An initial message is the first message you send to your contacts within a particular text campaign. You can read about how to add an initial message to your text campaign here.


Example 1: Call to Action

Hi {firstName}, this is {texterAliasOrFirstName} volunteering with The Stop Corruption PAC! Respond with any questions, or reply stop to opt out. We're the biggest organization of young people in the US working to get money out of politics and make our government work for all of us, not just the wealthy few. Will you sign our petition to end corruption in our government?


Example 2: Support ID

Hi {firstName}, this is {texterAliasOrFirstName} with Megan Johnson’s campaign. She is an immigrant’s daughter who wants to help our state by diversifying our economy, fixing our infrastructure, and will work to end the opioid epidemic. Can Megan count on your vote? Stop to optout.


Example 3: Event Recruitment

{firstName}, I’m Carolina with Big Movement Organizing. We’re trying to ensure we pass the pro-act, but we need your help! Can you join a phonebank happening this Saturday, May 1st, at 4pm ET? Stop to End.


The Five Components of Most Initials

At their core, most initial messages include these five components:

  • Greeting with the name of the contact you’re texting  

  • Intro with your sender ID, i.e. the name of your organization (mandatory; read more here)

  • Context about the candidate or the organization’s goals, e.g. letting voters know about a key endorsement your campaign received, or why it’s so important to make a contribution now.

  • Your “Ask”: what you’re asking contacts to do, i.e. volunteer, donate, answer a survey

  • Opt-out language (mandatory: read more here)

 

Let’s talk about why these elements are important. 

1: The Greeting 

Greeting your contacts by name helps personalize your message. It also gives you a way to identify wrong numbers. People will write back to let you know when they’ve received a text with the wrong name.

 

Spoke will automatically populate your contact’s name in a message if you include “firstName” inside curly brackets { }. You can place the contact’s name anywhere in the message.

 

  • Hi {firstName}, this is {texterAliasOrFirstName} with <candidate>’s campaign. She is an immigrant’s daughter who wants to help our state by diversifying our economy, fixing our infrastructure, and working to end the opioid epidemic. Can Megan count on your vote? Stop to optout. 

  • {firstName}, this is <candidate>’s campaign. I’m {texterAliasOrFirstName}, stop to quit. Can we count on your vote?

  • Hi, this is {texterAliasOrFirstName} with <candidate>’s campaign. Stop to unsubscribe. Can we count on your vote, {firstName}?

 

If you’re texting a list of confirmed wrong numbers, you can replace the contact’s first name with “there”: “Hi there! I’m {texterAliasOrFirstName} with <candidate’s> campaign, reply stop to opt out. Have you heard about our latest endorsement?”

2: The Introduction 

For the most part, introductions do two things: they name the person texting and they name your campaign or organization. Naming the texter helps people realize that your message is coming from a real person. Naming your campaign or organization is key context for the ask you’re making over text. 

 

Please note that the mobile carriers require “sender ID”, meaning some kind of introduction with the name of your organization or campaign. You can read more about this requirement here.

 

If you're using classic peer-to-peer mode (but not if you're using blast mode), Spoke will automatically populate the texter’s name in a message if you include “texterAliasOrFirstName” inside curly brackets { }. You can place this information anywhere in the message.

 

  • Hey, {firstName}! I’m {texterAliasOrFirstName}, a field organizer with <organization>. (txt stop to end) We're reaching out to folks in {city} to get a sense of the issues that matter to you. Will you join me for a 15-min virtual coffee in the coming week?

  • {firstName}, this is a critical election and <candidate> needs all hands on deck. (I’m Carolina with <candidate>’s campaign, reply stop to end.) Can you join us this Monday at 7 pm for an all-volunteer call?

  • Hello {firstName}, it's <candidate>’s campaign. Reply stop to opt-out. <candidate> needs your support - can you rush $3 today? 


The intro is also a way to flag that your texts are being sent by staffers or volunteers, giving your message a personal touch. 

3: The Context

You’ll want to include enough context for your contacts to make an informed decision about supporting your goal or purpose. Keep this short and simple: you don’t want people to decide not to finish reading your text. 

 

The context you provide will depend on the reason you’re texting. If you’re introducing your candidate or organization, you’ll want to say more about who you are and why people should support your goals. If you’re recruiting known supporters to make phone calls for your candidate, you’ll want to provide context about when, where, and how to do so.

 

Examples of context about a candidate or organization:

  • Hey, {firstName}, I’m {texterAliasOrFirstName}, a volunteer for <candidate>’s campaign. She’s an immigrant’s daughter who wants to help our people by diversifying our economy, fixing our infrastructure, and ending the opioid epidemic. Txt stop to end. Can <candidate> count on your vote?

  • Hey, {firstName}! I’m {texterAliasOrFirstName} with <organization> - we’re the biggest organization of young people in the US working to get money out of politics and make our government work for all of us, not just the wealthy few. Does that sound like a cause you can support? Stop to optout

 

Examples of context about a recruitment activity:

  • {firstName}, this is {texterAliasOrFirstName} with <candidate>’s campaign. (Reply stop to opt out.) We need <number of signups> more people in <city> to knock on doors for <candidate> before early voting starts next week. Can you join us on Tuesday at 6 pm for a canvassing training?

  • Hi {firstName}, <special guest> will be hosting a virtual fundraiser for <candidate> this Thursday, January 3rd, at 7 pm! (This is {texterAliasOrFirstName} with <candidate>’s campaign, txt stop to quit) You can join from home by clicking a Zoom link and <special guest> will be taking questions. Will we see you there?


4: Your “Ask”

Most texts sent include a question for the contact. The “ask” is about an action you’d like the contact to take, i.e. sharing their support ID, donating to your candidate or organization, attending an event, joining your team of volunteers.

 

Asks should be clear and concise. Aim for questions where yes or no answers can only map to one possible meaning. For example, a “yes” response to “Will you make calls with us?” means the contact will make calls with your group. By contrast, a “yes” response to “Will you make calls or send texts with us?” leaves unclear which option the contact prefers.

 

When asking people to attend events, consider sharing information about time, timezone, date, day of week, location, and/or activity type (virtual or in-person). 

 

Example asks:

  • Hi {firstName}, this is {texterAliasOrFirstName} with <candidate>’s campaign. <context about the candidate> (Reply stop to opt out.) Will you support our campaign on November 6th? 

  • {firstName}, this is <candidate>’s campaign. Txt stop to opt out. Can you contribute $3 now to fight back against the Republicans?

  • {firstName}, this is {texterAliasOrFirstName} with <candidate>’s campaign. (Reply stop to opt out.) We need <number of signups> more people in <city> to knock on doors for <candidate> before early voting starts next week. Can you join us for a canvassing training on Tuesday, October 16th, at 6 pm ET?


5: Mandatory Opt-Out Language

Lastly, to comply with wireless carrier policies, you’ll need to include some kind of opt-out instructions in your initial message. This could be short and simple like “stop to end”, just note that you need to include a space between each word in the opt out phrase: “stop2end” will not be accepted. Additionally, replacements for "to" such as the number 2 and an equal sign are not recommended - carriers want to see "stop to opt-out" and may filter shortened phrases like "stop 2 end".

 

Alternatively, your opt out instructions can also be written conversationally, such as “reply with any questions, or text stop to optout.” You can read more about the mandatory opt-out language here.

Length Guidelines

For SMS, we recommend sending texts under 3 segments (up to 459 characters). This is because shorter texts are easier to read. 

 

If you need more room for your message, try to stay under 4 segments (or up to 764 characters). You can calculate the segment length of your messages using the segment estimate calculator in the Script section of your campaign. 

 

MMS messages, or messages with pictures or media files included in them, aren’t measured in segments - you can have up to 1600 characters in each message. Just keep in mind that the more text in you include in your message, the more likely it is that the recipient will have to scroll to see your media file or read your entire message.

 

That’s it for initial messages! Feel free to reach out in case you have additional questions about crafting an initial message.