Appointment reminder emails: when to send them and what to say Appointment reminder emails: when to send them and what to say

An appointment reminder email has one job: make sure the client remembers the visit and can change it if they need to. Send it about a day before, put the day, time, place and service at the top, and include a link to reschedule or cancel. Keep promotions out of it, so clients learn that an email from you about an appointment is worth opening.

When should a reminder go out?

About 24 hours before suits most appointments. The visit is close enough to be on the client's mind, and there's still time to rearrange childcare, work or travel, or to tell you they can't come.

A reminder sent a week ahead can be forgotten again by the day itself, and one sent an hour before leaves no time to sort out a clash. If you want a second touch, make it the confirmation sent at booking, with add-to-calendar links, so the client's own phone reminds them nearer the time.

Check your cancellation window against the reminder timing. If both are 24 hours, a client reading the reminder the next morning is already outside the window and can't cancel online. Setting the window a little shorter than the reminder gives them a few hours to act on it.

What should a reminder email include?

• Your business name in the sender and subject line, so it stands out in a crowded inbox.
• The day of the week as well as the date and time. "Thursday, March 14 at 10:30 a.m." is harder to misread than a date alone.
• The service and who it's with.
• Your address, plus anything that helps people find you, such as parking, which entrance or which floor.
• What to bring or how to prepare, if anything: ID and insurance card, gym clothes, a dog's vaccination record.
• How to reschedule or cancel, and until when.
• A phone number for anything the link doesn't cover.

How should a reminder be worded?

Short and plain. The subject line can carry the whole message: "Reminder: your appointment tomorrow at 10:30 a.m." The body confirms the details and tells the client what to do if plans have changed.

Write it the way you'd say it at the desk. "Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow" is friendlier than "This is an automated reminder of your scheduled appointment." State your policy once, calmly, near the bottom. Warnings in capital letters make good clients feel accused, and the few who ignore everything will ignore those too.

Why keep reminders separate from marketing?

If reminder emails start carrying offers and newsletters, clients learn to skim them and the appointment details get lost. There's a practical side too. Marketing emails generally need a client's consent, particularly in the EU, while appointment emails are part of the service the client asked for.

Do reminders bring clients back?

A reminder protects an appointment that already exists. Getting a client to book the next one is a different job, and much of it happens in person:

• Book the next visit before they leave, while you're both looking at the calendar.
• Note in the client's record roughly when they're due back.
• When someone is overdue, send a short personal message from your own phone or inbox. It takes a minute and reads like it came from you, because it did.

Email or text?

Email has room for the full details and calendar links. Texts are short and get seen quickly. Some clients answer one and ignore the other, and you'll learn which of your regulars prefer which.

Whatever you use, make sure the contact details are right. Read the email address back when you take a booking by phone, because a typo means no confirmation and no reminder.

How TidyBookings sends reminders

TidyBookings emails every guest a confirmation as soon as they book, with add-to-calendar links for Google, Outlook and Yahoo and a secure link to reschedule or cancel within your windows. It sends one reminder email with the same manage link a day before the appointment, or a day before online changes close if your cutoff is a day or longer, and your team gets a reminder too. Reminders go by email, and you can't pick a different reminder time. You can also set a service to email clients a reminder to book again a set number of days after their visit, unless they already have one booked. TidyBookings doesn't send marketing emails, so the in-person habits above still matter.

For the wider picture, read how to reduce no-shows, or book a test appointment on the demo booking pages to see the confirmation email.