Blog
Field notes on SMS, compliance, and customer data.
Practical guides from the team behind Voyage SMS, LiveRecover, and VYG.
Unlocking the Trigger: How SMS Marketing with Voyage Transforms the Firearms Industry
Explore how Voyage's SMS platform is transforming communication in the firearms industry. From personalized customer engagement to safety tips, Voyage helps brands build loyalty and drive sales while ensuring regulatory compliance. Join the journey where tradition meets technology for impactful marketing strategies.
How to Send Personalized SMS to Inactive Customers
Learn how to effectively engage with inactive customers by sending personalized SMS messages.
How to Send Personalized SMS to Loyal Customers
Learn how to effectively engage and retain your loyal customers by sending personalized SMS messages.
How to Send Personalized SMS to Frequent Shoppers
Learn how to effectively engage with your frequent shoppers by sending personalized SMS messages.
How to Send Personalized SMS to New Customers
Learn how to effectively engage with new customers by sending personalized SMS messages.
How to Send Personalized SMS to High Spenders
Learn how to effectively send personalized SMS messages to high spenders and increase customer engagement.
Yes, Firearms Brands Can Now Send SMS Campaigns Compliantly
Firearms brands can use SMS and email marketing to communicate with customers, as long as they follow proper regulations. S.H.A.F.T. brands must use proper age gating, avoid triggering language or promotion of violence, and use a proper SMS tech stack to avoid big penalties.
SMS Strategy for Shopify Small Businesses
Whether you’ve just started selling on Shopify or are an experienced veteran, SMS can help your small business communicate with customers, send reminders and alerts, and build loyalty with your audience.
Are You Accidentally Kicking Out SMS Subscribers?
If a customer wants to opt out of your SMS, you’ve got to let them go. But that doesn’t mean letting go of subscribers that accidentally text one of the opt-out words when they are looking for something else. By using enhanced opt-out logic you can be sure not to kick out loyal customers.
Why Sending a Post-Purchase SMS Is So Valuable
Post-purchase SMS lets customers know you care, allows them to reach out if they have any problems, and turns them into loyal customers who keep coming back for more. This post-purchase communication, combined with SMS’s incredible open rates, gives you a recipe for success.
How to Immediately Increase Your SMS Reach
P2P messages are sent by humans which allows for more nuances and true conversations to take place. Therefore the regulations are different. Here's how P2P magic allows you to immediately increase your SMS reach:
How to Use Product Data in Your SMS Strategy
Your SMS marketing shows alongside texts from your customer's family and friends. It is a highly effective and personal channel, meaning customers expect the right amount of personalization and effort. In this post, we’ll go over how you can specifically use product data to create that personalized experience for customers.
SMS Marketing Benchmarks to Measure
Here are all the key SMS marketing benchmark calculations, including CTR, CVR, CPC (and other acronyms) to make sure are on track for SMS success.
3 Ways To Make Your SMS Spend Go Further
You don’t have to spend more to see results. You just have to send smarter. Here's how to use segments, automation, and A/B testing to make your spend do more for you.
5 Types of SMS Marketing Campaigns & Automations
While we won’t cover the infinite SMS possibilities in this post, we will cover the different types of SMS campaigns and some best practices. So, let’s dive in.
How Often Should You Send SMS Marketing Messages?
You also don’t want to underutilize channels and miss out on potential revenue and customer experiences. So what is the “just right” cadence for SMS marketing?
3 Ways to Make Your SMS Marketing More Personable
A personalized, human-led experience is not only preferred, but it is also now expected from customers. Especially from channels such as SMS, which are amongst the most intimate and effective communication channels today.
Voyage SMS Marketing Glossary
We want to provide your company with the necessary resources and knowledge to build your SMS initiatives. Check out our glossary of important terms to keep in mind to ensure you are always one step ahead in your SMS journey.
Transactional SMS Templates: 8 Texts You Should Be Sending
Transactional SMS offers an enhanced and personalized customer experience by fostering a positive dialogue between the company and its consumer. Here’s a look at some of the most common types of transactional messages that you can start incorporating into your SMS marketing strategy today.
Tips From 4 DTC Experts
At Voyage, we are proud to work and partner with some of the leading marketers, founders, and retail executives, which is why we decided to launch Reddy at the Helm: the official podcast of Voyage. We’ve pulled out some of the best gems from these conversations for you.
Expert Field Guide: Incorporating SMS Along the Customer Journey
SMS has the power to evolve your digital marketing strategy and enhance your customer journey. Here's everything you need to know about integrating SMS into your digital channels for a complete customer journey experience.
The What, Why, & How of Transactional SMS
Customers expect frequent and timely updates, which means transactional SMS. The benefits of transactional SMS include: increased engagement, timely communication, establish brand trust & loyalty, and reduced support inquiries.
SMS Contact Cards: What, Why, & How
A Contact Card contains your company's contact information and allows subscribers to save your number as a contact on their phones with a dedicated image and other essential information. It takes your text from popping up on your customer's home screens from a random slue of numbers to a contact, just like texts from their friends and family.
How to Start an SMS Marketing Program
SMS is an incredible marketing tool for any eCommerce brand. With U.S. mobile commerce expected to reach $1 trillion by 2027, and 80% of consumers reporting a sub-optimal experience shopping on their mobile devices, it's more critical than ever to start using SMS.
SMS Accessibility Best Practices
Taking a compliance-first approach to your SMS marketing program means you’re taking a customer-first approach. Go beyond baseline SMS compliance and elevate your marketing standards to meet ADA standards to reach and delight all audience
How to Avoid Post-Holiday SMS Subscriber Churn
Brands that retain new subscribers after the holiday season can do so by being prepared. It’s important to focus on retention tactics and build out customer journeys ahead of the new year.
Sending SMS Campaigns Based on Timezones
Time zone sending enables you to send a campaign to all your subscribers at a scheduled time in each subscriber's local time zone. Timing matters which is why brands should be strategic when using customer time zones to get the most click-throughs and conversions.
SMS List Hygiene & Best Practices
SMS list hygiene results in increased engagement, a better return on ad dollars spent, and alleviates compliance fears. The stronger your data, the more you’ll be able to uncover about your customer base.
S.H.A.F.T. SMS Compliance for Vape and Tobacco Brands
SMS is the most potent tool for personalized customer experiences, and understanding the S.H.A.F.T. compliance laws and CTIA guidelines are non-negotiable.
3 Texts Your Brand Should Send Right Now (Plus 1 Automated SMS for Later)
Here are three texts your brand should send right now to increase engagement, delight your customers, and drive conversions.
How to Re-engage Dormant SMS Subscribers during the Holiday Season
The BFCM and holiday seasons are the most critical times for any eCommerce brand. It also brings you the perfect time to re-engage your dormant subscribers.
How to Convert Customers from an Out-of-Stock Page Through SMS
When you only show “out-of-stock” on the product pages, you are missing out on an opportunity to grow your marketing subscribers and regain revenue. Here are three ways to use SMS to convert from an out-of-stock page.
Why Conversational Commerce Makes Sense Now More Than Ever
By Rev Reddy, Voyage SMS CEO -- With 86% of customers willing to pay more for better customer experiences, brands are ripe with the opportunity to fully lean into Conversational Commerce today.
The Best Time to Send an SMS
Here are the best times, days, and strategies to send an SMS campaign.
Why SMS is the Best Zero-Party Data Source
The era of cookies is crumbling, but it’s opening the door for a new phase in data collection – and SMS is the tool that will make this zero-party data accessible.
Combining SMS and Email Marketing for Higher Engagement
With eCommerce increasingly going mobile, the combination of SMS and email marketing holds the promise of being the best way for digital-first businesses to communicate with their audiences.
MMS Image Guidelines and Best Practices
Here are all the MMS best practices including when to use MMS, MMS image and GIF sizing and dimensions, and more so you can make your SMS picture perfect.
Abandoned Checkout vs. Abandoned Cart Text Message Strategies for Better Conversion Rates
Abandoned cart vs. abandoned checkout SMS automations is the trigger mechanism – abandoned cart texts are sent when items are left in a shopper’s cart versus abandoned checkout which is triggered when a shopper leaves the checkout flow.
SMS Opt-In And Opt-Out Best Practices
Opt-in and opt-out practices need to be focused on because they have heavy compliance around them, and it’s the hello and goodbye for your brand which will affect your CLTV (customer lifetime value). In this post, we’ll go over all the best practices you need to know about the SMS opt-in and opt-out processes.
Collect More Reviews Through SMS
Customer reviews are an essential part of customer conversion. So in the constant battle against friction and abandonment rates, eCommerce merchants need to integrate customer reviews into your strategy and SMS can help do that.
Six SMS Campaigns You NEED to Run This BFCM
‘Tis the season to finalize your holiday marketing strategies. Need some inspo? Here are six SMS campaigns to check off your BFCM planning checklist.
How to Use SMS for Your Alcohol Brand
Just because alcohol is considered a part of S.H.A.F.T. doesn’t mean your SMS can’t be top shelf. Whether you’re a craft brewer specializing in IPAs, a distiller aging fine bourbon, or a winery bottling the crispest pinot grigio, we’ve got all the compliance and marketing strategies for alcohol brands in one place.
BFCM SMS Readiness Checklist
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are less than 100 days away which means brands should start preparing now to guarantee BFCM success and avoid any last-minute scramble. We’ve put together a BFCM SMS Readiness Checklist so you have all the to-dos in one place.
BFCM+SMS: Holiday Readiness Guide
It's 100 days until BFCM 2022! Download the new SMS Text Message Holiday Readiness Guide for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and beyond.
How to Use SMS at In-Person and Live Events
98% open rates, an effective way to connect with your attendees, and your message getting into the literal hands of your customers means SMS is an in-person and live event marketing dream tool. Not only can you create a more delightful experience for customers at the live event, but you will be growing your SMS list for future marketing.
SMS Automated Drip Best Practices
Automation + personalization = never missing an opportunity and delivering delightful customer experiences. Automated SMS Drips allow you to be on top of customer actions and provide timely messages to drive sales, retain customers, and ultimately increase customer lifetime value (CLTV).
Application-to-Person vs Person-to-Person SMS Marketing Scenarios
What are the best use cases for A2P and P2P SMS? We’ve charted that path thousands of times and in this post, we’re opening the captain’s log so you can take the shortcuts we’ve found along the way.
How to Use Data to Personalize SMS
We want to move past the “hi {{first name}}” and into a personalized and delightful experience for customers.
How to Use SMS to Upsell and Cross-sell
Why is SMS the perfect marketing tool for upsell and cross-selling? SMS provides the timeliness, personalization, and open rates needed to be truly effective for upselling and cross-selling.
Amplify Conversion Rates with Back-in-Stock SMS Alerts
Ready to learn how you can move beyond the back-in-stock SMS basics and send your customers on a world-class journey that converts like none other?
How to Use SMS For Sales and Product Launches
In this post, we’ll cover the most effective ways to implement SMS into your sale and product launch strategies and go over best practices to make sure everything runs smoothly.
It’s Time We Make eCommerce More Human
By Zach Holmquist, Chief Product Officer at Voyage -- The eCommerce marketplace looks different than it did two years ago, and there’s new profiles for both buyers and sellers. There’s always going to be a place for automation and bots, but your brand can’t prioritize those things over a human-led customer experience.
4 Ways to Optimize Your eCommerce Checkout for SMS
Here are four ways that you can optimize your checkout to not only grow your SMS list but also regain revenue from checkout abandonment and more.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV): The Top Priority for Marketers
CLTV is how much a single customer will contribute to your business over their time purchasing with you. The higher your CLTV is, the more loyal and valuable your customers become.
Blueprints for Compliant SMS List Growth
We'll cover the anatomy of compliant SMS opt-ins and messages, elements that go into compliant list growth, and the required details needed to keep your messages from making disruptive waves.
How to Use Email and Social to Increase Your SMS Subscribers
As you hone your brand’s SMS strategy, it’s important to harness cross-channel campaigns. Each channel can feed into one another, creating a flywheel that ultimately spurs more conversions.
How Birthdate Co. used Segmentation to make the Stars Align
Discover how Birthdate Co. leveraged Segmentation inside Voyage to make the stars align. Read the case study right here.
A Marketer’s Guide to Navigating the SMS Compliance Seas
As your partner in SMS success, we’ve compiled the following guide on the governing rules and regulations for text message marketing.
How to Create Successful Back-in-Stock SMS Notifications
With the right back-in-stock strategy, you’ll capitalize on the popularity of your products and improve the overall customer experience.
SMS A/B Testing: What to Start Testing
Voyage’s A/B testing feature enables you to easily create multiple variants of a Campaign and experiment with different variables to optimize your SMS performance. Here's how to make the most of it.
How to Write the Perfect Marketing SMS Message
Welcome to anatomy class! Today we are covering the anatomy of a successful marketing text message. After this, you'll have all the SMS elements needed to pack the most click-through and conversion power into each message you send.
SMS List Growth: How to Acquire SMS Subscribers
The faster you build your subscriber list, the quicker the path to delighting customers and building brand loyalty. So, here are the best methods for placing seamless SMS opt-in opportunities throughout your customer journey.
Abandoned Shopify Checkouts: How to Recover Revenue With SMS
Abandoned checkout campaigns help brands gain back lost revenue, win over customers, and set you up to see recurring revenue from customers — aka increase customer lifetime value (CLTV).
The Dos and Don'ts of SMS Marketing
Text messaging is among the most sacred and effective communication channels today, which is why we created a list of SMS dos and don’ts to guide brands to create the best possible SMS experience for their customers.
How to Add SMS Opt-in to Shopify Checkout
For Shopify merchants, giving customers the option to opt-in to SMS at checkout is a perfect opportunity to add new or returning customers to your SMS list.
New Guide: The Definitive SMS Marketing Guide
In our new guide, we’ll cover everything about SMS, from the optimal candidate for managing your program, to setting up a successful acquisition channel, all the way through benchmarks, best practices, and stellar campaign examples.
Comprehensive SMS Abandonment Automation Field Guide
An SMS abandonment automation uses alerts and triggers to remind shoppers of their abandoned sessions and items. These strategic automations lessen the customer abandonment rate when effectively deployed, increasing conversions.
SMS Marketing Platform Evaluation Checklist for Retailers, eCommerce and DTC Brands
In order to harness all that SMS marketing can provide, brands need to evaluate the most effective features and functions available.
Live Shopping: Everything eCommerce Merchants Need to Know
In this post, we’ll cover what live shopping is, why experts are saying it is the next big thing for eCommerce, what benefits brands are seeing with live shopping efforts, and how to start streaming.
The Future of the SMS Marketing Technology Landscape is Conversational Commerce
By Rev Reddy, CEO -- The importance of connecting with customers, especially online, has never been more critical. People want human connection in these online interactions. This desire is changing the way consumers spend money and engage with brands.
SMS Customer Service Industry Field Guide
SMS offers customer service an additional, personal avenue to engage with customers directly and delight them with personalized experiences.
How MONSTERBASS Increased Revenue with LiveRecover by Voyage
Find out how MONSTERBASS grew revenue through P2P SMS with LiveRecover by Voyage. Read the case study right here.
How to Use SMS to Prevent Chargebacks
While SMS marketing and chargeback prevention may not seem relevant to each other initially, creating a better connection with your customer through support and active communication will prevent chargebacks.
How to Support Your Loyalty Program With SMS
A 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by 25% to 95%. Both loyalty programs and SMS are perfect channels to delight your customers and build relationships. Here’s how to effectively use SMS to support your loyalty program.
SMS Keywords Guide For Effective List Building
One of the most impactful SMS list building tools in your arsenal is SMS Keywords. So let's go over the best SMS Keyword approaches.
Voyage SMS Raises $10M; Acquires Leading Conversational Messaging Platform LiveRecover
The $10M investment and acquisition strengthens Voyage SMS’ position as a key marketing automation player in the $3T mobile eCommerce industry.
How to Amplify SMS Acquisition with Website Modals
Voyage SMS offers robust ways to amplify your SMS subscriber opt-ins. One of the most effective list building tools in your arsenal are custom modals.
Using SMS to Solve your Abandoned Cart Problem
Winning back these customers means capturing their attention, and with mobile traffic accounting for about 50% of eCommerce traffic, text messages have become the best way to do this.
Effectively Utilizing SMS Marketing for eCommerce
Here are 5 tips on how to do SMS marketing effectively: choose a service provider, build your distribution list, ensure compliance before you text, craft the right message, and keep it direct and simple.
Effective Lead Generation and Nurturing with SMS Marketing
Lead generation is one of the most important elements of your inbound marketing strategy and plays a major role in converting visitors into leads and eventually into paying customers.
SMS Marketing Automation for Better Engagement
Today, startups and small businesses want to maximize efficiency while enhancing the effectiveness of their sales and marketing efforts to achieve higher ROI.
SMS Marketing Campaigns that Increase eCommerce Sales
Every company wants to sell more and acquire more customers. Businesses have known for ages that deals, discounts, and offers help achieve that aim.
eCommerce Marketing Strategies for Customer Acquisition
Determining how to help your target audience find your store and bringing them on board can be even more difficult than building your store - that's where eCommerce marketing comes in.
SMS and Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) Beyond the Holiday Season
You captured attention (and revenue) during BFCM. Now, it’s time to convert those holiday buyers into brand loyalists. Let’s explore how to achieve post-holiday retention, and drive higher customer lifetime value.
How your Social Commerce Strategy can Drive SMS List-building and Conversions
Effective social commerce posts can drive direct sales, and they can also be used to direct consumers into the SMS channel, which sees 3X the LTV of any other platform.
BFCM Compliance Checkup
Drop anchor and join us for a quick compliance refresher ahead of BFCM, so that your SMS marketing messages come through loud and clear this season.
Black Friday Cyber Monday SMS Deep Dive
From useful consumer data to real-world success stories from Voyage's shining star clients, this 17 page guide will put wind in your sails as you set out from port with your SMS marketing.
The Truth About SMS for S.H.A.F.T. Brands
At Voyage SMS, it’s our mission to help a diversity of clients best serve their customers, so let’s dig into the overall situation with SMS and S.H.A.F.T. brands, and clear up the confusion.
CEO Note: Compliance at Voyage SMS
SMS compliance and deliverability protocols are constantly evolving. Voyage’s goal is to protect brands to the fullest extent possible when it comes to their SMS marketing and commerce program.