How Olipop Lit $60k on Fire ❤️‍🔥

One of my clients sent me this Olipop text yesterday and asked for my thoughts on their strategy. They were curious about the length of the text & use of imagery.

I figured I’d share my response with you too.

Olipop probably spent $100k sending this SMS. They could have saved $60k with a better approach.

Here’s where it went wrong:

• Images make texts cost ~3x more

• While it looks like one message, it's worth at least ~3 billable texts due to character limits

• Special characters & emojis eat away at character limits faster (yes this includes my enemy, the ehem—dash)

The fix is simple:

1. Remove the image. It adds very little value to the message that isn't already conveyed.

2. Shorten and level up the copy. It feels impersonal and reads like AI slop.

3. Get rid of the emojis. They're off-brand and don't add value.

4. Embed codes into your links and send users to a dedicated SMS LP. This removes the need to waste characters on codes. Use something like Replo for fast LPs (not affiliated).

What you should be left with is a cheeky, punchy SMS that sparks an emotion in the reader and moves them to click. It’s a Valentine’s Day, after all. If you can’t bring out something fun, cute, sexy, etc., you’re missing the mark.

Here are few quick rewrites I put together:

Flirty
*whispers gently in ear*
Pop that top off.
20% off until midnight.
Valentine’s sale: [link]

Urgency focused
You can't buy love. Except today.
20% off best-selling flavors until midnight
Shop: [link]

Cheeky
We're not like those other sodas.
20% off flavors you'll love until midnight.
Valentine’s Sale: [link]

Sales focused
Kiss full prices goodbye.
20% off until midnight:
Shop Valentine’s: [link]

You get it. Keep it short & have fun with the copy.

You know that feeling when a friend sends you a really good, relatable meme? Or your cousin sends you a nostalgic picture from your childhood? It’s a good feeling, right?

That’s the type of feeling you should be striving for with every SMS. If you're not, people will simply reply STOP.

But wait, I’m not done.

You know what's even better than one amazing SMS? Two.

With all the characters saved, the Olipop team could have used the same budget but sent one more "last chance" SMS. They could have built out a fun campaign throughout the day using 2 or even 3 texts that tell a story and drive urgency at the same time.

Example:

• SMS 1 - Between you & me. We got you a Valentine’s gift (offer hidden behind click)

• SMS 2 - You can't buy love. Except today. (Cute/Cheeky reminder)

• SMS 3 - Is it something I said? (Funny last chance)

By shortening the SMS, they could have sent all 3 of those messages for the same cost as the first one. All while telling a more interesting brand story.

Framework: Think like a twitter ghostwriter

The SMS channel is not too different from twitter.

You need to be relevant and entertaining, while getting to your point fast (character limit).

It should be so good that people want to engage or share.

If you miss the mark, you’ll lose interest and people will unfollow you.

This also makes twitter or threads a great place for SMS inspo.

Speaking of inspo…

If only there was Milled for SMS

A lot of you email me saying “wow thanks for showing me milled, it makes my job easier.”

But what if there were a milled for SMS?

Oh wait, there is.

My super-smart friend Sheezan (she’s run growth for a bunch of 8/9-figure brands & teaches at NYU) started a website that does just that.

It’s called Tiny Texts. You can browse through curated SMS/MMS messages and explore categories she curated. For example, there’s a Valentine’s collection.

She didn’t pay me to say this. I just love seeing people build cool stuff in the space. You can follow her journey via her newsy here.

SMS Swipes from Sheezan

Did this email change your mind on that Valentine’s campaign you have queued? Sheezan shared some inspo you might like.

Meme of the Week

That’s all for now,
Paperboy 🗞

If you need help with email & SMS, click here to learn about my agency. My team and I help scaling ecommerce brands.