# How to text leads without getting blocked > Register your texting number, text only people who said yes, and check every text really went out. Plain steps, plus what went wrong for us. By Corey Leon. First posted 2026-10-29. Updated 2026-10-29. Source: https://www.simpleai.community/blog/how-to-text-leads-without-getting-blocked/ License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Credit Simple AI with a link. Question: How do I text leads without my texts getting blocked? In the US, register your business texting number for A2P 10DLC before you send, and only text people who said yes, with a STOP line on your first text. Then check that each text really went out, because a blocked text often fails with no warning at all. ## What is A2P 10DLC? It is a US phone carrier rule. Any business that texts from a normal 10 digit number has to sign up and say who it is and what it texts. Texts from a number that isn't signed up get blocked or held back. You sign up inside your texting tool, and the carriers review it. They usually want to see these things. A public web page that shows how people agree to your texts, word for word. Sample texts. STOP and HELP replies. A privacy policy that says you don't share phone numbers. Canada doesn't use 10DLC. Its anti-spam law (CASL) has its own consent rules. This is not legal advice, so check the rules where your leads are. ## Why does a yes matter so much? Because a text lands in the same place as texts from family. In Fanatical Prospecting, Jeb Blount puts it plainly: "we rarely text strangers" (source: Fanatical Prospecting, Chapter 20). His advice is to text after another touch, like a call or a meeting. A text from someone you just talked to is welcome. A text from a stranger gets reported as spam, and enough reports can cost you the number. ## Steps 1. **Sign up before you text anyone.** Find A2P 10DLC in your texting tool's settings. Use your legal business name and the same details as your website. 2. **Make a public texting policy page.** Show every way people agree to texts, word for word. Add a screenshot of your form box. Link it from your website footer. 3. **Get a clear yes.** On a form, use a box they tick themselves. On a call, ask out loud and write down the answer and the date in your CRM. 4. **Write the first text the right way.** Your name and company, why you're texting, and how to stop. Use the first prompt below. 5. **Text after a touch, not before.** Call first, or text right after they fill in your form. See [reply to new leads fast](/inbound/fiveminutes/). 6. **Check that texts really went out.** Look at the status on each text, not a "sent" count. A count can say sent when the carrier said no. 7. **Keep a backup channel.** If a text fails, send an email or call. Meeting reminders matter most. See [cut no-shows](/inbound/noshows/). ## Prompts you can copy ### Write my opt-in words ```prompt You are my sales manager. Write the opt-in words for my business texts. My business: [legal business name] What I text about: [for example, meeting times and follow ups after a call] Where people agree: [a form box, on a call, or both] Give me: 1. The words for an unticked form box, under 40 words. 2. The words to say out loud on a call, under 40 words. Both must say who is texting, what about, that message and data rates may apply, and that they can reply STOP to stop and HELP for help. Plain words. No legal words. ``` ### Write the first text after a call ```prompt I just talked to [first name] at [company] on the phone and they said it's OK to text them. What we talked about: [one line] What I want to send: [for example, the booking link or the price sheet] Write my first text: 1. Start with "Hey [first name], this is [my name] with [my company]!" 2. One line about our call. 3. The thing I promised to send. 4. Last line: Reply STOP to opt out. Under 50 words. Sound like a person, not an ad. No links except the one I give you. ``` ### Check my texting policy page ```prompt Here is my texting policy page: [paste the page text] You know how US carriers review texting sign ups. Check it like a carrier would when they review an A2P 10DLC sign up: 1. Does it name my business? 2. Does it show, word for word, how people agree to texts? 3. Does it say what I text about and how often? 4. Does it say how to stop (STOP) and get help (HELP)? 5. Does it say I don't share or sell phone numbers? For each one, say yes or no and give me the missing words in plain English. ``` ## What went wrong when our texts got blocked? - From Jul 29 to Aug 6, 2026, every meeting reminder text we sent failed with the error "You are not A2P 10DLC compliant." Our reminder job still printed that the texts went out. For 8 days, meetings had no text reminder and nobody knew. Now the job prints the real status of each text, and reminders go by email or a call when a text fails. - On Sep 21, 2026, our US sign up was sent back. We had no public consent page. Our call script left out HELP and a link to our terms. Some of our pages said we text for other companies. And the text form on our site took numbers without the full notice. We fixed all four. We made a texting policy page with both opt-ins word for word and screenshots. We added a required box to our site's text form and consent fields to every contact in our CRM. - As of Oct 28, 2026, US texts are still waiting on approval, so we don't text US numbers yet. Texts to Canada numbers go out through Close. ## FAQ ### How long does A2P 10DLC approval take? It depends on the carrier review. Our sign up was sent back on Sep 21, 2026, and we are still waiting as of Oct 28. Start before you need it. ### Can I text someone I just called? Only if they said yes on the call. Ask out loud, then write down the yes and the date. No yes means email only. ### Can I just text leads from my own cell phone? You can, but it skips the consent records, and many texts to people who don't know you can get the number flagged. We stopped texting leads from a personal phone in July 2026 because it caused problems with our Apple account. ### What should my first text say? Who you are, the real reason you're texting, one small thing you'll send, and how to stop. See the second prompt above and our [follow-up text prompt](/prompts/coldcalling/).