Yes, you can promote affiliate links in SMS when recipients give permission and your affiliate program, messaging platform, and carriers permit the campaign. SMS marketing is a form of text marketing. Consent alone isn’t enough: some providers prohibit third-party affiliate marketing, even with opted-in lists.
Treat disclosure, privacy, and sender registration as separate requirements. Start with permission before buying messaging credits.
Key Takeaways
- Obtain documented permission for promotional texts.
- Follow merchant, platform, and carrier restrictions separately.
- Disclose commissions and judge results by approved earnings, not claimed open rates.
When Affiliate Links in SMS Are Permitted
Consent and local laws apply
For US automated promotional SMS covered by the TCPA, obtain prior express written consent. SMS consent requirements differ from email rules; an email subscription doesn’t authorize promotional texts.
Shipping and payment confirmations are informational. Adding an affiliate offer makes the message promotional and changes its permission requirements.
Across EMEA, rules vary. EU/EEA campaigns involve GDPR, ePrivacy rules, and national laws; GDPR doesn’t govern every EMEA country. Some Asian markets also impose strict promotional-SMS requirements.
Contracts and carrier rules also apply
Your merchant and sending platform must permit the campaign. A landing page or redirect can’t bypass either restriction. Our email newsletter affiliate rules explain the same contractual distinction.
For US application-to-person traffic using local 10-digit numbers, A2P 10DLC requires brand and campaign registration. CTIA messaging principles also emphasize clear opt-in invitations. Registration doesn’t authorize prohibited content.
Set Up a Permission-Based Campaign
Build a documented opt-in list
Use a separate, unchecked SMS signup box. Identify your business and explain what subscribers will receive by text message and how often. Mention message/data charges, and link your privacy notice and terms. State that permission isn’t required to purchase.
As the publisher, retain the permission wording, timestamp, signup source, and number in your contact database. Avoid purchased or scraped lists. Honor STOP immediately and suppress further promotions.
Make the message and link transparent
Identify your brand and include an opt-out instruction such as “Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”
The FTC’s endorsement guidance calls for clear disclosure near the recommendation. Use plain wording such as “We may earn a commission if you buy.” Explain the relationship before someone taps the affiliate link, since a landing-page-only disclosure comes too late. For time-sensitive offers, state the real deadline. Use “limited-time offers” only when the deadline is genuine and the linked page reflects it.
Use one approved branded link, preserve affiliate parameters, and avoid public shorteners that trigger filtering. Standard GSM-7 SMS allows 160 characters; Unicode messages allow 70. Longer messages split into billable segments, so shortening copy can reduce costs.
Treat SMS Performance Claims Carefully
MyLead cites 98% SMS opens versus about 20% for email. It also attributes 90% readership within three minutes to Instagiv and purchase influence on 48% of recipients to Nielsen. Martech Record cites Broadvoice’s response-time comparison: within 90 seconds for SMS versus 90-plus minutes for email.
These reported figures, including the claimed open rate, aren’t dependable forecasts. Standard SMS doesn’t provide universal read receipts, so delivery doesn’t establish readership.
One Blackhat World poster reported up to 3x ROI and opens above 85%; others described compliance and deliverability problems. Neither experience establishes a benchmark.
MyLead suggests evenings for adult offers and mornings for others. Treat that as a testing suggestion, not proven timing guidance. Adult content also faces platform and carrier prohibitions.
Understand Messaging Costs and Referral Commissions
MyLead’s historical pricing examples illustrate bulk SMS costs, but they aren’t current quotes.
| Provider | Historical example |
|---|---|
| BulkSMS | Minimum 200 credits, described as 200 messages, about €9.22 |
| Sendinblue, now Brevo | About €10 for 1,000 US messages |
At the quoted BulkSMS ratio, 1,000 single-segment messages would cost €46.10. Actual charges depend on destination, encoding, and segmentation, plus any registration, carrier, or subscription fees.
Remove dead, landline, and incorrect phone numbers because attempted sends can incur charges without reaching buyers.
Published program descriptions cite Textmunication’s 20% recurring commission, paid monthly while referred accounts remain payment-current. EZ Texting describes $20 to $500 per new paying customer, tracked through Impact. These referral terms don’t grant permission to promote either service through SMS.
Track Clicks Without Overstating Sales
For links to your site, use a trackable link with consistent campaign tags such as utm_medium=sms. For merchant links, use the affiliate network’s supported sub-ID fields and preserve its affiliate parameters. Never put phone numbers or other personal data into tracking parameters.
Test the mobile journey to confirm it reaches the right destination and preserves tracking. Record delivered messages, unique clicks, opt-outs, approved commissions, and total campaign costs. GA4 measures website activity; affiliate dashboards report credited conversions, but don’t show whether each conversion was incremental.
Last-click attribution can overcredit SMS when an earlier article or email created demand. Compare incremental results where possible rather than treating every credited sale as SMS-generated revenue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my own affiliate links?
Use links issued to your affiliate account only when the advertiser and SMS provider permit that traffic. Preserve required tracking parameters.
How do recipients open an SMS link?
They tap the URL, which usually opens a mobile browser. The destination should load securely and match the message’s promise.
Make Permission the Starting Point
Affiliate SMS can work when the audience expects your offers and every relevant agreement permits them. Clear disclosures and working opt-outs belong in the campaign itself.
Start with a small, relevant send. Scale only when approved commissions exceed total costs without unacceptable complaints or opt-outs.