Is text marketing worth it for a small business?
Yes, if your customers already expect to hear from you on their phone: appointment reminders, order updates, a weekly offer at a shop or restaurant. It costs from about a cent a text on a pay-as-you-go service, and the rules are stricter than for email, so set up consent before you send anything.
The best data on how people treat business texts comes from vendors, so read it as vendor research. EZ Texting's 2026 consumer survey (959 US adults, fielded 20 to 23 January 2026) found 87% check a new text within 15 minutes, and 89% have signed up to get texts from a business. The same survey found that message frequency is the top reason people opt out (40%).
Text marketing suits businesses that sell to consumers or book appointments. If you sell to other businesses, email or LinkedIn is usually the better fit.
What does US law require before you text customers?
For marketing texts sent with an automatic telephone dialing system, the FCC's rule at 47 CFR 64.1200 on eCFR requires prior express written consent. The rule comes from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227. Here is what the rule text says, checked 5 Nov 2026. This is a summary, not legal advice; state laws can add stricter rules, so check yours or ask a lawyer.
| Rule | What the text says | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Written consent | A signed agreement (an electronic signature can count) that names the phone number and authorises the seller to send marketing messages | Collect a checkbox or keyword opt-in that records the number, wording, date and time |
| Consent can't be a condition | The disclosure must say the person isn't required to agree as a condition of buying anything | Never pre-tick the box or make it mandatory at checkout |
| Quiet hours | No telephone solicitation before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time at the recipient's location | Schedule sends by the subscriber's time zone, not yours |
| Opt-out words | Replies of stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe revoke consent; other wording counts if a reasonable person would read it as a request to stop | Treat "no more texts please" as a stop |
| Opt-out deadline | Honour revocations within a reasonable time, not more than ten business days | Suppress the number the same day |
| Confirmation text | One confirmation with no marketing is allowed; sent within five minutes it is presumed covered by consent | Auto-reply once, then send nothing more |
The stakes are real. Under the statute a person can sue for actual loss or $500 for each violation, whichever is greater, and a court can raise that up to three times if the violation was wilful or knowing. The eCFR page also flags an amendment published in the Federal Register on 26 October 2026 (91 FR 67219), so check the current text before you launch.
What do carriers require on top of the law?
Carriers set their own rules, and they filter messages that break them. The CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023) are the wireless industry's published guidelines. Three parts matter most for a small business:
- Sign-up wording. The call to action should name the program, the number texts come from, your business, any fees, and how to opt out, without hiding opt-in details in terms and conditions.
- A confirmation text. For recurring messages, send one before anything else, with the program name, a help contact, how to opt out, how often you'll text, and any fees.
- No bought lists. The guidelines say not to use opt-in lists that were rented, sold or shared. Build your own.
Then there's registration. Twilio's A2P 10DLC guide says anyone sending SMS to the US over a 10-digit local number from an application must register, including individuals and hobbyists, and carriers treat all Twilio traffic as sent from an application. Unregistered senders pay extra carrier fees. You register a Brand (your business) and a Campaign (what you send) in the Twilio Console; SimpleTexting's pricing page, for example, lists a $4 one-time carrier registration. Twilio says toll-free numbers and short codes aren't part of A2P 10DLC.
What should a small business send, and how often?
Send texts that are useful within the hour: a reminder, a status update, a time-limited offer. Leave newsletters and long stories to email.
| Message | When | Example line |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome and confirmation | Right after sign-up | See the callout above |
| Appointment reminder | The day before | Reminder: your cut at Acme Barbers (example) is tomorrow at 10:00. Reply C to confirm. |
| Offer | Up to once a week | Fresh sourdough until 2pm today, 20% off with this text. STOP to opt out. |
| Win-back | After 60 to 90 days quiet | We haven't seen you since spring: here's a free coffee with any loaf this week. |
On frequency, the EZ Texting survey reports that the share of consumers open to 2 or more texts a day fell from 69% in 2025 to 59% in 2026, while the share preferring fewer than one a day rose from 32% to 41%. A sensible start is two to four marketing texts a month, stated in your sign-up wording, plus reminders people asked for. Klaviyo's 2026 benchmarks point the same way: automated flows were 7.6% of SMS sends but drove 45.2% of SMS revenue. Set up the automatic messages before you plan blasts. The same thinking is behind deciding which marketing to automate first.
How much does SMS marketing cost? Tools compared
Pricing comes in two shapes: pay per message (an API like Twilio) or a monthly plan with a bundle of credits. Prices below are from each vendor's US pricing page, checked 5 Nov 2026, before tax and carrier fees unless stated.
| Tool | Billing basis | Starting price | Extra messages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twilio | Per message segment, pay as you go | $0.0083 per outbound SMS; local number $1.15 a month | Carrier fees added per message, e.g. $0.0035 AT&T, $0.0045 T-Mobile, $0.005 Verizon (long code) |
| SimpleTexting | Monthly plan with credits | $29 for 500 credits plus $10 for a local number, shown as an estimated monthly cost of $39 (billed yearly at $398.40) | 5.5 cents per extra credit; $4 one-time carrier registration |
| EZ Texting | Monthly plan with credits | Launch from $25 a month ($20 billed annually), 500 credits | $0.04 per overage credit; subject to a telecom fee |
| Textedly | Monthly plan by message volume | Basic $29 a month, 500 messages (600 billed annually) | Next tier Bronze $49 for 1,000 |
| Klaviyo | Free plan, then paid plans | Free: up to 250 profiles and $5 of mobile messages a month | Paid tiers on the pricing page |
Worked example (our arithmetic). 1,000 subscribers, four texts a month, each under 160 characters, so 4,000 segments:
- Twilio: 4,000 x ($0.0083 + $0.005 highest listed carrier fee) = $53.20, plus $1.15 for the number = about $54.35 a month, before registration fees.
- EZ Texting Launch: $25 + 3,500 extra credits x $0.04 = $165 a month. A bigger plan may cost less; check the slider.
- Textedly: 4,000 messages fit the Elite plan at $169 a month (5,000 messages) billed monthly.
Twilio is cheapest per text but needs a developer or an integration to build sign-up forms and scheduling. Monthly tools such as SimpleTexting list opt-in forms and scheduled texts as features. Note that a credit is not always one text: EZ Texting's page says an MMS costs 3 credits.
What results should you expect?
Klaviyo's 2026 SMS benchmarks (vendor data based on over 183,000 Klaviyo customers in industries such as fashion, beauty and health) call a 5.6% click rate good for campaigns and 9.65% for flows, with order rates of 0.27% for campaigns and 1.9% for flows. On 1,000 subscribers, a 5.6% click rate is 56 clicks and a 0.27% order rate is about 3 orders per campaign (our arithmetic). That's why reminders and welcomes, which reach people at the moment they act, often earn their keep before offers do.
Track three numbers from week one: opt-outs per send (if one text loses more than a handful of subscribers, cut frequency), clicks or replies, and bookings or orders you can tie to a text. Keep phone numbers and consent records in one place; a CRM for small business or your texting tool's contact list both work.
What to do this week
Write your sign-up wording
Adapt the callout above, with your real frequency, and put it on your booking form, checkout and counter sign.
Pick a tool and register
Choose by volume from the table, then complete 10DLC Brand and Campaign registration before your first send.
Turn on reminders first
Booking reminders and a welcome text, scheduled between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in each subscriber's time zone.
Test STOP
Text STOP and "please stop" from your own phone and check both are suppressed with one confirmation.
If texting feels like one more job, see marketing when you hate marketing for channels that take less time. Siela doesn't send SMS; its agents work on LinkedIn, X, email and video calls, and its CRM sends email sequences. For the email side of the same customers, see email marketing for small business.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best text marketing service for a small business?
It depends on volume and skills. A monthly tool such as SimpleTexting, EZ Texting or Textedly includes sign-up forms, scheduling and STOP handling, with starting plans around $25 to $39 a month for 500 messages as of November 2026. A pay-per-message API like Twilio costs less per text but needs setup work.
Do I need permission to text my customers?
Yes for marketing texts. The FCC rule at 47 CFR 64.1200 requires prior express written consent for autodialed marketing messages, and the consent can't be a condition of buying. Keep a record of the wording, the number, and the date and time someone agreed. This is general information, not legal advice.
What times are you allowed to send marketing texts?
The federal rule bars telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time. State laws can add their own rules, so check yours too. Schedule each send by the subscriber's own time zone, not yours, and keep a record of when it went out.
How many marketing texts per month is too many?
No federal rule we read sets a number, but CTIA's guidelines say your confirmation text should state how often you'll text, so pick a number you'll keep. In EZ Texting's 2026 survey of 959 US adults, frequency was the top reason for opting out, cited by 40%. Two to four offers a month plus requested reminders is a cautious start.
What is A2P 10DLC registration?
It is the carrier system for business texts sent from ordinary 10-digit numbers. You register your business as a Brand and your message type as a Campaign. Twilio says anyone sending SMS to the US from a 10-digit number through its platform must register, and unregistered traffic pays extra carrier fees.
Sources
- eCFR: 47 CFR 64.1200 Delivery restrictions (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Cornell LII: 47 U.S. Code 227 (TCPA) (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- CTIA: Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023) (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Twilio: Programmable Messaging and A2P 10DLC (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Twilio: US SMS pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- SimpleTexting: Pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- EZ Texting: Pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Textedly: Pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Klaviyo: Pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Klaviyo: 2026 SMS marketing benchmarks (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- EZ Texting: 2026 Consumer Texting Behavior Report press release (14 Apr 2026) (checked 5 Nov 2026)