How many reminders, and when
There's no study that fits every event, and published advice runs up to five messages with reminders at seven days, 72 hours, 24 hours and two hours. It's better to reason from the purpose of each one.
| When | Its job | Send it? |
|---|---|---|
| Right after registering | Confirm, get it on their calendar | Always |
| One week before | Help them plan, ask them to bring someone | If they registered more than two weeks ago, or need to travel |
| One day before | The main reminder. New detail, one last chance to cancel | Always |
| About one hour before | Get them to stop what they're doing | Always for online; for in-person, 2 hours gives time to travel |
| At the start | The link, for those who are late | Only for online events, and only if it's short |
Time the last one to how people travel. An online session needs only a moment of warning. A meetup across town needs enough time to leave the office.
What every reminder needs
- The time in the reader's own zone, or both zones if you can't personalize it.
- The join link or address, near the top. Not behind a button further down.
- One new thing: a confirmed guest, a question you'll cover, the door to use.
- How to cancel. It frees a seat and keeps your list clean.
- A subject line that says what it is. Include the event name and the time. People search their inbox for it an hour before.
Five templates
Change the words in brackets. Keep them short: someone reading a reminder is usually in the middle of something else.
Confirmation, straight after registering
Subject: You're in: [event name], [day] at [time]
Hi [first name], You're registered for [event name]. When: [day, date, time in their zone] Where: [join link or address] Add it to your calendar: [calendar link] What are you hoping to get from it? Reply and tell me. I read every answer, and it helps me decide what to cover. Can't make it after all? Reply "cancel" and your place goes to someone on the waitlist. [your name]
One week before
Subject: A week until [event name]
Hi [first name], [Event name] is a week from today, [day] at [time]. One update: [new speaker / a question from registrants / what you'll now cover]. If there's someone who should be there too, forward them this link: [their share link] [your name]
The day before
Subject: Tomorrow at [time]: [event name]
Hi [first name], We're on tomorrow at [time]. Most people told me they wanted [most common hope], so that's where we'll start. Join here: [join link] (For in-person: [address, door, nearest parking or station].) If your plans have changed, reply "cancel". Someone else will be glad of the place. [your name]
One hour before, online
Subject: Starting in an hour: [event name]
We start at [time]. Join here: [join link] Bring your questions. [Speaker] will take them for the last 15 minutes.
Two hours before, in person
Subject: See you at [time]: [event name]
Doors open at [time] at [venue]. Getting in: [the door, the buzzer, the floor]. Your ticket: [ticket link] If you're running late, come anyway. We start properly at [time].
Should reminders be in the same email thread?
It helps. When a reminder lands in the thread the person started, it sits with what they already opened and recognize, and a reply reaches you instead of a no-reply address. A plain-text style with a real sender also reads like a note from a person, which suits a reminder better than a designed newsletter.
How to tell if your reminders work
Open rates are a poor measure. Mail apps open messages automatically, and tracking pixels mean watching individuals when you only want to know whether the event worked. Measure what you care about: the attendance rate and the number of cancellations before the day. If you change the schedule, compare your attendance across a few events, since one event is too noisy to conclude much.
Mistakes to avoid
- Sending from no-reply. A reminder is the moment people ask questions. Let them reply.
- Using one time zone for a global audience. People will miss it by an hour.
- Reminding people who cancelled, or who are still on the waitlist as if they had a place.
- Leaving the link to the end, under paragraphs of promotion.
- Selling in the reminder. Save it for the follow-up.
Doing this in Programmable Talk
Reminders go a day and an hour before by default. You can move the first to two days or a week before, and the second to 15 minutes or two hours before, and add your own words. They arrive in the person's own thread with their personal join link and what they said they hoped to get. Replies work too: "cancel" cancels, and "+1 colleague@company.com" invites a colleague. With Twilio connected, people who ask can also get a text.