The biggest misconception around mobile marketing lies in the idea that a business builds a database of mobile phone numbers and then dives into a mobile marketing campaign using these numbers. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that in order to build a database of opt-in mobile numbers you have to do a mobile marketing campaign. Here’s why.

Text messaging is a mandatory opt-in marketing channel. It is never smart or ethical to send text messages that are not explicitly requested. And in many places around the world it is illegal to do so. This explicit permission is not granted simply by being a customer or giving a business a cell phone number for other purposes.

Opting in has very specific criteria. You have to get someone to text in to opt in, sign up online with using a fill in the blank form or reply “Yes” when you have gotten verbal permission to add them to your mobile list. None of these can be done without having a mobile marketing campaign going.

The good news is that everybody starts at zero. Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike all start with no one in their mobile marketing database.

Even better news is that it only takes a smart marketing strategy and powerful marketing implementation to get people opting in like crazy. Give people a good reason to sign up and make sure they know all about it and your campaign is underway. Your text message database is being built.

Waiting to start mobile marketing until you have a mobile database is impossible. You cannot build a mobile marketing database without doing mobile marketing.

Shout out to my friend Chris Torbit with SmartReply who coined the phrase “everybody starts at zero.”