When running SMS campaigns, it's important to respect your contacts' preferences. Some may choose to opt-out, and you need a reliable way to track and manage those requests. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here’s a simple guide on how to manage opt-outs with tools like Twilio and other helpful strategies. 💡
The first step is letting your contacts know that they have control over whether they continue to receive messages. It’s a good practice to inform them they can opt-out whenever they want. Make sure they know the keywords to use: STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, and QUIT will unsubscribe them from your messages, while START or YES will re-subscribe them.
If you're using Twilio, they’ve made it super easy to handle opt-outs. When a contact sends any of the opt-out keywords mentioned above, Twilio will automatically unsubscribe them from receiving any further messages from your number.
Twilio will also send them a confirmation message letting them know that they’ve opted out. But don't worry, even if they've opted out, they'll still remain in your message flow until it expires.
If they later decide to re-subscribe, all they need to do is text START or YES. It’s that simple! 🔄
To keep track of who has opted out, head to your Twilio dashboard. Here’s how you can do it:
This error occurs when you try to send a message to someone who previously sent an opt-out keyword (like STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE). The good news? You won’t be charged for that message attempt. 👍
If you want even more control over opt-out management, here are a few extra steps you can take:
You can create a dedicated group for contacts who have unsubscribed. This way, you can easily filter out those contacts in your campaigns.
Create an automated flow that adds contacts to your unsubscribed group when they use one of the opt-out keywords. You can even set up triggers that specifically look for the keywords: STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, and QUIT.
We recommend adding an "Unsubscribed" field in your contact profiles. Every time a contact opts out, this field will automatically update to say "Yes." This makes it easy to see at a glance whether a contact is still subscribed.
You can set up automatic notifications to alert you (or your team) whenever someone opts out. This can be done via SMS or email, so you never miss an update.
Within a flow, you can also update a contact's status to Active, Stopped, or Blocked based on their preferences. This is another layer of tracking that helps you stay organized as you manage your contacts’ engagement.
Remember, many contacts may not know they can opt back in with keywords like START or YES. To avoid confusion, make sure you educate them at the point of registration.
If you’ve gathered email addresses, consider sending a follow-up email after someone unsubscribes. You can ask them why they unsubscribed and remind them how to opt back in whenever they’re ready. This can help improve engagement in the long run. 📧💬
Managing opt-outs is a key part of keeping your SMS campaigns running smoothly and respecting your contacts’ preferences. With the right tools and processes, you can easily track unsubscribes and keep your messaging list clean and compliant. 👍
By using Twilio’s built-in features and setting up custom flows and notifications, you’ll have everything you need to stay on top of opt-out management. Happy texting! 📲💙
Feel free to reach out with any questions!