SMS drip campaigns: How to set up your first one

53% of consumers say they’re more likely to engage with a brand that sends relevant, timely messages.

That’s exactly what SMS drip campaigns are built for.

By delivering personalized texts at just the right moment, you can guide customers through every stage of their journey, without lifting a finger after setup.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

• What is an SMS drip campaign?
• SMS drip campaign use cases
• Best practices for successful SMS drip campaigns
• How to set up an SMS drip campaign
• Common mistakes to avoid when sending drip campaigns

What is an SMS drip campaign?

An SMS drip campaign is an automated series of text messages sent to customers over time, based on specific triggers or timelines.

Automated messaging drives 70% higher open rates compared to manual campaigns, making SMS drips one of the most efficient ways to scale engagement and conversions.

Common SMS drip campaigns include:

• Welcome series: Greet new subscribers and introduce your brand after they opt in.
• Lead nurturing flows: Share helpful content or product info over a few days.
• Abandoned cart reminders: Prompt users to complete their purchase with follow-up nudges.
• Post-purchase follow-ups: Thank customers, share tips, or cross-sell related products.
• Renewal or re-engagement prompts: Encourage subscription renewals or win back inactive users.
• Event countdowns: Build excitement and provide key updates before a webinar or launch.

7 popular SMS drip campaign use cases

SMS drip campaigns are common in specific use cases that help you stay connected with your audience throughout their journey. 

Below are the most common SMS drip campaign use cases.

1. Welcome series for new subscribers

Greet new customers right after signup with a warm welcome, brand intro, and a special offer. A simple, timed series helps set expectations and build trust from the start.

Example:

2. Abandoned cart reminders for eCommerce

Automatically remind shoppers about items left behind and offer a limited-time incentive to complete their purchase.

Example:

3. Lead nurturing workflows for B2B sales

For longer sales cycles, SMS drips can deliver valuable content, event invites, or reminders to book a demo, keeping your brand front-of-mind.

Example:

4. Post-purchase follow-up and upselling

Say thank you, request feedback, or recommend complementary products after a purchase. Timely follow-ups can lead to repeat business.

Example:

5. Subscription renewal reminders

Send SMS reminders to customers ahead of renewal dates to reduce churn and offer exclusive incentives to renew.

Example:

6. Customer feedback and survey collection

Use SMS to request quick feedback after a purchase or service interaction. Keep it short and mobile-friendly.

Example:

7. Birthday and anniversary campaigns

Delight customers with personalized greetings and rewards on special occasions to drive loyalty and goodwill.

Example:

Best practices for successful SMS drip campaigns

To get the most out of your SMS drip campaigns, focus on delivering timely, relevant, and respectful messages.

Below are key best practices to guide your strategy.

1. Segment your audience for relevance

Generic campaigns fall flat. Segmentation helps you target the right people with the right message at the right time.

To segment your audience effectively, you should:

• Group contacts by lifecycle stage, purchase history, or behavior
• Use geographic and demographic data to localize messaging
• Apply dynamic tags like loyalty level or interest area
• Regularly update your segments to reflect real-time user activity

2. Use short, clear copy with a single CTA

In SMS, clarity wins. You only have seconds (and 160 characters) to make an impact.

A few pointers for CTAs:

• Lead with the benefit or offer in the first sentence
• Stick to one main action per message and avoid multiple CTAs
• Keep language conversational, not robotic or overly formal

3. Send at the right time

When you send matters just as much as what you send. For example, our Send-Time Optimization feature automatically optimizes delivery based on previous metrics, helping you reach people when they’re most likely to engage.

For sending timely messages, you should:

• Use past click and open behavior to guide timing
• Consider local time zones to avoid sending messages too early or late

4. Always include opt-out instructions

Building trust starts with respecting your customer’s preferences and legal boundaries.

To respect your customers, you should:

• Include opt-out language like “Reply STOP to unsubscribe” in your promotional SMS messages
• Make it easy and clear and don’t hide or complicate the process

5. A/B test for timing, tone, and conversion

Testing helps you understand what truly resonates with your audience. When doing these A/B test don’t assume, experiment as much as you can.

Best practices for A/B testing include:

• Test one variable at a time (e.g., CTA wording, send time, personalization)
• Monitor KPIs like click-through rate, opt-out rate, and conversion rate
• Use results to refine your ongoing drip strategies

Tip: Use our Moments platform to run A/B tests across your drip sequences. Read more about the Split audience feature here.

Set up an SMS drip campaign with Infobip in 6 steps

Setting up an effective SMS campaign doesn’t require a complex tech stack.

You just need the right strategy with the combination of the right tools. 

With Moments, our customer engagement platform, you can easily design and launch automated text sequences that engage customers at scale and across the lifecycle.

Here’s how to do it in 6 simple steps:

1. Define your goal and audience

Start by identifying who you want to reach and what outcome you want to drive, whether it’s lead nurturing, onboarding, upselling, or reducing churn.

Tip: Use People, our customer data platform, to segment your contacts based on behavior, purchase history, or engagement level.

2. Create your SMS flow

In Moments, use the drag-and-drop builder to visually map out your text message drip campaign. You can add branches, delays, filters, and actions with no coding required.

Here is an example of a flow you can try:

3. Set up triggers and timing

Triggers determine when your SMS drip sequence begins and when each message is sent. 

With Infobip Moments, you can activate drips based on:

• Real-time events (e.g., a completed signup, cart abandonment, or new order)
• Customer attributes (e.g., location, loyalty tier, or engagement score)
• Date-based conditions (e.g., subscription renewals, birthdays, or anniversaries)

4. Personalize your content

Generic messages get ignored whereas personalized ones get results. Inside Moments, you can pull in customer data from our customer data platform, People, including:

• First name, city, or language preference
• Last product viewed or purchased
• Loyalty program status or tier

5. Preview, test and launch

Before publishing your drip campaign, you can validate the full message flow inside Moments to catch any logic gaps or conflicts. 

You can also send sample messages to internal test numbers, checking how content renders on both iOS and Android devices.

Tip: Test dynamic fields like [First Name] or [Promo Code] to confirm that they work correctly. Also, verify that fallback values (e.g., “Hey there” if no name is available) are in place to avoid broken messages.

After launch, head to your Analytics dashboard to monitor real-time metrics such as:

• Delivery rate: Are your messages reaching users?
• Click-through rate (CTR):  Are people engaging with your CTA?
• Conversion rate: Are drips driving the desired outcome?
• Opt-out rate: Is your frequency too high or content misaligned?

In Moments, you can also create custom reports and dashboards and present the data the way you want.

Tip: Companies that use real-time performance tracking see 26% faster improvements in conversion rates. Use A/B testing built into Moments to trial different versions of copy, timing, or CTAs within your sequences. 

Common mistakes to avoid when sending drip campaigns

Even the best SMS drip campaigns can fall flat if you miss the mark on timing, targeting, or compliance. 

Here’s what to watch for and how to course-correct:

Looking for some guidance? Check out:

• Get started with SMS
• Infobip free trial explained

• SMS
• Moments
• People CDP