SMS Marketing Frequency: What’s Too Much?

Why SMS frequency matters

While other apps and communication methods require customers to enable push notifications to receive alerts, nearly everyone receives notifications for text messages within minutes of being sent.

For this reason, finding the right SMS frequency is of the utmost importance. SMS is a direct and personal communication method and can feel intrusive if overused.

Balance is key when it comes to long term success. It's important to think about both your volume of text messages and the value they deliver, both for your customers and for your business.

Sending too many texts can result in high unsubscribe rates and complaint rates. Not enough texts, on the other hand, can lead to missed engagement and low ROI for your SMS marketing.

How often should you send SMS campaigns?

What's the ideal frequency for SMS messages? The answer is, it depends. Read on to learn more about how often you should send SMS marketing messages.

General benchmarks by industry

• Retail & e-commerce: 2–6 texts/month, includes weekly promos and sales alerts
• Food & beverage: 1–2 texts/week, includes menu specials and order reminders
• Health & wellness: 2–4 texts/month, includes appointment reminders and wellness tips
• Services & local businesses: 2–3 texts/month, includes seasonal promos and business updates

Daily, weekly, or monthly?

Striking the right balance is of the utmost importance. Depending on your business, marketing calendar, and goals, you may want to send SMS messages:

• Daily: Daily SMS messages can be considered high risk and are best reserved for flash sales or limited-time alerts. Text messages that deliver significant value for your customers may also be sent daily.
• Weekly: Weekly texts can be a safe middle ground if they offer strong value to your customers, though this frequency may still be too high for some businesses.
• Monthly texts: Monthly texts are good for loyalty check-ins, business news, or product or offering updates. At a minimum, text message marketing should be sent monthly to remain in touch.
• Tie cadence to purpose: Some text messages are better when tied to promos, appointment reminders, education opportunities, or other purposes, rather than tied to a calendar.

Promotional vs transactional message frequency

Not all text messages have the same goals, and your SMS subscribers know the difference.

Promotional messages like sales announcements, product launches, or special offers should be sent sparingly to avoid overwhelming your audience. On the other hand, transactional messages can be sent whenever they're needed.

Try to limit promotional messages to 2-4 times per month. These are the texts that drive sales and engagement, but they can quickly feel pushy if you send too many. Quality over quantity is key to SMS marketing success.

Transactional messages solve an immediate need or answer a question your customer already has. You can send these as often as necessary.

Order confirmations, shipping updates, appointment reminders, and password resets are expected by customers. They provide real value and rarely lead to complaints or opt outs.

Factors that influence ideal SMS frequency

When finding your ideal SMS frequency, it's important to consider a number of different factors. Think about these when creating your marketing calendar.

Audience expectations

When customers opted in to receiving messages from you, did you set expectations in regards to frequency?

It can be helpful to inform customers what they can expect from your SMS messages, whether that may be daily updates, occasional promotional messages, or any other combination of things. With the right expectations, customers won't be caught off guard.

Type of message

Varying the type of message you send can prevent your SMS marketing from feeling like too many messages. Send a combination of messages that add value, promotional messages, sales announcements, and more.

No matter the type of message you send, ensure it delivers value for your customers. The more useful a message, the less likely it will be interpreted as annoying or intrusive.

Seasonality or urgency

Customers tend to be more forgiving with urgent or highly seasonal messages, for instance flash sale updates or holiday gifting reminders. You may find that you can increase your number of messages for these types of campaigns without causing too many unsubscribes or customer complaints.

Engagement metrics

With every message you send, it's important to carefully track engagement. KPIs like unsubscribe rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, as well as qualitative information like customer complaints, can help you get a pulse on ideal frequency and the types of messages your customers respond to best. Let this performance guide your pacing and inform your SMS marketing strategy.

 

Best practices for managing SMS frequency

Concerned about message frequency? Follow these best practices to boost customer satisfaction and keep them engaged.

Follow compliance regulations

No matter what kind of text you're sending, you always need to follow SMS compliance regulations like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), as well as local laws and regulations. Customers must opt in to receive messages from you and need clear opt-out instructions with every message.

Offer opt-in frequency preferences

During the text message opt-in process, give your customers a choice between different message cadences. For instance, you can allow customers to choose between weekly and monthly updates. This sets expectations and gives recipients control over their experience.

Think about timing

The time of day you send a text message can also have a significant impact on how it's received. Avoid sending messages when customers are likely to be in the car, like during morning and evening rush hour.

It's also important to be respectful of quiet hours; no one wants to receive a promotional text in the wee hours of the morning or just before they fall asleep. Adjust for time zones, too.

Segment your audience

As with email marketing, segmenting your list can make a big difference in your SMS campaigns. Send more messages to engaged users and frequent purchasers, while new subscribers or occasional purchasers may prefer fewer messages.

It's also a good idea to use behavior triggers to time messages. Cart abandonment text messages or discount codes can make a huge difference when timed correctly.

Combine SMS with other channels

Text message marketing is best when combined with other channels, like email, app push notifications, or in-app messaging. Duplicate content can increase customer complaints, so be sure to establish unique strategies for each of these channels.

Test and adjust your cadence

Once you've developed your initial SMS strategy, it's time to refine to find the ideal frequency. Randomly divide your segments and A/B test different frequencies to find which receives the best response. Monitor your KPIs and engagement metrics and adjust.

You may find that seasonality plays a big role in the way your audience responds to text frequency, or that your audience's response changes over time. By constantly testing and adjusting, you can ensure your marketing strategy is always meeting your customers' needs.

Set clear expectations at opt-in

The moment someone subscribes to your SMS is your chance to set the tone for your entire relationship. 

Tell them exactly what they're signing up for –– whether that's weekly deals, appointment reminders, or monthly updates. This transparency is a good starting point for keeping opt-out rates low.

Be specific about what they'll receive. Instead of a vague "Stay in touch," try something like "Get 2-3 texts per month with exclusive sales and new product alerts."

When people know what to expect, they're far less likely to feel bombarded later. You can also give subscribers options at signup, like choosing between monthly updates or weekly messages, giving them control from day one.

Use automation to control message volume

Smart automation helps you send the right message at the right time without overwhelming subscribers.

Set up triggered messages based on customer behavior, like a welcome series for new subscribers or a reminder for abandoned carts. These personalized messages feel more relevant to the subscriber, making them more likely to take action and less likely to opt out.

Automation also helps you avoid sending multiple messages too close together. Set frequency caps that prevent any subscriber from receiving more than a certain number of texts within a specific timeframe.

For example, you might limit promotional messages to no more than two per week, regardless of how many strategic SMS campaigns you're running. This keeps your messaging controlled even when you're juggling several campaigns at once.

You can also use customer data to automatically adjust frequency based on engagement. If someone hasn't opened your last few texts, your automation can dial back their message volume. 

If they're clicking through and converting, you might increase it slightly. Let the data guide your approach.

How to determine the right SMS marketing frequency

Finding the sweet spot for SMS frequency requires a methodical approach. You need to look at where your subscribers came from, how they're responding to your messages, and what the data tells you over time. Here's how to figure out the right cadence for your business:

Start with subscriber intent and signup source

Not all subscribers are the same, and where they signed up tells you a lot about what they're expecting.

Someone who opted in during checkout is likely ready for transactional updates and the occasional promotion. Meanwhile, someone who signed up through social media might be looking for exclusive deals and early access to sales.

Match your frequency to their intent. If someone signed up specifically for appointment reminders, they're probably not interested in weekly promotional texts.

On the flip side, someone who joined your VIP list at a retail store is signaling they want to hear from you more often. Look at your signup sources and segment your target audience accordingly.

Analyze historical engagement and opt-out data

Your existing campaign performance tells you what's working and what's not. Dig into your engagement metrics to see how subscribers are responding at different sending frequencies. Are people opening and clicking through your messages, or are they going silent after the third text?

Pay close attention to higher opt-out rates after you increase frequency. Compare your SMS data to other marketing channels, like email campaigns, to see if patterns emerge.

Maybe your audience responds better to one or two messages per month via text, but they're fine with weekly emails. Customer preferences vary by channel, so don't assume what works for email will work for SMS.

Use A/B testing to validate frequency changes

Before you roll out a new messaging cadence to your entire list, test it. Split a segment of your audience and send one group more frequent messages while keeping the other group at your current pace. Track everything from open rates and click-throughs to conversions and opt-outs.

Testing your campaigns helps you make data-driven decisions instead of guessing. You might find that adding MMS messages with rich media performs better than plain text, even at a higher frequency.

Or you might discover that your customers expect less contact than you thought. Run tests regularly as your business evolves and your customer journey changes.

Adjust frequency based on performance trends over time

What works today might not work six months from now. Your audience's needs shift, seasons change, and what felt fresh can start to feel stale. Keep monitoring your metrics and be ready to adjust your strategy when the data shows a trend.

If you notice engagement dropping over several months, dial back your frequency and see if it recovers. If a competitor starts flooding inboxes and you're seeing customer trust erode across the industry, you might need to pull back.

The goal is to maximize engagement while respecting boundaries. Stay flexible, and let performance guide your decisions rather than sticking to a frequency that no longer works.

Signs you're sending too many messages

Concerned you may be sending too many messages? Here are a few signs that your SMS marketing frequency may be too high:

• Increased unsubscribe rates: Some attrition is normal, but a dramatic increase in unsubscribe rate may suggest you're sending too many SMS marketing messages.
• Negative replies or complaints: Customers aren't afraid to tell you what they think. Keep an eye out for complaints regarding your SMS marketing and look for trends. While you can't please everyone, your text campaigns should be generally well-received.
• Declining open and click-through rates: In some cases, customers may not unsubscribe from your texts, but may just ignore them. Dramatic declines in open rates and click-through rates can be an indication that you need to send SMS marketing messages less frequently.
• Subscriber burnout or list fatigue: When an SMS marketing list is burnt out, it may simply grind to a halt. In these cases, you'll see a steady decline in customer engagement over the course of time.

Find the optimal mobile messaging frequency

There's no universal "right" SMS marketing frequency. Factors including industry, message content, customer type, seasonality, and more can affect your ideal messaging frequency. By following sms marketing best practices and testing and adjusting cadence according to performance, you can find your best SMS frequency.

Another important factor when it comes to your SMS marketing campaigns? Your marketing platform. For a single software that combines SMS marketing, email marketing, social media, and more all in a single place, meet Mailchimp. This all-in-one solution combines your essential marketing tools under a single roof for campaigns that perform.

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Key Takeaways

• Finding the right SMS frequency is essential to keeping customers satisfied and unsubscribes to a minimum.
• Depending on your industry and the type of message you're sending, SMS frequency can vary dramatically.
• To find the right frequency for your business, perform regular A/B testing and monitor engagement metrics.

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