person clicking.
On top of that you see per campaign how many messages were delivered or refused, and a separate delivery status for each message. If you work with your own system, you can have those statuses forwarded automatically via webhooks.
Measure clicks Connect your systemWhat works well over SMS?
| Application | Why SMS works here |
|---|---|
| Flash promotions and discounts | A briefly valid offer that has to be seen right away, not tomorrow |
| Invitations and events | A reminder just before the moment, when the email is already forgotten |
| Loyalty and birthdays | A personal message on a date that matters to the customer |
| Store promotions and opening hours | Reaching local customers at the moment they are nearby |
| Reactivating dormant customers | Reaches those who no longer read their inbox, but do check their phone |
