Just compared email blasts versus text blasts for our last 3 events in Austin

I used to send long email newsletters to announce our monthly meetups, but open rates were stuck around 12%. For our Austin pop-up last Saturday, I switched to a group texting service and got a 68% open rate within three hours. The texts had a link to register and a countdown timer, which pushed people to act fast. Email still works better for posting recordings after the event, but for driving last-minute signups, text blew it away. Has anyone else tested SMS for their event promos and seen similar results?

2 comments

2 Comments

wright.lisa17d ago

Oh man, YES, absolutely! I had the exact same thing happen with my local jam sessions here in Denver. Emails were basically going to die in people's inboxes, getting maybe 10% open if I was lucky. Then I tried a group text for the last one and it was like night and day, people were replying back within minutes asking if they could still get in. The instant nature of it forces people to decide on the spot instead of letting it get buried under a thousand other emails. I still use email for the boring stuff like recaps and links to photos after the fact, but for that final push to get butts in seats, text is just the only way to go now. Does your texting service let you see who actually clicked the link or just who opened the text?

alicecooper17d ago

Yep, the click tracking depends on the service. Some of them just tell you who opened the text, which is basically useless because half the time people just glance at the notification. I use a service that tracks link clicks, and it's been a game changer for knowing who's actually committed. Like, I'll send out the text with the signup link at noon, and by 2pm I can see exactly who clicked and who just swiped it away. That way I can send a quick follow up text just to the people who didn't click, saying something like "hey just making sure you got the link, spots are filling up." It keeps me from bugging the people who already signed up, and it's doubled my response rate for last minute shows.