Can anyone that has been SUCCESSFUL-- explain their process with SMS CAMPAIGN

Question

What platform are you using to send. What is your initial outreach text to get attention and stay out of spam? If anyone is willing to give me as many details as possible, I would really appreciate the insight and the growth potential here :)

Raktim Ahmed · Answer

Erik nailed it on the data being the foundation. I'll add a couple things on the deliverability side since that's usually where SMS campaigns quietly die.

For staying out of spam: carrier filtering is way more aggressive than it used to be. If you're sending through a 10DLC number, make sure your campaign is properly registered with The Campaign Registry, otherwise your throughput gets throttled and messages silently fail. Rotate numbers, keep volume per number low, and never send the same exact text to everyone. Small variations in wording help a lot.

For the initial text, shorter wins. No links in the first message, no all-caps, no "act now" language. Something plain like "Hi [name], are you still the owner of [address]? Looking to see if you'd consider an offer." Conversational, references the specific property, easy to reply to. The goal of message one is just to get a reply, not to sell.

One thing worth flagging since you mentioned pulling your own data: make sure you're scrubbing against DNC and litigator lists before you send. TCPA suits on SMS are real and expensive, and a clean list also just performs better because you're not burning sends on people who'll never convert.

Happy to go deeper on any of this if it helps.

Cassi James · Answer

Thank you! We are good cold cold calling and I am getting better at pulling the data. I am looking at email as well.

Igor Ganapolsky · Answer

Erik nailed it — the data is everything. But I'd push it one step further: the *source* of the data matters as much as the quality.

Travis said he'd rather text 500 people who fit his buying criteria than 10,000 random owners. That's the right instinct, but how do you know those 500 are actually motivated? Most lists are just property owners who *might* sell. There's a huge difference between "might sell" and "government has already confirmed they're in distress."

We've been testing a different approach: instead of pulling generic lists and hoping for motivation, we cross-reference three county data sources on the same property — tax delinquent (Tax Collector), code violations (Code Enforcement), and probate filings (Clerk of Court). When all three converge on the same address, you're not guessing about motivation anymore. The government has done the work for you.

Here's why this matters for SMS specifically:

Raktim warned about TCPA suits and DNC scrubbing. That's real risk. But when your list comes from public records — property owners with documented tax liens, unresolved code violations, or active probate cases — you're not texting random numbers. You're reaching people whose situations are already a matter of public record. The compliance risk drops because you're contacting property owners, not cold-listing strangers.

And the conversion math changes dramatically. Instead of texting 1,000 people to get 2-3 replies, you're texting 100-150 converged leads where every single one has confirmed distress. One text that references their specific tax status or code violation outperforms ten generic "are you the owner of" messages.

The platform question Cassi asked matters less than the list quality. You can use any SMS tool, but if the data behind it is generic, you'll get generic results. If the data is converged — tax + code + court on the same property — the reply rate jumps because you're not a random texter, you're someone who knows their situation.

We're testing this in Broward County right now. The tax deed auction list is public, the code enforcement violations are public, and the probate filings are public. Cross-reference them and you've got a list where motivation isn't a guess — it's documented.

Lucas Flowers · Answer

From what I've seen work: keep the first text short and non-salesy — something like a simple question rather than an offer (offers read as spam and get reported faster). The real growth driver isn't the platform, it's sequencing — texting first to warm up, then following with a call once they've replied or at least opened it. Cold SMS alone converts worse than SMS + call combined, since a lot of people won't respond to text but will pick up once they've seen your name once already.

Travis Goodwin · Answer

One thing I'd add is that the first text isn't really about getting a deal. It's about starting a conversation. We keep ours short, personalize it when possible, and never try to cram everything into one message. The biggest difference for us has been the quality of the list. I'd rather text 500 people who fit my buying criteria than 10,000 random property owners. We also don't rely on SMS alone. Most of our deals come from multiple touches, not one perfect text.

Erik Estrada · Answer

The key is the data. If you are sending random texts to random people, you will get random results. You need to get the data of people that need your services now.

You will also need a lot of it since even then, the response rate is really low. I find that a cold-email works better.

Can anyone that has been SUCCESSFUL-- explain their process with SMS CAMPAIGN

Can anyone that has been SUCCESSFUL-- explain their process with SMS CAMPAIGN

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