For you to have a successful SMS marketing campaign for your business, be it small scale or large scale, you need a phone number database to work with.

At the first thought of it, getting phone numbers of people to subscribe to your SMS marketing might seem far-fetched. But at the second thought, maybe after reading this article, you will see it is very easy.

Here are some ways you can get phone numbers of clients to subscribe to your SMS marketing campaign:

• REQUEST FROM YOUR EXISTING CLIENTS: Charity they say begins at home. The best place therefore to start your SMS marketing campaign is with your present clients. Many businesses that own a website request their client to provide their phone number while registering on the site. Others ask them for it when they are ready for their SMS marketing campaign. You mustn’t necessarily go directly requesting it. You might tell them you can offer updates about new products and services and promo information through text message. It is very unlikely that many clients will object to this.

• DO A TARGET MARKETING FOR NEW CLIENTS AND GET THEIR PHONE NUMBERS: In most cases, many marketers who do this offer a discount for prospective clients who opt into their SMS marketing campaign. This serves as an incentive to opt-in.

• USE SHORTCODES EXTENSIVELY: A shrewd way some top business marketers get subscribers for their SMS campaign is through the use of shortcodes. What you simply do is to ask your people to send a code to a customized number to get something of value from the service you render. This might be them getting a discount on a sale, getting a bonus, or even ordering a product through that means. Meanwhile, your system adds such persons’ phone numbers to your database. It becomes a win-win scenario. You get the subscriber, they get the value you offered and everyone is happy.

• YOU CAN BUY THEM BUT NO DON’T BUY THEM: Some companies keep a phone number database of people in a particular area, and sells them to business owners who need them for their SMS campaigns. This seems like a simple way to get many numbers with little or no stress. Here are 4 major reasons why it is discouraged though:

1. Those numbers might no longer be in use by the owners. Some of the numbers were gotten by this person many years ago, and at the moment, the owner might not be using the phone number any longer, therefore coming at a loss to you the buyer

2. There is all possibility the owner of the phone number no longer stays in that particular area. Phone numbers in the database are grouped based on geographic location. A person in Calabar today might migrate to Lagos tomorrow. So if you get that number with the belief you are targeting someone in Calabar, you might just be chasing the wind.

3. Studies have revealed that the success of pushing out your SMS to random numbers is very slim. You are more likely to get a response in form of an insult than one subscribing to your plan. Why waste money on an unrewarding adventure? You should just think away from buying phone numbers for your SMS marketing.

4. Sending SMS to phone numbers like this is SMS spamming. Believe me, people already have a bad taste of that.

So, with the above-mentioned tactics, you can get a bulky client phone number database for your SMS marketing, that helps you stabilize your client base and add new ones. Just remember, buying the numbers is the last option.

If you need an efficient bulk SMS platform for your SMS marketing campaign, SmartSMSSolutions is the answer for you.

At SmartSMSSolutions, we offer cheap, affordable, and quality bulk SMS service.

Register a bulk SMS account now, get instant free bulk SMS units, and see how suitable this SMS gateway is to take your business to the next level.

Do you have SMS marketing as an integral part of your business presently? Please share other means you use to generate phone numbers for your SMS marketing campaign in the comment box below. We’ll appreciate it.