Given the effectiveness of business texting and SMS marketing, it may be tempting to cold text leads, website visitors, or customers to generate revenue. However, cold texting is illegal. You must have consent from contacts before reaching out via text.
In this blog, we’ll dive into what constitutes cold texting, share tips to text without breaking the law, and answer some of the most common questions.
Jump right to:
- What is cold texting?
- Is cold texting illegal?
- Don’t cold text; do these eight things instead
- Frequently asked questions about cold texting
<h2 id="What">What is cold texting?</h2>
Cold texting is sending an SMS message to any contact without their prior consent or permission. It’s similar to cold calling or cold emailing in that you’re sending an unsolicited message to someone who has not previously expressed interest in your business or given permission to your business to contact them.
Some examples that would lead to cold texting include:
- Purchasing a contact list or phone numbers from a third party
- Finding customers' phone numbers online
- Texting a customer just because you have their cell phone number
- Obtaining someone’s phone number in a way they don’t know about
<h2 id="Illegal">Is cold texting illegal?</h2>
Yes, cold texting is illegal. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requires businesses to get consent to text each customer. This consent is known in the industry as an SMS opt-in. Your company may face hefty fines if you don’t obtain this opt-in.
Ensure you stay compliant with the TCPA law by following this eight-step compliance checklist. Compliant texting will help you avoid cold messaging, maintain your SMS subscriber base, and avoid fines and penalties.
<h2 id="Do">Don’t cold text; do these 8 things instead</h2>
Instead of sending a cold text message, organically grow your SMS subscriber list and text compliantly with these strategies.
Make your texting phone number public
Encourage customers to contact your business first by publicizing your texting number. You can post your phone number on your website, social channels, or email footers. When customers text in first, they’re providing implied consent. Advertising your textable phone number is a great strategy for businesses wanting to set up a text message channel for customer service where customers initiate messages for help.
With implied consent, you can only text contacts about their inbound message inquiry. This means you can’t save their phone number and text them promotional messages in a few months. That would be considered a cold text because you didn’t establish explicit consent to text them about marketing.
Use a click-to-text button
Another way to encourage implied consent is to incorporate a click-to-text button on your website. Textline uses this strategy on our mobile website to encourage current and prospective customers to text our support line. When website visitors use this button, a text message is automatically started. These buttons provide a simple way for people to initiate a text to your business and give implied consent.
Create an SMS opt-in form
Generate texting opt-ins by using online or physical forms. These forms help businesses get explicit consent to text customers. Choose to embed these forms on your website, create a pop-up ad, or ask customers to complete the form in person.
These forms are easy to fill out and protect your business from sending unsolicited messages.
Work opt-ins into a current sign-up flow
Anywhere customers insert their phone numbers, include a check box they can click that explicitly states they give your business permission to reach out via SMS. For example, you can add this text message opt-in checkbox to your:
- Checkout process
- Booking form
- Patient intake form
- Demo request form
- Job application form
Here’s an example of how you can work a checkbox into your existing flow.
Ask for consent with SMS keywords
Use a text-to-join campaign to encourage customers to sign up for marketing texts. These campaigns ask customers to text a keyword like “JOIN” to your number to subscribe. Send a follow-up text, which is called a double opt-in, to confirm the subscription choice.
Convert social media followers or email subscribers
Rather than cold texting, provide a simple way for customers who follow you on social media or subscribe to your email campaigns to opt into text messaging.
A great way to collect opt-ins from current subscribers is to run a special newsletter promotion, link to a form in your email signature, or add one to your social media bio.
Request consent to text over the phone
If you’re on the phone with a prospect, ask them if they consent to receive text messages from you related to their inquiry. This can help you avoid cold texting any prospect. In your verbal script, ensure you have the proper disclosures, such as “message and data rates may apply.”
Below is a script that gives you an example of what this would sound like.
Make it easy to opt-out and honor unsubscribes
The TCPA requires businesses to provide a way for contacts to opt out of text message programs at any time. Make it very easy to do so. Providing a simple way to opt out may encourage more customers to subscribe in the first place since the choice to receive texts is entirely theirs.
Plus, if a customer decides to unsubscribe, you must honor that opt-out, or it will be considered a cold, unsolicited text message.
For more ways to collect SMS opt-ins, view our complete opt-in examples list.
<h2 id="FAQ">Frequently asked questions about cold texting</h2>
Check out some of the most commonly asked questions about cold messaging.
Can I text someone if I already have their phone number?
No, a customer must explicitly consent to receiving text messages from your business. Just because they gave you a phone number doesn’t mean you can text them. They may simply just be expecting a phone call.
Is it still cold texting if someone texts my business first?
No! If a contact texts your business first, they are giving you implied consent. This means you can text them back about their initial inquiry and message. However, you can not reach back out to them in a few months with promotional messages, as that would be unsolicited marketing.
Why is cold calling legal, while cold texting is illegal?
Though still heavily regulated under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, phone calls don’t require the same explicit opt-in as SMS. This makes it legal for businesses to cold call prospects so long as they follow specific rules such as sticking to business hours, avoiding autodialers, and staying clear from AI-recorded messages. However, the TCPA requires businesses to get explicit consent before texting. This makes it illegal for businesses to cold text prospects.
What’s the fine for cold texting?
The fine ranges from $500 to $1,500 in damages per violation.
What are the different levels of texting consent?
There are three levels of consent when it comes to SMS messaging: implied, prior express, and express written consent. Here’s a quick breakdown of what these mean.
- Implied consent: This consent type is given by a contact initiating a text message to your business. Businesses can only respond to whatever the contact messaged in about.
- Prior express consent: This type is given when a person consents to be contacted via text in the future. Contacts can give prior express consent by filling out a form, checking a box, or verbally. Businesses can use this for informational or conversational use cases like appointment reminders or order updates.
- Express written consent: Permission given in writing (paper or digital) to receive promotional texts or SMS messages sharing personal information. This type of consent is needed for marketing or healthcare use cases.
Warm up your cold texting with Textline
Textline makes it easy to comply with SMS opt-in requirements, so you never send a cold text. When you choose Textline as your business texting provider, you’ll gain access to features like the Consent Webform and a patented Secondary Consent flow. These make collecting consent and confirming opt-in choice seamless to protect your business.
Textline takes security and compliance seriously. Start texting your customers confidently using Textline. Give it a try for free today or request a demo now.
