The rules around text marketing sound scary until someone explains them. Then they turn out to be mostly common sense written down. The law is called the TCPA. It exists so people do not get spammed by strangers. Follow a short list of rules and you are fine. Here is the whole thing in plain English.
One reassurance up front: the platform handles the hard parts for you. Opt-out processing, quiet hours, and carrier registration all happen automatically. Your job is the four rules below.
You can only text people who opted in. Opt-in means they gave you clear, written permission to text them. Not "they are a customer." Not "I have their number from a booking." They have to actively raise their hand.
There are three clean ways to collect that permission: a keyword they text you, like texting SOFIA to your number, a QR code they scan at the counter, or a checkbox on your booking, ordering, or loyalty form. Each one is a written yes. Each one is on the record.
The rule that trips people up: never buy or upload a list of numbers that did not opt in with you. A purchased list is not consent. It is the fastest way to get complaints and get shut down. Your own opt-in list is smaller and worth far more.
Every message has to identify you, the sender, at the start. "[Sofia Salon]:" at the front of the text does it. The reader should never have to guess who is texting. This is one line, and it also happens to make your texts more effective, because a named sender gets read.
Every contact needs an easy opt-out. In practice that means "Reply STOP to opt out" on your first message to them. When someone replies STOP, they have to stop getting texts. The platform does this for you automatically the moment someone opts out, so there is no list to maintain by hand and no risk of texting someone who left.
A visible exit is not a weakness. It builds trust, and it keeps your list clean, made of people who actually want to hear from you.
No texting too early or too late. The window is roughly 9 AM to 8 PM in the customer's local time. A 7 AM deal is not a deal, it is a nuisance, and it is against the rules. The platform enforces this for you. Schedule something outside the window and it waits until the window opens.
Carriers require businesses to register before sending marketing texts. It is a real step, and on many platforms it is a headache. Here it is handled for you in the background. You do not fill out carrier paperwork or chase approvals. You focus on the message, and the registration is taken care of.
It is easy to read all this as red tape. It is not. Every rule points the same direction: text only the people who want your texts, tell them who you are, and let them leave whenever they want. That is exactly the list that makes money. Permission is not the cost of text marketing. It is the reason it works.
Opt-in, identify yourself, offer STOP, respect quiet hours. Four rules. The platform covers the rest.
Get those four right and you never have to worry about the fine print again.
Want the full checklist? Get The Compliance Handbook, free. Or start texting free →
