Sooner or later, a texting program has a bad moment: a typo in a fundraising ask, a broken or wrong link, a message meant for one segment blasted to the whole list, or a send that goes out during quiet hours. A texting crisis feels worse than an email mistake because texts are personal and immediate. But most are recoverable if handled quickly and honestly. Here's how to contain the damage and recover.
What kinds of texting mistakes happen?
The common ones:
- Content errors. A typo, a wrong date, a broken or incorrect link, a garbled merge field.
- Wrong audience. A message sent to the whole list instead of a segment, or to the wrong segment entirely.
- Timing errors. A send that lands in quiet hours or at an inappropriate moment.
- Compliance slips. A send missing the sender ID or opt-out language, or to a list with a consent problem.
Some are cosmetic; some carry real compliance or reputational risk.
How do you respond in the moment?
Stop, assess, then decide whether to correct. First, halt any ongoing send immediately so the mistake doesn't keep spreading. Then assess the actual harm, a typo is minor, a wrong link that sends people somewhere bad is serious, a compliance slip needs its own attention. Decide whether a correction text helps or just compounds the noise: for a broken link or wrong information people will act on, a quick, brief correction is worth it; for a trivial typo, a follow-up "correction" often annoys more than the original error. When you do correct, be brief and human, not defensive.
How do you recover trust?
Own it and move on. If the mistake warrants acknowledgment, a short, genuine note, a quick correction, an honest "that last text had the wrong link, here's the right one", does more for trust than pretending it didn't happen. Watch your opt-out rate after the incident to gauge the real damage; usually it's smaller than it feels. Then fix the process that caused it: an approval step before sends, a segment check, a test send to yourself, most texting crises trace back to a skipped check that's cheap to add. The best crisis response is the one that prevents the next crisis.
Frequently asked questions
What should you do when a text send goes wrong?
Stop any ongoing send immediately, assess the actual harm, and decide whether a correction helps or just adds noise. For a broken link or wrong information, a brief correction is worth it; for a trivial typo, it often isn't.
Should you send a correction text?
Only if the error is something people will act on wrongly, like a bad link or wrong date. A quick, human correction helps then. For cosmetic mistakes, a "correction" usually annoys more than the original error.
How do you prevent texting mistakes?
Add cheap checks: an approval step before sends, a segment check to confirm the audience, and a test send to yourself. Most texting crises trace to a skipped check that's easy to build into the workflow.
Keep reading: managing a texting team and how to segment your texting list. For carrier registration, see The Campaign Registry.