# SMS marketing Human Guide

## What This Is For
SMS marketing achieves 98% open rates and click-through rates 5–10× higher than email, making it one of the highest-performing direct channels for ecommerce. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for SMS marketing: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the SMS marketing agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for SMS marketing.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the SMS marketing guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- When launching an SMS marketing channel alongside existing email automation
- When needing TCPA-compliant opt-in flows at checkout and via pop-ups
- When wanting to segment SMS campaigns by purchase history, lifecycle stage, or location
- When sending transactional SMS (shipping updates) vs. marketing SMS to different opt-in lists
- When auditing an existing SMS program for compliance issues
- Go to **Postscript → Keywords** and set up your opt-in keyword (e.g., "JOIN") — customers text this to your Postscript number to subscribe
- Go to **Postscript → Sign-up Units** to add opt-in forms:
- Checkout opt-in**: Postscript adds a checkbox at checkout automatically — configure the consent language under **Settings → Checkout
- **Pop-up**: create a timed pop-up offering a discount (e.g., "Get 10% off — text JOIN to [number]")
- Important compliance settings under **Postscript → Settings → Compliance**:
- Confirm the consent language is displayed: "By subscribing, you agree to receive marketing texts. Reply STOP to unsubscribe."
- Never pre-check the SMS opt-in box at checkout — TCPA requires un-checked by default

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Overview, When to Use This Skill, Core Instructions, Step 1: Choose the right SMS platform, Step 2: Set up SMS opt-in, Shopify with Postscript, WooCommerce with SMSBump, BigCommerce with Klaviyo SMS, Custom / Headless, Step 3: Consent compliance requirements.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Important compliance settings under **Postscript → Settings → Compliance**:
- Never pre-check the SMS opt-in box at checkout — TCPA requires un-checked by default
- For headless stores, use Twilio. Compliance must be built into your application logic:
- // ALWAYS check consent before sending — never skip this check
- // Handle STOP/HELP/UNSTOP via Twilio webhook — required by carriers
- // Required: explain how to opt out
- Opt-in checkbox must be **unchecked by default** at checkout
- Consent language must appear **adjacent to the checkbox** (not in fine print)

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the SMS marketing human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the finsilabs/awesome-ecommerce-skills skill entry for `sms-marketing`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# SMS Marketing

## Overview

SMS marketing achieves 98% open rates and click-through rates 5–10× higher than email, making it one of the highest-performing direct channels for ecommerce. However, SMS is heavily regulated — TCPA in the US requires explicit written consent, and violations carry fines up to $1,500 per message. Dedicated SMS apps (Postscript, Attentive, Klaviyo SMS) handle compliance, opt-in flows, and 10DLC registration automatically. Custom Twilio implementation is only needed for headless stores.

## When to Use This Skill

- When launching an SMS marketing channel alongside existing email automation
- When needing TCPA-compliant opt-in flows at checkout and via pop-ups
- When wanting to segment SMS campaigns by purchase history, lifecycle stage, or location
- When sending transactional SMS (shipping updates) vs. marketing SMS to different opt-in lists
- When auditing an existing SMS program for compliance issues

## Core Instructions

### Step 1: Choose the right SMS platform

| Platform | Best For | Shopify | WooCommerce | BigCommerce | Price |
|----------|---------|---------|-------------|-------------|-------|
| **Postscript** | Shopify-native, segmentation + flows | App Store | — | — | Free tier; $100+/mo |
| **Attentive** | Mid-market, advanced A/B testing | App Store | Via integration | Via integration | $400+/mo |
| **Klaviyo SMS** | Already using Klaviyo for email | App Store | Plugin | App Marketplace | Adds to Klaviyo plan |
| **SMSBump (Yotpo SMS)** | WooCommerce + Shopify | App Store | Plugin | — | Free tier; $19+/mo |
| **Twilio** | Custom/headless, developer-controlled | Via API | Via API | Via API | Pay-per-message |

**Recommendation:** Use **Postscript** for Shopify and **SMSBump** for WooCommerce. If already using Klaviyo, add Klaviyo SMS to keep campaigns and flows in one platform. Use Twilio only for headless stores where you need full programmatic control.

### Step 2: Set up SMS opt-in

---

#### Shopify with Postscript

1. Install **Postscript** from the Shopify App Store
2. Go to **Postscript → Keywords** and set up your opt-in keyword (e.g., "JOIN") — customers text this to your Postscript number to subscribe
3. Go to **Postscript → Sign-up Units** to add opt-in forms:
   - **Checkout opt-in**: Postscript adds a checkbox at checkout automatically — configure the consent language under **Settings → Checkout**
   - **Pop-up**: create a timed pop-up offering a discount (e.g., "Get 10% off — text JOIN to [number]")
4. Important compliance settings under **Postscript → Settings → Compliance**:
   - Confirm the consent language is displayed: "By subscribing, you agree to receive marketing texts. Reply STOP to unsubscribe."
   - Never pre-check the SMS opt-in box at checkout — TCPA requires un-checked by default
5. Go to **Postscript → Flows** to build automated sequences:
   - **Welcome series**: triggered on opt-in — immediate welcome message + discount code
   - **Cart abandonment**: triggered when Shopify detects an abandoned checkout (different from email; can send even without email)
   - **Browse abandonment**: triggered by high-intent browsing + no purchase within 4 hours

---

#### WooCommerce with SMSBump

1. Install **SMSBump** (now Yotpo SMS) from the WordPress plugin directory
2. Go to **SMSBump → Settings → Compliance** and configure the checkout opt-in field
3. Go to **SMSBump → Automations** to enable:
   - Cart abandonment SMS
   - Order confirmation and shipping update SMS (transactional)
   - Win-back SMS (customers who haven't purchased in 60+ days)
4. For GDPR compliance: SMSBump includes a double opt-in flow for EU subscribers — enable this under **Settings → Compliance → Double Opt-in**

---

#### BigCommerce with Klaviyo SMS

1. Install **Klaviyo** from the BigCommerce App Marketplace
2. Go to **Klaviyo → SMS → Getting Started** and complete the 10DLC registration (Klaviyo walks you through this)
3. Add an SMS opt-in field to your checkout via **BigCommerce Admin → Store Setup → Checkout**
4. Build SMS flows in **Klaviyo → Flows** — SMS can be added to any existing email flow as an additional channel

---

#### Custom / Headless

For headless stores, use Twilio. Compliance must be built into your application logic:

```typescript
import twilio from 'twilio';

const client = twilio(process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID, process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN);

async function sendMarketingSMS(phone: string, body: string, customerId: string): Promise<boolean> {