SMS marketing templates: 30 text message templates you can send today

A good text message template names your brand in the first few words, makes one clear ask, includes an opt-out where the message is marketing or starts a new thread, and fits in a single 160-character segment. Below are 30 of them, grouped by job, that you can copy, fill in and send to contacts who agreed to hear from you.

These templates are short because short texts are cheaper, harder to misread and less likely to trip carrier filters. Brackets mark the parts you fill in. Every template uses plain characters and no emoji, so one segment holds up to 160 characters. Check the count after you fill in the brackets, because a long product name can push a text into a second segment.

What makes a text message template compliant

Copy is the easy part. These rules decide whether the text arrives and whether it creates legal exposure:

• Brand name up front. Carriers and recipients both want to know who is texting. "[Brand]:" at the start does the job in a few characters.
• Opt-out language. "Reply STOP to opt out" belongs in the first message, in every marketing message, and periodically in ongoing threads. It is common practice, and it is cheap insurance.
• Consent first. Every template here assumes the recipient opted in, or texted you first. Cold contact belongs on the phone and in the mail, not in SMS.
• No public link shorteners. Shared bit.ly-style links get filtered. Use your own domain. We explain why in the dedicated domain fix.
• Match your registration. If you registered your 10DLC campaign for reminders and start sending promos, expect filtering. Our guide to matching use case to what you actually send covers this.
• Sensible send times. Keep promos inside daytime hours in the recipient's time zone. See best time to send SMS marketing texts for the industry breakdown.
• Plain formatting. Skip ALL CAPS, strings of exclamation points and "FREE!!!" phrasing. Filters weigh those signals.

Compliance is ultimately the sender's responsibility. Good templates reduce risk. They don't remove it.

Welcome and reminder templates

Welcome (1 to 5)

1. [Brand]: Thanks for joining our texts, [First name]. Expect up to 4 msgs/mo. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.
2. [Brand]: Reply YES to confirm you want texts about orders and offers. Up to 4 msgs/mo. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.
3. [Brand]: You're in, [First name]. Here's 10% off your first order with code WELCOME10 at [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
4. Hi [First name], this is [Name] at [Brand]. This is our text line, so reply here anytime with questions about your [service]. Reply STOP to opt out.
5. [Brand]: Your account is ready, [First name]. Setup takes about 5 minutes: [link]. Questions? Just reply. Reply STOP to opt out.

Template 2 is a double opt-in confirmation. It adds one step, and it gives you a clean "YES" in the thread. Your form or store should still keep the original consent record: the time, the wording and the page.

Reminder (6 to 10)

1. [Brand]: Reminder, [First name], your appointment is tomorrow at 2 PM with [Staff]. Reply C to confirm or R to reschedule. Reply STOP to opt out.
2. [Brand]: See you today at [time], [First name]. Address: [address]. Running late? Reply here and we'll adjust.
3. [Brand]: Hi [First name], invoice #[number] for $[amount] is due [date]. Pay here: [link]. Questions? Reply to this text.
4. [Brand]: [Event] starts in 1 hour at [location]. Doors open at 6 PM. Your ticket: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
5. [Brand]: Your [plan] renews on [date] for $[amount]. To change or cancel your plan, visit [link]. Questions? Reply here.

For timing, such as how many hours before an appointment to send and whether to send a second reminder, see appointment reminder SMS templates and timing.

Review request and offer templates

Review request (11 to 15)

1. Hi [First name], thanks for choosing [Brand] today. Got 30 seconds for a quick review? [link] It helps a small team a lot. Reply STOP to opt out.
2. [Brand]: How did we do today, [First name]? Reply with a number from 1 to 5. Reply STOP to opt out.
3. [Brand]: Quick nudge, [First name]. If you have a minute, a review of your [service] would mean a lot: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
4. [Brand]: Your [product] arrived last week. How's it working out? Leave a review here: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
5. [Brand]: Thanks for being a customer, [First name]. Know someone who needs [service]? Share this link: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.

Use template 12 as a feedback check, not as a filter. Google's review policies prohibit asking only happy customers for reviews. If you collect a score, send the review link to everyone and use the low scores to fix problems.

Offer (16 to 20)

1. [Brand]: 20% off everything through Sunday, [First name]. Use code SPRING20 at [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
2. [Brand]: Text subscribers get first pick. The [collection] sale opens to you at 9 AM tomorrow, a day before everyone else: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
3. [Brand]: AC tune-ups are $[price] through [date]. Book here: [link] or reply with a day that works. Reply STOP to opt out.
4. [Brand]: The [product] you asked about is back in stock. Sizes are limited: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
5. [Brand]: Last day for 15% off. The code ends at midnight: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.

Win-back and follow-up templates

Win-back (21 to 25)

Send these only to contacts who opted in and haven't opted out. Consent goes stale, so a contact who joined two years ago and never bought is a weak candidate.

1. [Brand]: It's been a while, [First name]. Here's 15% off your next order, good for 7 days: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
2. Hi [First name], it's [Brand]. Your last [service] was in [month], and most customers book every 6 months. Want us to hold a slot? Reply YES. Reply STOP to opt out.
3. [Brand]: We miss you, [First name]. Your saved settings are still here if you want to come back: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
4. [Brand]: Quick question, [First name]. What would bring you back? Reply with one word. We read every answer. Reply STOP to opt out.
5. [Brand]: Still want our texts, [First name]? Reply YES to stay on the list or STOP to opt out. We only text when it's worth it.

Template 25 is list hygiene. Contacts who don't want your texts eventually report them as spam. It is better if they leave on their own terms.

Follow-up (26 to 30)

1. Hi [First name], [Name] at [Brand]. Following up on the quote for [job]. Any questions I can answer? Reply here or call [number].
2. Hi [First name], thanks for your request on [Brand]'s site. When's a good time for a quick call today? Reply STOP to opt out.
3. [Brand]: Thanks for meeting with us today, [First name]. Here's the summary we discussed: [link]. Reply with any questions.
4. [Brand]: You left [product] in your cart. It's saved here: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
5. [Brand]: Your order #[number] was delivered. Anything not right? Reply here and a real person will help.

Template 27 works best seconds after the form submits. If the lead replies with a time, a call from the Ready Dialer pad keeps the call in the same place as the text thread. The Dialer is billed at $0.025/min.

What these templates cost to send

You pay per segment, not per message, so length and character choice directly change the bill. On Ready, the Standard rate is $0.0075/segment plus a $0.0045 carrier fee per segment. Replies you receive are billed the same way.

Worked example 1: template 16 as written. The template runs about 105 characters with typical fills, so it is one GSM-7 segment. Sent to 2,000 opted-in contacts, it costs:

• Segment charge: 2,000 × 1 segment × $0.0075 = $15
• Carrier fee: 2,000 × $0.0045

Worked example 2: the same offer with an emoji and extra copy. Suppose the text grows to 175 characters with one emoji. The emoji switches the whole text to unicode, which holds 67 characters per segment in multipart messages. That makes 3 segments:

• Segment charge: 2,000 × 3 × $0.0075 = $45
• Carrier fee: 6,000 × $0.0045

An emoji and a few extra words tripled the segment cost of the same campaign. Both figures exclude the compliance surcharge. Scrubbing and landline validation each add $0.003 per segment when switched on for an account, and both are off by default.

Ready swaps curly quotes, long dashes and ellipses for plain characters before sending. A smart quote pasted from a doc therefore won't silently push your count into unicode. Emoji still will.

Saving and sending templates in Ready

Ready saves reusable templates, so you can store all 30 of these once and pull them into one-to-one texts or bulk campaigns. A few product details apply here:

• AI message writer and spam-filter check. Use them to tighten a template or flag phrasing that tends to get filtered before you send it to a list.
• Opt-out handling. When someone replies STOP, the opt-out propagates across every campaign. Later sends to that number are refused up front and not charged.
• Quiet hours. A text that would land outside permitted local hours for the recipient's area is held, sent later, and charged only when it sends. Campaigns, drip campaigns and automations wait up to 24 hours for the window; a one-to-one or API text is held only if the window opens within 6 hours, otherwise it is refused and must be resent; a one-to-one reply to someone who texted you in the last 24 hours goes out at any hour.
• API sends. If you send from your own app, the same template text goes in the body of POST /v1/messages, with consent_attested: true as your promise that the recipient agreed. See the messages API docs.
• GoHighLevel. Connected accounts sync inbound and outbound messages both ways, mapped per location.

To get started, the first 20 texts are free one-to-one sends, and to send any text you need a card and a number ($2 a month, the first month charged when you get it). Use them to test your templates before you register, because the free texts end once a registration is paid for. Registration has no setup fee. The first month, $25, is charged at submit, and most approvals take 2 to 7 days.

FAQ

Do I need "Reply STOP to opt out" in every text? Put it in the first message, in every marketing message, and periodically in ongoing threads. In a live back-and-forth conversation you don't need it in every reply, but adding it is harmless and costs only a few characters.

How long should a text message template be? Aim for under 160 plain characters so the text stays one segment. Past 160, texts split into 153-character segments, and each segment is billed.

Can I use emojis? Yes, but one emoji switches the whole text to unicode, which caps a single segment at 70 characters. Use one only if it earns the extra cost.

Can I send these to a purchased or scraped list? No. These templates assume opted-in contacts or people who texted you first. Texting cold lists invites carrier filtering and TCPA exposure.

Can Ready store these templates for a team? Yes. Save them as reusable templates and use them in one-to-one texts, bulk campaigns or through the API.

The practical takeaway

Pick the five templates that match the job you do most and swap in your brand name. Keep each one inside a single segment and send only to people who agreed to hear from you. Test them on your own phone first. When the copy reads right, save them as templates and set up an account to start sending.