The Difference Between Email and SMS Autoresponders: Part 1
![email and sms autoresponders](https://dox4euoyzny9u.cloudfront.net/images/fastsms/The-Difference-Between-Email-and-SMS-Autoresponders-Part-1.png)
One of the great things about email marketing is the ability to send pre-prepared emails to your list automatically. Everyone who uses email has seen them, even if they don’t realise it. Many common uses are for registration confirmations, order confirmations, and customer support responses (“We got your request and we’ll get back to you soon!”). There is also a whole world of email marketing built around autoresponders. But I’ll get to that later.
While you may be familiar with email autoresponders (especially if you’re in marketing) you may or may not know you can set up a similar function with SMS messaging. In concept, it works the same way. But there are some differences in how they are used which I’ll cover here.
What's the Same?
Both types of autoresponders are triggered by an action taken by the recipient. Usually for email, the person has provided their address to you for some reason. They signed up to get a special offer, your newsletter, or other information. In SMS, autoresponders are usually triggered by a keyword sent to you in a text message. It could be a reply to a message you sent, or it could be an initial text to you from a new person not yet on your list.
In both cases, you craft a message that gets sent automatically when the person contacts you. What the message is depends on what the person signed up for or contacted you about.
Here are some examples for both email and SMS autoresponders:
Confirmation messages – These can be for any request such as subscription sign ups, orders, or support requests.
Informational – Content such as tips, purchase related information, or e-courses (sequential content delivered in chunks designed to teach).
Engagement – Asking your subscribers to connect or comment via reply or on social media is another good use of an autoresponder.
If you are familiar with email marketing (as a marketer or as a recipient) you’re probably wondering how you can do some of these via SMS. Well, that gets us to some of the differences. Even though it’s possible to do all of these with SMS, how you do them is, or can be, different.
Come back for part 2 in the next blog to see how to put SMS autoresponders to work for you.
Related Articles
Using Keywords with VMNs and Shortcodes (Part 1)
Keywords are important in SMS marketing. In order to use them, you have to have two-way messaging. But does it matter if you have a VMN or shortcode? Yes, and no. In principle, they are the same. But practically there are differences. Find out all about them in this blog.
How SMS Marketing Can Revolutionise Your Beauty Business
There are many benefits of using SMS marketing for businesses within the health and beauty industry. From instantly connecting with customers to booking appointments and increasing sales, the opportunities for the health and beauty sector are huge when it comes to business text messaging. Due to the fast-paced nature of appointment booking within the industry, and the increasing competition, SMS marketing could be the key to separate you from your competition.
3 Questions You Need to Ask Before Choosing an SMS Provider
How is a consumer or business to know if the SMS provider they found is good or if they’ll take your money and run? There are lots of things you need to research before choosing a provider, but the following three questions are important ones to help weed out the unreliable ones.
13 Questions You Should Ask When Choosing An SMS Provider
Beginners’ Guide to SMS Marketing – July 2016 Update
If you've considered SMS marketing to new and existing customers by text message but dismissed it, it really is time to think again. SMS continues to outperform and outreach all the newer models of communication designed to replace it. The latest competitor to run into difficulties against business text messaging is mobile internet advertising.
3 Best Types of CTA for SMS Marketing
One mistake some marketers make is assuming people will know what to do when they read an SMS message. After all, they’re short and to the point right? How confusing could they be? On the other hand, when writing every other form of marketing they know that calls to action need to be clear. So, just because you don't have much room, it doesn’t mean you get to leave out your call to action! Saving space and being brief is important though, so take a look at three of the best SMS marketing CTAs you can use.
10 Killer SMS Strategies
Nowadays, there are an increasing amount of companies using SMS marketing, but you can stay ahead of the trend by using it more wisely with our killer strategies list. Best used as part of your marketing mix, alongside other strategies, this should complement other points of contact and deliver an intuitive and responsive customer service that is unrivalled by competitors.
SMS Marketing for Life Insurance Companies
The Difference Between Email and SMS Autoresponders: Part 2
The biggest difference between SMS and email is probably the length of the messages sent. It’s one of the main differences between email and SMS anyway, but it’s particularly important for autoresponders. And it directly affects the content of the messages.
How Clubs Can Benefit from Using Text Messaging
Read how clubs can benefit from the use of text messaging services to reduce wasted time and increase customer satisfaction. They can confirm appointments in advance with an option to text back to cancel or re-schedule thus reducing no-shows. SMS is also great for sharing news and special offers with members.