Whether you’re looking to earn donations, find volunteers, or recruit new members, text messages are a great way to stay in touch with your supporters. When supporters agree to join your SMS messaging list, you can contact them at a moment’s notice, letting you alert them to sudden opportunities, provide quick thank-you messages, share time-sensitive updates, and much more.

With these benefits, SMS has become an increasingly popular messaging method for nonprofits. However, building out this communication channel requires supporters to give written permission to receive text messages from your organization, also known as an opt-in.

In this guide, we’ll explore three tips for creating a robust, engaged audience of mobile supporters. But first, let’s take a closer look at why opt-ins are essential for SMS communication.

Why Opt-Ins Are the Foundation of SMS Success

Your text messages are a key part of your nonprofit’s virtual outreach strategy. And as Getting Attention’s digital marketing guide for nonprofits explains, a thorough strategy comes with several benefits:

  • Increased brand awareness. By contacting your supporters through email, social media, and SMS, you can build brand recognition. This means that the next time a supporter sees a message from your nonprofit, they’re more likely to engage with it.
  • Removed geographical barriers. No matter where your supporters are, you can get in touch with them via text. This also helps you stay in contact with supporters who are on the go, rather than relying on them to return to their desktops to reply to your nonprofit.
  • Improved outreach to beneficiaries. SMS messages help you stay in touch with donors and volunteers, but they can also be instrumental in promoting your services to beneficiaries. For instance, you might text appointment reminders, inclement weather warnings, or new service offerings.

However, before you can access any of these benefits, you need to get supporters’ explicit agreement to be contacted via text. This is both a legal formality and an opportunity to build trust. Clear, compelling opt-in language ensures your supporters know what they’re signing up for, leading to improved responses to your messages and fewer opt-outs.

1. Make It Easy to Say Yes

The easier it is to opt in to your text messages, the more likely your supporters are to do it. SMS apps provide intuitive tools that allow you to connect with your audience and smoothly guide them through the sign-up process.

Use your app to construct an opt-in strategy with these best practices in mind:

  • Auto-confirm opt-ins. Immediately after a supporter signs up to receive SMS notifications, send a confirmation message. This message should reaffirm what type of content they’ll receive, confirm they entered the correct phone number, and provide instructions for opting out (like “text STOP to quit”).
  • Limit form fields. If your opt-in form lives on your website, ask only for essential information. Keep it limited to the supporter’s name, phone number, and potentially topics they’re interested in.
  • Embed opt-in prompts throughout your website. It’s unlikely that signing up to receive text messages from your nonprofit will occur to many supporters without prompting. When supporters interact with your nonprofit, such as donating or signing up for an event, give them the opportunity to opt in to receive text messages.

To make your SMS mailing list easy to manage on your back-end, choose a texting platform that integrates with the rest of your fundraising software. For example, if you use a Salesforce-based system, look for an SMS tool that’s built for Salesforce.

2. Promote Opt-Ins Across Channels

With a multi-channel fundraising and outreach strategy, nonprofits can connect with more supporters by reaching them where they are. The same approach can help you grow your SMS list.

Try promoting your opt-in opportunities through:

  • Social media. Create posts that share what types of content supporters can get by joining your SMS list. Additionally, edit your biography to include various ways to stay in touch with your nonprofit, including how to receive text messages.
  • Email. In various emails, you might include a call to action requesting supporters opt in to text messages. These could be dedicated messages or included at the end of routine messages, like your weekly newsletter or automated donation thank-you email.
  • Events. Display your text opt-in info on signage, printed materials, and during event presentations. For instance, you might create flyers that include a QR code that directs supporters to your opt-in form.

The more touchpoints you create, the more likely people are to act on them. Make adding opt-in opportunities part of your routine messaging strategy to continually expand your SMS list.

3. Keep Compliance Front and Center

Depending on where your nonprofit is based, your SMS marketing strategy will be subject to several laws. Mogli’s guide to SMS opt-in and out strategies outlines four key laws to be aware of:

  • Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The TCPA is essentially the law that created opt-in requirements in the United States. This law dictates that organizations must receive explicit written communication to send text messages to consumers.
  • CAN-SPAM Act. If a supporter agrees to receive text messages from your nonprofit, they are only agreeing to receive messages from your organization and no one else. The CAN-SPAM Act prevents businesses that consumers don’t have a prior relationship with from texting them, even if they agreed to receive messages from a related business.
  • Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA). CTIA is not a strict legal ruling but rather a list of best practices for limiting unwanted messages. These include issuing clear calls to action, requiring consumers to opt in twice, and making opting out easy.
  • California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). CCPA protects California residents with whom your nonprofit interacts, regardless of whether your nonprofit is based in California. To comply with CCPA, your nonprofit must provide a clear opt-in and opt-out process, disclose what information your organization is collecting about them, include a link to your privacy policy if you plan to sell consumer data, and deny requests from third-party organizations to use your consumers’ data without their written consent.

Maintaining legal compliance protects your nonprofit from potential fines and helps build trust with supporters. When supporters know you’re taking compliance seriously, they’ll be more likely to stay engaged and sign up for more communications.

A strong SMS list starts with smart opt-in strategies. Grow your mobile audience by simplifying your sign-up process, promoting opt-in opportunities whenever possible, and ensuring your nonprofit maintains legal compliance. This way, you’ll not only have a wider SMS audience but one that’s truly receptive to your messages.