please don’t text me at 6 am

This article got me thinking about texting and non-profits

We’ve all been thinking a lot about mobile phones and
how we can effectively use text messaging to reach our
constituents. I’ve primarily discussed it as an
advocacy tool first, with fundraising coming down the
road soon.

What I haven’t been hearing a lot about is added value
and cultivation from the textee standpoint.

What’s in for me?

I’ve given my cell phone out to 4 organizations and so far, I’ve gotten a
non urgent text at 6am pacific (I live in San
Francisco – ouch), several multiple choice polls, a
call-in action, and only one message of which I
perceived added value – a number I could call to find
my polling place the day before the election.

Here’s some food for thought as many of us race to the
mobile start line – incorporate some value adding
cultivation messages to your text stream. By giving
some extras, your constituents will perceive goodwill
– whether they take you up on your offer or not.

– alia

[Mark’s p.s. — Alia is one of *many* folks who have customized her phone so that it makes quite a racket when a text message comes in.  I think that’s pretty common.  if you think shooting out a bunch of SMS is unobtrusive to the user — um, not so much.]