How to ask for SMS consent within an email

You will learn

Learn how to send a message to your existing email subscribers encouraging them to opt in to SMS marketing. By following this process, your email subscribers will be able to sign up for SMS marketing with just a few clicks. 

You can collect SMS consent via email in targeted campaigns or within flows. For instance, post-purchase flows are an effective place to advertise your SMS program and gather sign-ups.  

Before you begin 

Before you start, make sure you’ve:

• Configured SMS in your Klaviyo account
• Set up your mobile terms of service and privacy policy

Send an email to request SMS consent

To collect SMS consent from your existing subscribers, we recommend taking three steps: 

1. Create an embedded SMS sign-up form. 
2. Embed your sign-up form in a landing page on your website. 
3. Send a campaign encouraging email subscribers to sign up for SMS.

Create an embedded sign-up form

Start by creating a sign-up form and designing it to match your brand. 

1. In Klaviyo, navigate to Content > Signup Forms > Create Sign-up Form > Build From Scratch.
2. Choose a descriptive form name, like SMS Sign-ups from Email.
3. From the Choose a list… dropdown, select your SMS list (e.g., “SMS Subscribers” or “SMS List”). 
4. From the Choose a form type menu, select Embed.
   
5. Click Save and Continue to Design.
6. Delete the Email block in the default form.
7. Click Add Blocks from the menu on the left. 
8. Drag a Phone Number block into your form.
9. If needed, edit the highlighted portions of the SMS marketing disclaimer.
10. Click Done.
11. Click Targeting & Behaviors in the menu on the left. 
12. Set the form to show to all visitors on both desktop and mobile devices.
13. Copy the code in the Embed Code section, which you’ll need for the landing page you create in the next step.
    
14. Once you’ve designed and customized the form, click Publish.
    

Embed your signup form on a landing page

1. Open your website’s admin and create a new landing page, custom page, or blog post. 
2. Paste the code snippet from the prior section into your new page’s code (often indicated by a </> or Source button).
3. Save your new page and copy its URL, which you’ll need in the following section.

Send a campaign encouraging email subscribers to sign up for SMS

Create an SMS sign-up button in your email

First, create an email template. Once you've designed your template: 

1. Drag a Button block into the template. 
2. In the Button Text field, add descriptive button text like Sign up for SMS.
3. In the Link URL field, add the URL for the landing page you created in the last section.
   

Create a segment of potential SMS subscribers

When your email is ready to send:

1. Navigate to Lists & Segments > Create List / Segment > Segment.
2. Name your segment something descriptive, like Subscribed to email but not SMS.
3. Create a segment with the definition If someone can or cannot receive marketing > can receive > email marketing > because person subscribed AND If someone can or cannot receive > cannot receive > SMS marketing > because person never subscribed.
4. Click Create Segment to save the segment.

Send your campaign

1. Navigate to Campaigns > Create Campaign.
2. Select Email > Create Campaign.
3. Choose the segment you created above (e.g., the Subscribed to email but not SMS list) as your Send to list.
4. Click Continue to Content.
5. Add a subject line, then click Drag and Drop.
6. Click My Templates.
7. Select the template you created previously.
8. Proceed through the steps to review and send your campaign. 

Alternative method: add a click-to-text banner to a campaign

A click-to-text banner in an email generates a text message with an opt-in keyword when a recipient clicks it. To use this functionality, you’ll create 2 versions of your call-to-action: one for desktop users and another for mobile users. 

1. Add a Text block to your email template. 
2. Add the following text to your text block: 
   • Text subscribe_keyword to sending_number.
3. Replace subscribe_keyword with a subscribe keyword from your account (e.g., JOIN).
4. Replace sending_number with your sending number.
   
5. Within Display Options > Visibility, click Desktop to set the block to only show on desktop.
   
6. Click Save to save the block.
7. Use the clone icon to clone the block. 
8. Within Display Options > Visibility, click Mobile to set the new block to show only on mobile devices. 
9. In the mobile-only block, click the source code button to access the block’s HTML.
   
10. Replace all the existing code with the code below: 
    • <a href="sms:+sending_number?&body=Send%20this%20text%20to%20subscribe%20to%20SMS%20Updates!%20%28ref:JOIN%29">
Text JOIN to sending_number
</a>
11. Replace both instances of sending_number (in bold) above with your SMS sending number.
    • The first instance of your sending number should include the country code (e.g., 1 for the US) followed by the 10 digits of your SMS sending number, with no dashes, spaces, or parentheses: 16171110000
    • The second instance of your sending number may include formatting characters: (617) 111-0000
      
12. Click Save to save the block. 
13. Add disclosure language to the banner or within the email.
    
14. Create a segment of your email-only subscribers with the following condition:  
    If someone can or cannot receive marketing > can receive > email marketing > because person subscribed AND If someone can or cannot receive > cannot receive > SMS marketing > because person never subscribed

Send your email to your email-only subscribers using a campaign, or add the message to your email welcome flow.

Review your results 

To keep track of your new SMS subscribers, navigate to Analytics > Metrics > Consented to Receive SMS. Here, you can review your subscriber trends and understand who is opting in to SMS. Learn more about understanding your subscribers in Klaviyo. 

Additional resources

• Guide to creating and sending an SMS or MMS campaign
• Migrating from another SMS provider to Klaviyo
• How to upload a list of SMS contacts
• The benefits of SMS (blog post)