Short Code SMS

Turbo charge response from your marketing
with a keyword and short code

Using SMS shortcodes in your advertising can produce amazing results

It’s a great way of allowing your prospects to respond to your marketing campaigns.

Keywords on our 88440 short code cost just £14.00 + VAT per month.

It’s simple and easy to set up

No set up fee

Only 3 month minimum term

No contract – cancel whenever you wish

How to set up a keyword on our 5 digit short code, 88440

1. Set up an SMS Works account.

2. Request your chosen keyword by emailing [email protected], stating your chosen keyword.

3. We will get back to you within 24 hours with keyword availability.

4. Having checked that your keyword is available, we will add it to your account for you to test and configure.

How much does a keyword on an SMS short code cost?

SMS keywords on our short code cost £14.00 + VAT a month.

There is no set up fee and only a 3 month minimum term.

You pay for your keyword in advance either by credit / debit card or bank transfer.

There is no additional charge per SMS for receiving texts to your keyword.

Outbound texts are charged in line with our standard SMS rates.

Users are charged one text at their normal rate to send to your keyword. (Normally between 8 and 12 pence.)

What is an SMS short code service?

SMS short codes are a 5 digit numbers that allow people to respond to advertising and marketing by text. Normally someone responding to an ad will be asked to text in a keyword to the 5 digit number.

The keyword, which is sent at the start of their text, identifies them as responding to a particular ad. Many different campaigns can be run using the same short code.

You'll no doubt be familiar with short codes for texting. They appear in all types of advertising channels from TV, posters, airports and radio.

They allow companies the chance to squeeze more response from their ad spend.

It's so effective that there's a strong arguments for including a text response option on all direct response ad campaigns.

This is how it works

A consumer texts in a unique keyword to a 5 digit short code.

E.g. For more information, text INFO to 88440.

All incoming texts that start with your unique keyword (INFO in the example above) are forwarded directly to you via our incoming SMS shortcode API.

The following data will be captured and sent to you instantly, to a URL that you choose.

Mobile number of responder
Date and time of their text
Content of their message

You set the destination URL for incoming texts within your SMS Works account.

How much does it cost to send a text to a short code?

Users are charged one text at their standard rate to send texts to short codes.

Please note that texts sent to all UK short codes are not included in customers‘ monthly free text bundles. So there will always be a charge of between roughly 8 and 12 pence to the user, depending on their network.

The SMS Works does not operate any premium rate services; in other words we don’t have the ability to charge consumers for texts received or sent.

Get more response from your marketing. Start your Short code and keyword today

If you give people the option to respond to ads by text, around half of all responders will choose the SMS route.

It's a low cost, efficient way of getting more from your marketing spend.

There's no set up fee, contract or shifty small print to worry about. (Minimum term is 3 months.)

Get started by setting up an a free SMS Works account.

What is the best keyword to use with a 5 digit short code number?

There are no hard and fast rules here, although we suggest following these simple guidelines.

Choose a keyword between 3 and 7 characters. Anything longer and people will start to make typing errors. The longer the keyword is, the more likely people are to make typos.

Choose an actual word rather than an abbreviation or slang word. If you use anything but a real word, the person’s mobile will attempt to correct it.

Avoid using digits in the keyword for the same reasons as the point above.

Make the keyword relevant to the campaign. Choose a keyword that matches the context of the campaign. For example, If your advertising is about a gym membership, choose, GYM or FITNESS.

What is the best way to display instructions for a text response campaign?
What’s the best call to action for a text response campaign?

There are some pitfalls to avoid in how you instruct responders to text a keyword into a 5 digit short code.

Avoid using quote marks around the keyword.

Text “INFO” to 88802

In the example above, some people will text in the quote punctuation marks and your message will not be picked up.

Make your instructions clear and simple and importantly, bold enough to be picked up easily by your audience. If you’re running a poster campaign with a text response option think about how far away people will be and choose a font size that’s appropriate.

Do not bury your instructions in lengthy terms and conditions like the example below.

Bad text response example — Terrible text to win competition instruction

The best strategy is to keep the instructions simple and bold, allowing no scope for misinterpretation like the example below.

Text INFO to 88440

Should you have an automated response on a text response campaign?

Whenever you text a short code you expect some kind of response. If nothing happens, then you’d probably think that you’ve made a mistake and text in again.

It’s important to always include an automated text response.

The purpose is to give the responder a clear understanding of what will happen next. Will they expect a call or a further text? Where else can they go for more information.
Bear in mind that the automated response has a maximum of 160 characters including spaces.

Here’s a typical automated text response.

Thanks for your text. We will give you a call shortly. For more details visit abcde.co.uk or call us on 0123456789