The mass texting service that keeps you growing

Yes, and No.

Governed by the FCC, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the major anti-telemarketing law that regulates SMS marketing in the United States.

It clearly prohibits businesses from sending messages, even to their own customers, without their consent. This holds true even if an individual has long-standing relationships with the company.

Businesses need to obtain explicit consent to add subscribers to their subscription list.

Therefore with consent, you can. But without consent, you can’t even text your own customers who might have bought from you in the past!

Mass texting is perfectly legal for use by both private and public institutions. Schools, universities, and even state and national governments use mass texting to communicate important information to interested parties.

However, be it cold calls or cold SMSes, consumer privacy always comes first.

Therefore every subscriber on your list must subscribe or opt-in using an online or offline form that informs them what they consent to.

Sender is 100% TCPA compliant, so you never have to worry about ever doing SMS marketing incorrectly.

Yes, a mass texting service is the same as bulk SMS messaging.

SMS marketing costs differ from country to country. After all, a text blast still remains one of the most cost-effective ways to communicate with prospects instantly, given the work it performs. The cost of a text message in the US can be as low as $0.015 per message.

Additionally, if you have subscribed to any of Sender’s higher plans, we have already bundled in FREE SMS credits, so depending on the number of SMSes you want to send out, your overall cost overheads will still remain pretty low.

From small businesses to enterprises, Sender aims to make Omnichannel marketing (email + SMS) accessible to everyone.

SMS marketing is perfectly legal when done with the right mindset and the correct strategy. It is such a high ROI channel that costs next to nothing that it is surprising how very few businesses know and understand its true potential.

The full force of the law will apply to sanctions, penalties, or disruptions for any form of telemarketing that is performed without consent, such as cold emails or cold SMS.

It's illegal to text customers without their permission, as per the TCPA.

Businesses must have consent from the recipient before sending a text. The permission comes in the form of an opt-in.

Opt-in consent can be taken digitally with a simple online form that must explicitly state that they are subscribing to receive text messages from the company once they provide their phone number.

The companies must save this consent for documentation and reference purposes.

Listed below are some high-level requirements for SMS compliance:

• SMS marketing must be a separate opt-in, which is different from email marketing (your standard mailing list).
• You need to explain to your customers what types of messages they will receive and how to opt-out.
• You must honor opt-out requests.
• SMS marketing is prohibited between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the recipient's time zone -- these are considered "quiet hours."

TCPA violations can result in private lawsuits and fines of up to $1,500 per message. Your messaging campaigns may also be audited or shut down by telecom companies.

But rest assured, when you do it with a TCPA-compliant service such as Sender’s, and you do it the right way.

The difference is fundamental. While SMS messages support just text and links, MMS messages are richer in features, often including images, GIFs, and videos.

A well-crafted SMS can earn more trust and hence is more likely to be clicked than a beautifully designed MMS.