Text message marketing is a powerful engagement tool but abuse that power and you run the risk of turning your customers away. As you map out your SMS strategy, adhere to certain rules to ensure your relationship thrives, not dives.

If you follow these 5 best practices, your audience will have no regrets to saying yes to the text.

Consent – First and foremost you must have consent to send marketing messages. It’s the law! (Just ask Papa John’s.) Familiarize yourself with the regulations governing text marketing before you embark on a campaign. And remember that all someone needs to do to subscribe to your list on Textify is to text “join [yourkeyword]” to 34444.

Frequency – No one wants to be bombarded with your text messages, no matter how fabulous they are. Generally speaking it’s best to limit your messaging to no more than one per week, unless they are part of a special campaign.

Timing – Text messaging someone at 6 a.m. on a weekend? Ain’t nobody got time for that. Research has shown that consumers are most responsive to messaging sent on weekdays during regular business hours.

Value – Your audience has granted you permission to contact them via one of the most valuable pieces of personal communication property they own, so make it worth their while. Before you craft that next text message, ask yourself if you are truly providing information that is exclusive, educational or enticing. There’s a fine line between awesome and annoying when it comes to text messaging marketing to make sure you respect the text (and textee!)

Language – While it’s tempting to abbreviate text messaging, strive to make your communication as professional as possible. Use proper grammar and avoid slang. Are your text messages crudely abbreviated to the point of illegibility? Remember it’s a communication vehicle, not a Prince song.

These best practices may seem like common sense, but remember that it only takes your audience a few seconds to unsubscribe to your list. Be sensible and sensitive when it comes to text message marketing.