Text message marketing for small business: rules and costs

Short answer: Text message marketing for a small business is worth it when you have repeat customers and something time-sensitive to say: appointment reminders, order updates, a weekly special. It requires prior express written consent under the TCPA, 10DLC registration of your business number with the carriers, and a platform that handles opt-outs. Typical platform costs at the time of writing are $20 to $150 a month plus a few cents per extra message. If your customers find you on Google and call once, a contact form and a call button usually do the same job for free.

Owners look up "text message marketing for small business" after a supplier, a dentist or a restaurant sends them a text and it works on them. Texts get read, and read fast. They also carry more legal risk per message than any other channel, because US law lets individuals sue over unwanted texts, and carriers now block unregistered business traffic. This guide covers the rules in plain language, what 10DLC registration involves, which uses actually pay off for a local business, what SMS marketing platforms typically cost, and when you should skip it. We do not sell SMS platforms or text messaging for business, so this is an owner's guide rather than a pitch.

Where text marketing pays off (and where it does not)

Texts are a channel for people who already know you. They are not how new customers find you. That shapes what works.

Uses that pay off for small businesses:

• Appointment reminders and confirmations for dental and medical practices, salons, auto shops, cleaners and contractors. Fewer no-shows is the most reliable return in text marketing.
• Job and order updates. "Your technician is 20 minutes away." "Your order is ready for pickup."
• Review requests sent an hour after the visit with the direct link, which feeds your Google profile.
• Offers to a loyal list for restaurants, cafes, salons, boutiques and gyms: a Tuesday special, a last-minute opening, a seasonal promotion.
• Lead follow-up when someone filled in a form and did not answer the phone, as long as they agreed to be texted on the form.

Uses that rarely pay off:

• Blasting a purchased or scraped list. Illegal without consent, and the fastest route to a lawsuit.
• Weekly promotions for a business people use once every few years, such as a roofer or a family lawyer.
• Anything you would not want to receive yourself at 8:30 in the evening.

The rules, in plain English

This is a summary, not legal advice. The rules change and states add their own, so check the current versions with your attorney or the platform's compliance team before your first send.

TCPA: consent, identification and opt-out

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is the federal law behind most text lawsuits. In practice it means:

1. Written consent before marketing texts. A checkbox on your website form, a keyword the customer texts to your number, or a signed form at the counter. The consent language must say they agree to receive marketing texts from your business, that message and data rates may apply, and how to opt out. Keep a record of when and how each person agreed.
2. Transactional is different from marketing. An appointment reminder for an appointment the customer booked needs less than a promotion does, but most platforms and many attorneys advise getting written consent for all automated texts to keep it simple.
3. Identify yourself in every message and include a way out, usually "Reply STOP to opt out."
4. Honor opt-outs promptly, and never text someone who has opted out, even with a "did you mean it?" message.
5. Quiet hours. Federal rules treat texts before 8 am and after 9 pm in the recipient's time zone as off limits for solicitations, and some states are stricter. Send during business hours and you will not need to think about it.
6. Do Not Call registry. Numbers on the national list should not get marketing texts unless the person gave you consent directly.

The FCC has changed and courts have overturned pieces of the consent rules more than once in recent years, including a rule about consent covering only one seller at a time. The safe path does not change: get clear written consent for your own business, keep proof, and send only what they agreed to.

CTIA guidelines and carrier rules

The wireless carriers, through the CTIA, add their own requirements: no prohibited content (SHAFT is the industry shorthand for sex, hate, alcohol, firearms and tobacco, which need age gating or are blocked), a clear program description at opt-in, HELP and STOP keywords, and registration of your number. Platforms enforce these because carriers filter the traffic of platforms that do not.

State laws

Florida, Oklahoma, Washington and several other states have their own telemarketing and text laws, some with shorter hours and their own consent wording. If you serve customers across state lines, check the rules for each state you text into.

Industry rules

Dental and medical practices fall under HIPAA. A reminder that says "Your appointment is Tuesday at 2" is usually fine; a text naming a condition or treatment is not, and you need a business associate agreement with the platform. Law firms should check state bar advertising rules before sending promotions. Anyone handling payments by text should check what card and privacy rules apply.

10DLC registration: what it is and what it costs

Since 2021, US carriers require any business sending application-to-person texts from a standard 10-digit local number to register through The Campaign Registry. Your platform does this with you. Expect:

• Brand registration. Your legal business name, EIN, address and website. A one-time fee, typically a few dollars, and sometimes an optional vetting fee of around $40 or more if you want higher sending limits.
• Campaign registration. A description of what you will send (marketing, reminders, mixed), sample messages, and how people opt in and out. A one-time vetting fee of around $15 per campaign and a monthly campaign fee typically in the $1.50 to $10 range, at the time of writing.
• Per-message carrier surcharges of a fraction of a cent per message, usually built into your platform's price.
• Time. Registration usually takes a few days to a few weeks, and rejections happen when the opt-in description is vague or the website does not show a privacy policy and terms.

Sole proprietors without an EIN have a limited registration option with low sending limits. Toll-free numbers and short codes are alternatives with their own verification and higher costs; a short code is usually far more than a small business needs.

What SMS marketing platforms typically cost

Prices below are typical published starting prices at the time of writing. Every platform changes plans often, adds carrier fees, and bills extra messages per credit, so check the current page before you sign up. We do not resell or set up any of them.

For a typical small business list of a few hundred to a couple of thousand numbers, expect $20 to $150 a month all in, plus a few cents for each message beyond the included amount. A platform tied to your booking or point-of-sale system is often the cheapest and safest start, because the opt-in happens where the customer already is.

A simple first program

1. Pick one use. Reminders, or a monthly offer to regulars. Not both in month one.
2. Write the consent language and put it on your website form, at the counter and in your booking flow. Include the business name, message frequency, "message and data rates may apply", and "Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help".
3. Register 10DLC through the platform. Have your legal name, EIN, website with a privacy policy, and sample messages ready.
4. Send during business hours only, no more than a few times a month for offers, and always with your name and an opt-out.
5. Track three numbers: opt-outs per send, replies or bookings per send, and complaints. Rising opt-outs mean you are sending too often or the offers are weak.

When a contact form and a call button are enough

Many owners who ask about text marketing do not have a repeat-customer list to text. They have a website that does not convert and a phone that goes to voicemail. If your customers come from Google search, decide quickly, and rarely return within a year, text marketing adds cost and legal exposure for little gain. The better investment is a website with a prominent call button and a short contact form that reaches your phone as an email, a Google Business Profile with the messaging option turned on, and a habit of answering within the hour. That is what we build. Our guide to digital marketing for small business shows where texting fits in the overall order, and our post on AI chatbots for small business covers the other tool owners ask about for after-hours inquiries.

What we charge

We do not offer SMS or text messaging platforms, and we do not set up or manage text campaigns in the US. If you want texting, choose one of the platforms above, ideally the one built into software you already use.

What we do build is the part that captures the inquiry in the first place. A Starter website is $799 one-time: a one-page, phone-friendly site with call and email buttons and your Google Maps location, live in about five business days. A Business website is $2,999 one-time: up to six pages, all text written for you, a contact form and call button, and basic Google search setup. Google Business Profile Setup is $399 one-time and includes your review link and QR code, which can go into any text reminder your platform sends. Everything stays in your name, there are no long-term contracts, and our team is based in India, working with US businesses by email and video call. See the business websites page and the pricing page.

The short version

Text message marketing for a small business is a channel for people who already know you: reminders, order updates, review requests and offers to a loyal list. It requires prior express written consent, a way to opt out in every message, business-hours sending, and 10DLC registration of your number through the platform. Typical costs at the time of writing are $20 to $150 a month plus small registration fees and a few cents per extra message. Start with one use and a platform built into software you already have, and if your customers come from Google and rarely return, put the money into a website with a call button and a form instead.