12 Sms Marketing Business Success Stories [2024]

Updated: November 19th, 2023
Start A Sms Marketing Business

SMS marketing refers to sending promotional campaigns or transactional messages for marketing purposes using text messages.

With 85% 0f adults in the US owning a smartphone, SMS is an excellent way to reach customers directly. Recent statistics show that approximately 55% of US retailers plan to increase investments in mobile SMS marketing.

Typical applications of SMS marketing include:

  • Personalized promotions
  • Offers or discounts
  • Remarketing campaigns
  • Online surveys

Given the widespread adoption of SMS marketing, you better start your SMS marketing platform and offer businesses the service based on once-off purchases or long-term subscriptions.

Here are some real life success stories of starting a sms marketing business:

1. GreenRope ($1.92M/year)

metrics for our business are our customer satisfaction and retention rates, which remain consistently high. We currently have over 1,000 customers in over 20 countries, ranging from startups to universities and municipalities. Moving forward, we plan to continue evolving and improving our platform to meet the changing needs of businesses and provide even greater value to our customers.

How much they make: $1.92M/year
Current team size: 15

article

On Starting A $160K/Month CRM & Automations Company After A US Air Force Career

GreenRope, a self-funded CRM and marketing automation platform with over 1,000 customers in 20 countries, was built organically and focused on creating a positive, customer-centric culture without outside investment, with an all-in-one interface solving challenges in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations.

About
Lars started GreenRope almost 16 years ago
Revenue
Lars grew the business to $160K/month
Read by 10,942 founders

2. LeMI Apps ($168K/year)

a movie, or on vacation, LeMi Apps' SMS Marketing Auto Reply Apps for Small Business Automation allows users to set up automatic replies to missed calls, incoming texts, and messages from various messaging apps. Founder Michael Ginzburg, with his experience in mobile telephony and applications, identified a demand for a cost-effective alternative to expensive SMS marketing services and developed an Android app that offers keyword-based SMS auto-response at a fraction of the price. Despite facing challenges such as restrictions from Google Play Store, LeMi Apps has maintained its position as a leading SMS auto-reply app with high ratings and continuous support for its users.

How much they make: $168K/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
Current team size: 4

article

I Leveraged My Experience To Start A $72K/Year Auto Reply App Business At Age 50

This case study is about a mobile app entrepreneur who started with a simple SMS autoresponder app and has since released 17 more apps, occupying a leading position in communication apps, with a good achievement of $6,000 in revenue (temporarily) and over 500,000 users for their free app.

About
Michael started LeMI Apps over 10 years ago
Revenue
Michael grew the business to $14K/month
Costs
It cost Michael $10000 to start the business
Read by 3,448 founders

So... can you actually make money with a sms marketing business?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

3. LabsMobile ($600K/year)

After years of failed projects, Boris discovered the world of mobile marketing and corporate communication. He saw the potential in SMS as a communication channel and founded LabsMobile in 2009. The platform now has over 12,000 corporate accounts and operates in multiple countries, providing an efficient and affordable SMS communication solution for small and medium-sized companies.

How much they make: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $70K
Current team size: 5

article

I Learned To Say No To Other Projects & Focused On Growing My $600K/Year SMS Platform

An entrepreneur built a successful SMS platform for small and medium-sized companies, boasting over 12,000 corporate accounts in countries like Spain, Mexico, Colombia, and Chile, with customer loyalty and recurring purchases as the basis of the project's revenue.

About
Boris started LabsMobile about 14 years ago
Revenue
Boris grew the business to $50K/month
Costs
It cost Boris $70000 to start the business
Read by 4,126 founders

4. CLOSEM ($360K/year)

Richard Miles, co-founder of CLOSEM, came up with the idea for the business after realizing the missed opportunities for follow-up in his own experiences with service providers. He reached out to his friend and co-founder, Laura Betterly, who loved the idea and saw the potential. Together, they created CLOSEM, a software tool that helps entrepreneurs and small business owners automate the process of following up with leads and increasing sales.

How much they make: $360K/year
Current team size: 1

article

I Came Home From Africa To Build A $200K/Year Sales Automation Software

CLOSEM is an AI-powered software tool that helps entrepreneurs and small business owners automate the time-consuming work of following up with leads, prospects, and customers, and increasing sales, grossing around $200,000 this year and confidently targeting $12MM next year.

About
Richard started CLOSEM about 4 years ago
Revenue
Richard grew the business to $30K/month
Read by 3,564 founders

So... can you actually make money with a sms marketing business?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

5. TextMagic ($14.4M/year)

In 2001, TextMagic started as a niche side project in the UK with limited offerings. When Priit Vaikmaa joined the company in 2007, he saw the huge potential in their SMS marketing platform and focused on expanding and improving its usability. Today, TextMagic has a diverse customer base and generated revenue just short of €11 million in 2021.

How much they make: $14.4M/year
Current team size: 51

article

How I Turned a Niche Side Project Into A $1.2M/Month SaaS Company

TextMagic's CEO Priit Vaikmaa discusses the development and success of the SMS marketing solutions company, which has grown its revenue to almost €11 million and employs people remotely from all over the world.

Revenue
Priit grew the business to $1.2M/month
Read by 3,960 founders

6. Porterhouse ($24K/year)

Cecil, the Co-Founder of Porterhouse, came up with the idea for the business when his trainer needed a solution for sending daily motivational messages to his clients. Tired of copy-pasting the same text to each client, Cecil created Porterhouse to streamline the process and save time. With a simple value proposition and self-contained functionality, Porterhouse was launched in April 2019 and has since attracted customers ranging from professional sports teams to real estate agents.

How much they make: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $30
Current team size: 0

article

How We Built A Profitable Mass-Texting App [3.5x MRR Growth Since Last Year]

Porterhouse, a mass-texting service, brings in $2,400 in monthly revenue after just 1.5 years in business, targeting professional sports teams, personal trainers, and real estate agents with the ability to send authentic blue iMessages to iOS recipients from a user's own cell phone number.

About
Suan started Porterhouse almost 5 years ago
Revenue
Suan grew the business to $2K/month
Costs
It cost Suan $30 to start the business
Read by 2,199 founders

So... can you actually make money with a sms marketing business?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

7. Postscript ($37.2M/year)

How much they make: $37.2M/year
Current team size: 203

article

ALEX BELLER ON HOW TO DO SMS MARKETING THE RIGHT WAY

Postscript, a user-friendly SMS platform for Shopify stores, generated $3.1M per month in revenue in just six months and now ranks in the top five revenue generators.

About
Adam started Postscript over 5 years ago
Revenue
Adam grew the business to $3.1M/month
Read by 510 founders

8. Global Entry Alerts ($14.4K/year)

Vlad Verba came up with the idea for Global Entry Alerts while he was applying for Global Entry himself and noticed long wait times for interview appointments. He initially created a free Twitter page that alerted people when appointments became available, and eventually expanded to offer a paid SMS alert service. Today, Global Entry Alerts makes over $1,200 per month in profit and has gained traction through Twitter, Reddit, and organic shares from travel influencers.

How much they make: $14.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $10
Current team size: 0

article

How I Built An SMS Automation Tool For Anyone To Get Their Global Entry Interview Appointments Quickly

Global Entry Alerts helps travelers skip the long lines and get their Global Entry appointment with SMS alerts, making over $1,200/month profit with very minimal effort required.

About
Vlad started Global Entry Alerts about 2 years ago
Revenue
Vlad grew the business to $1.2K/month
Costs
It cost Vlad $10 to start the business
Read by 1,540 founders