The SMS list started at zero in early 2024. By January 2026, it was over 9,000 contacts — past attendees, ticket buyers, WhatsApp group members, and cold subscribers from Meta ads. Here’s the exact infrastructure and the tactics that built it.
Source one: the click-to-text ad
The primary growth engine is a deep link that opens the user’s SMS app with a pre-filled keyword. The link format: sms:+18339124216?body=NYC. User clicks the ad, their phone opens the messaging app, “NYC” is already typed, they hit send, and they’re auto-subscribed via a Twilio toll-free number.
This runs as a Meta ad CTA across feed, reels, and stories. The CTA text reads “subscribe” — it feels more natural for SMS than “sign up.” Reels placement drives the best results for SMS acquisition: 4.7% link CTR at $0.22 per link click.
The evergreen cold ad CTA alternates between “FOLLOW FOR NYC RAVES” and “TEXT ‘DARK’ TO 833-912-4216” depending on the campaign objective.
Source two: ticket buyer exports
Every ticket platform — Posh, Resident Advisor, DICE, Shotgun — collects phone numbers at checkout. After each event, export the buyer list as CSV. These are the highest-value contacts: people who already spent money on your event.
The deduplication process is critical. Normalize all phone numbers to E.164 format (+1XXXXXXXXXX). Dedup by phone number, not email. Keep city and state data for geographic targeting on Meta. Tag everyone by type: DJ, Booked Artist, Slister, past buyer.
Source three: WhatsApp group scraping
WhatsApp community members are already engaged with the brand. Exporting phone numbers from group chats and importing them into the SMS platform converts passive community members into directly reachable contacts.
We also merged contacts from competitor community groups — 12 CSV files from groups like Techno Lover NYC, MoonNight NYC, and similar communities. After dedup: 985 unique email+phone contacts and 2,435 phone-only contacts. These are ravers who self-selected into dark music communities — the highest-intent cold audience possible.
Source four: door collection
A separate station at the door dedicated to phone number collection. Not integrated into ticket scanning — a dedicated touchpoint. This converts in-person attendees into SMS list members in real time. The people walking through your door at 1 AM are the warmest leads you’ll ever find.
Source five: borrowed promoter lists
Other promoters have lists they’re not using effectively. We explored a data-sharing model with aligned collectives: pool audience data across promoters to create a shared channel that benefits everyone. One Mexico City collective was open to sharing their Instagram user database from past events.
The approach: offer value first (SMS blasts to your list on their behalf, free guest list spots), then propose mutual data sharing. This works because most promoters have lists sitting in a spreadsheet doing nothing.
The CRM backbone
All contacts flow through Groundhogg as the central CRM. Tags determine targeting: NYC, CDMX, past buyer, DJ, promoter, cold lead. The CRM syncs to Meta via CSV upload for custom audiences.
Phone-only contacts need a workaround since Groundhogg requires email as a unique identifier. Solution: dummy emails using the format {phone}@sms.slist.net. This satisfies the CRM requirement while keeping phone as the real identifier.
Cold lead management: tag inactive contacts as “cold-sms” or “inactive-90d.” Lighter communication cadence — monthly updates only. If they engage (open, click, respond), auto-move to warmer stage. Protect deliverability: cold lists hurt sender reputation if blasted recklessly.
List hygiene
The list is only valuable if it’s clean. Obsessive deduplication across every source. Merged CSVs from Groundhogg exports, scraped WhatsApp groups, borrowed promoter lists, and Posh buyer exports. Normalized everything to E.164 format. Tagged by source so we can track which acquisition channel produces the best converters.
The recommended Meta audiences built from this data: SMS opt-ins (365 days) as seed for 1-2% lookalike plus warm retargeting. Past purchasers (180 days) as exclusion in prospecting and seed for 2% lookalike. Unsub/DNC list as permanent exclusion.
The SMS list is the single biggest competitive advantage in the operation. Not just a channel — a moat. Most competing promoters don’t even have an email list. Building 9,000 SMS contacts meant building an asset that works for free, forever, regardless of what any platform decides to do with your account.