SMS marketing ROI: the metrics that actually matter
How to measure text marketing performance — delivery rate, reply rate, conversion, opt-out rate, and revenue per message — and how to tell a good number from a vanity one.
·6 min read
Text marketing produces a lot of easy-to-read numbers, and most of them do not mean much on their own. A 99% delivery rate is table stakes, not a win.
These are the metrics worth building a dashboard around, in the order they should be fixed when something is off.
Health metrics: is the channel working at all?
Delivery rate and opt-out rate are your early-warning system. Delivery below the high nineties means a registration or filtering problem. Opt-out rate climbing above roughly one to two percent per campaign means frequency or relevance is off.
Watch these per campaign rather than as a running average, because an average hides the one send that caused the damage.
- ✓Delivery rate — target high 90s; anything lower signals filtering
- ✓Opt-out rate — watch for a rise above 1–2% on any single send
- ✓Reply rate — the clearest proof people are reading
- ✓Time to first reply — how fast the conversation actually starts
Performance metrics: is it producing revenue?
Reply rate, click rate, and conversion rate tell you whether the message worked. Revenue per message sent is the number that settles arguments — total attributed revenue divided by messages sent, including the ones that did nothing.
Track conversion against a defined window, usually 72 hours from send, and use a unique link or code per campaign so attribution is not guesswork.
Calculating ROI honestly
ROI is attributed revenue minus total cost, divided by total cost — and total cost has to include message fees, carrier fees, platform subscription, and registration, not just the sends.
Compare against the channel you would otherwise have used, not against zero. Texting usually wins on cost per conversation; showing that comparison is what justifies scaling the program.
Key takeaways
- →Delivery and opt-out rates are health checks, not performance measures.
- →Reply rate and revenue per message sent are the metrics that matter most.
- →Use unique links or codes per campaign so attribution is not guesswork.
- →Include platform and registration fees when calculating true ROI.
Put this into practice with Text2Sale
Upload your leads, automate fast first-touch texts and follow-ups, stay 10DLC and TCPA compliant, and manage every conversation in one inbox.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good SMS marketing conversion rate?
It varies widely by industry and offer, but well-targeted campaigns to an engaged opted-in list commonly convert several times better than the same offer sent by email. Judge your own baseline over three to five campaigns rather than chasing a published benchmark.
What is a good SMS opt-out rate?
Under roughly one to two percent per campaign is normal and healthy. A sudden spike almost always points to sending too often, sending at a bad time, or sending something the list did not expect.
How do I track SMS conversions?
Give each campaign its own trackable link or promo code, define a conversion window of around 72 hours, and match replies and redemptions back to the send. Platforms that log delivery, replies, and clicks per campaign make this automatic.