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Customize Your Messages

Postscript provides default message content for both automations and campaigns. You can use this messaging as a starting point and further build out messages that reflect the voice of your brand.
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Why You Should Customize Your Messages

  • Customization showcases the voice of your brand.

  • Use GIFS and photos to showcase your brand personality and products.

  • Personalize messages for the recipient with first and last name tags and direct links to products they've viewed or abandoned.

  • Increase customer engagement and click-through rates.

Message Types

You can create and send two types of messages: SMS and MMS. Each message type differs in character count, multimedia, and costs.

  • SMS: Stands for Short Message Service.
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    • Single SMS messages have a maximum of 160 plain text characters. Adding emojis will change the character limit to 70.

    • Multi-part SMS messages, or SMS messages that exceed the 160 character count limitation, have a maximum of 153 plain text characters. Adding emojis will change the character limit to 67.
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  • MMS: Stands for Multimedia Message Service.
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    • Maximum of 1,600 characters.

    • Can include an image or GIF.

SMS vs. MMS Performance

We often get asked if MMS messages perform better than SMS messages, so our Data Science team dug into the data of all customers who ran A/B tests with SMS and MMS messages.

Message Type

Click-Through Rate

Conversion Rate

SMS

8.90%

1.07%

MMS

8.10%

1.06%

You'll notice SMS performed better in both click-through and conversion rates. However, certain situations might benefit from an MMS message:

  • New product drops or launches

  • Big promotions such as BFCM or your annual sale

  • Image-heavy, branded content

  • Educational texts that use infographics (i.e., 5 meditation tips, 3 healthy eating tips, etc.)

Add an Image or GIF

You can add an image or GIF to campaign messages and one or more messages included in an automation series.

  1. In the Message section, drag your image or GIF into the Drag or browse field, or select browse to pick a file from your device.

  2. File size must be less than 1MB.

  3. Once attached, your file shows as a thumbnail with its filename, and the message automatically switches from SMS to MMS.

  4. Preview it in the dynamic phone preview on the right.

  5. Select the X next to the filename to remove it.

  6. Select the ⋯ (More File Options) menu next to the attached file to add a Contact Card.

Image Specifications

  • JPGs work best, but PNGs are sendable as well.

  • Keep a 9:16 aspect ratio. As you scale an image down to the phone size, the aspect ratio is the most important.

  • Start with dimensions of 640x1138 and scale down as needed.

  • Keep essential information out of the top and bottom 130 pixels.

GIF Specifications

  • If you are including a GIF in your text, you'll want to be sure that it's below 1 MB with a minimum width of 400px. You can resize your GIF here.

  • Square or portrait dimensions work best with GIFs:
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    • 480x480 or 640x640

    • 480x640 or 480x720
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  • GIFs will also work best if you keep the frame speed above 1/4 second.

Use Emojis in Messages

Emojis are a fun and effective way to add some personality to your message if it's appropriate for your brand.

  1. Place your typing cursor where you want the emoji to go in the message.

  2. Select the emoji icon in the bottom-right corner of the message field.

  3. You can search for your desired emoji by scrolling, selecting a category, or typing the name of the emoji.

  4. Select your desired emoji and it will appear in the message field.

  5. You can preview how the emoji will display to your subscriber in the dynamic phone preview on the right side of the page. Please note that emojis will display differently depending on the device and platform a recipient uses. You can learn more about how each emoji may display at Emojipedia.org.

Emojis and Character Count

Each emoji counts as 2-4 characters of your message, depending on the emoji. For example, facial expression emojis are usually 2 characters, while flag emojis are usually 4 characters. This is because of how emoji characters appear in the Unicode standard.
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You can use the character counter and message total beneath the message field to see how many characters you are using. The counter also shows how your message will send (e.g., 24/160 · 1 SMS, or 24/1600 · 1 MMS once media is attached) — hover the ⓘ icon for messaging details, or select View Rates for cost info.

Keep in mind that if you include emojis in a single SMS message (a message without an image or GIF within the 160 plain text character limit), your available characters drop from 160 to 70. If you include emojis in a multi-part SMS message (a message without an image or GIF that exceeds the 160 plain text character limit), your available characters drop from 153 to 67.
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You can learn more about emojis, special characters, and total character count here.

Add a Message Tag

Message tags are placeholders that, upon sending, Postscript replaces with customer-specific or store-specific information. Examples include a customer's first name or a product link. It's an easy and effective way to personalize your messages.

  1. Place your cursor where you want the tag to go in the message.

  2. Select the tag icon below the message field.

  3. Choose a tag:

    • Basic Info — Subscriber - First Name, Subscriber - Last Name, Shop - Name, Shop - Link

    • Event (Automations only, varies by trigger) — e.g., Product Name, Product Link, Checkout Link

    • Subscriber Properties — email_address, and other custom subscriber fields

  4. The tag is inserted and previews live in the phone mock-up.

Here are some example message tags:

  • Shop Name | {shop_name}. Populates with your store’s name, e.g. “The Stuff Shop.”

  • Shop Link | {shop_link}. Links to your store’s homepage. Postscript automatically shortens all links.

  • First and Last Name | {first_name} {last_name}. Populates with the first or last name of the message recipient.

  • Abandoned Cart Link | {abandoned_cart_link}. Links to the recipient's shopping cart checkout page. Postscript automatically shortens all links.

  • Shipment Tracking Link | {shipping_link}. Populates with a link to the tracking details page for the recipient's order.

  • Tracking Company | {tracking_company}. Populates with the name of the shipping carrier (e.g., UPS, FedEx, etc.).

Note: Every message starts with {shop_name}. This is required and is hardcoded into your message. You can change your shop name on your Account page.

Add an Offer

Offers let you insert a discount — a Product Discount, Order Discount, Free Shipping, or Buy X Get Y — into your message. Offers are built once in Brand Center → Offers and can be reused across automations, campaigns, popups, landing pages, and Shopper. Editing an offer updates it everywhere it's used and syncs back to Shopify automatically.

  1. Place your cursor where you want the offer to go in the message.

  2. Select the % icon below the message field.

  3. Search, filter, or sort your existing offers, then select Select next to the one you want — or select Create New Offer to build one without leaving the composer.

  4. The offer is inserted and previews live in the phone mock-up.

Campaigns currently support static discount codes only. Unique-code offers, which follow a subscriber across every touchpoint, are available in Automations.

Learn more about building and managing offers here.

Locate a Shopify Collection ID

If you want to apply a discount to a Shopify collection, you'll need your collection ID. You can locate this information in Shopify.

  1. Select Products in the side menu of your Shopify dashboard, then select Collections.

  2. Locate and select your desired Collection.

  3. Your collection ID is in the URL. In the above example, the collection ID is 73617932346.

Learn more about using Shopify coupons in your Postscript messages here.

Add a Discount Link

Create a discount on Shopify and include it in a message to your subscribers.

  1. Place your cursor where you want the link to go in the message.

  2. Select the chain/link icon below the message field, then select Discount Link.

  3. Enter a Discount code — a Shopify discount code that applies automatically at checkout.

  4. Enter or confirm the Link to shop page (defaults to your shop's homepage).

  5. Confirm or edit the pre-filled UTM parameters (utm_medium, utm_source, utm_campaign), or add a custom parameter.

  6. Select Save Link.

Add a Product Link

If you're dropping new products, teasing your BFCM sale, or sending a campaign to a specific segment, you might consider including a product link.

  1. Place your cursor where you want the link to go in the message.

  2. Select the chain/link icon below the message field, then select Product Link.

  3. In the Product field, search or select a product. Select + Add to Cart to add additional products to the cart.

  4. Optionally enter a Discount code (Shopify discount code) — it applies automatically at checkout.

  5. Confirm or edit the pre-filled UTM parameters (utm_medium, utm_source, utm_campaign), or add a custom parameter.

  6. Select Save Link.

This works the same way in both Campaigns and Automations.
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A specific product link is perfect if you are reaching out to a particular customer segment using a filter that looks into past purchase history. For example, say we want to send a product link for our coats in size large. We can create a segment of customers who have previously bought coats or outwear in size large.
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If you want to direct recipients to the general product page without variants attached, then you can paste the product page link in the message field. Postscript will automatically shorten the link.

Add a Contact Card

Contact cards make it easy for subscribers to add your store as a contact on their mobile device. You can create a contact card in your account settings.

  1. Attach a file in the Drag or browse field (or select the field even with nothing attached yet).

  2. Select the ⋯ (More File Options) menu.

  3. Select Contact Card.

Postscript can only send contact cards to US and Canadian subscribers. Contact card messages count as an MMS message.

Include an Opt-Out Opportunity

You can include opt-out language in both campaigns and automations. If you send regular campaigns, then we encourage you to include opt-out language at least once a month.

Select the bell icon below the message field to add "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" language to your message.

Note: Customers who have opted out can opt back in by replying "START" or "UNSTOP” or a keyword, or by opting in via popup to resubscribe at any time. We include this information in the opt-out confirmation sent when a customer opts out of SMS marketing messages.

Get Support

Have questions? Please feel free to reach out to our wonderful Support team at [email protected] or via live chat.

Need ongoing channel strategy guidance? Please fill out this form and we'll connect you to one of our certified partners.

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