Best Time to Launch Campaigns

The right time to send a message depends on your audience’s routines, your industry, and the nature of your offer. Here are some tried-and-true patterns worth testing:

• Weekdays are Often Preferred:

  • Tuesday–Thursday are often the sweet spot. These midweek days tend to have higher open and conversion rates.

  • Mondays are generally less effective—many people are catching up on work and may overlook marketing messages.

  • Fridays can be hit-or-miss depending on your industry. People may be distracted by weekend plans, or more relaxed and ready to browse.

• Avoid Early Mornings and Late Nights:

  • The most effective window is usually between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM, but always test this for your specific audience.

  • Exception: Some niche audiences (like new parents or late-night shoppers) may respond well to off-hours messages. Know your audience.

• Lunch Hours Can Be Effective:

  • Between 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM can be an ideal time to reach people checking their phones during breaks.

  • Consider pairing these campaigns with quick offers (e.g., limited-time codes or flash sales) that fit into a lunch break browsing session.

• Weekends are Tricky: 

  • Engagement is more unpredictable on weekends. Some people check their phones more often, while others unplug.

  • Campaigns tied to weekend activities (like fashion, food, or events) may perform well if timed thoughtfully—e.g., Friday evening previews or Saturday morning reminders.

Content Best Practices

While timing matters, your message content is what ultimately drives action. Here are a few tips to strengthen your SMS campaigns:

1. Lead with Value

• Start with the most important part of the message (e.g., discount, event, benefit).

• Keep your message concise and easy to read - this ensures more engagement and higher ROI.

• Use strong calls to action (CTAs): “Reply YES to buy,” “Which is your favorite?” “See what’s new.”

2. Personalize When Possible

• Use variables to include first names or relevant products (e.g., “Hi Sam, your favorites are back in stock!”).

• Reference past behavior using AI or popular products (e.g., “Based on your recent purchase…”).

• Track and segment customers with custom profile properties.

3. Be Conversational & On-Brand

• SMS is a casual medium. Write like a human, encourage customers to reply, and remember: it's a 2-way street!

• Avoid ALL CAPS or too many emojis unless that suits your brand’s voice.

• Reserve high-urgency tactics for truly limited-time campaigns or key promotions.

4. SMS is NOT Email!

• OneText isn’t just messaging—it’s selling. The strategy for each marketing channel should play to their respective strengths.

• Email is great for information and storytelling, while SMS excels at frictionless payments and conversions.

5. Respect Frequency

• Sending too often leads to unsubscribes. A good cadence is 1–3 messages per week, depending on how valuable your content is.

• Always make sure each message has a reason to be sent: a new product or blog post, an expiring sale, a restock, or something timely.

Pro Tip: Always Be Testing

Don’t assume what works for another brand will work for you. Use A/B testing to evaluate:

• Different send times

• Variations in tone (playful vs. direct)

• Images vs. plain text

• CTA verbiage

Monitor key metrics (CTR, conversion, opt-outs) to refine your strategy over time.

Seeing an unusually high unsubscribe rate? Check out our troubleshooting guide.

Campaign Speed Best Practices

When timing matters, optimizing how you send SMS can dramatically improve performance and delivery. The following best practices will help ensure your messages move through our system as quickly as possible.

1. Schedule Campaigns in Advance

By scheduling early, you give OneText time to optimize queueing your SMS contact list to maximize throughput.

• Minimum recommendation: Schedule at least 1 hour in advance.

• Best practice: Schedule 12–24 hours before launch for maximum stability and guaranteed throughput.

2. Start Flows with a Message Step

If you’re building a multi-step flow, make the first step a Message step.

• This allows the system to immediately start processing and sending messages.

• Placing segment splits or purchase messages first can slow initial delivery.

3. Keep Messages Lightweight

The number of segments matters:

• Single SMS segment (160 characters or fewer) delivers fastest.

• Single MMS segment (one image + short caption) also performs well.

• Longer messages that break into 3+ SMS segments take longer to assemble and send, which reduces network throughput.

4. Use the Right Number Type

Your sending number impacts throughput limits:

• Toll-free numbers have stricter carrier throughput caps.

• Dedicated short codes deliver at much higher speeds and are the best choice for time-sensitive, large-scale campaigns. Reach out to our Customer Success team to discuss upgrading to a dedicated short code!