An automated text campaign is a message that sends itself. You set it up once, choose what triggers it, and Vagaro takes it from there, reaching the right customer at the right moment: a birthday treat, a nudge to someone you haven't seen in a while, a thank-you after a visit, or a follow-up on a purchase. You pick the trigger, the audience, and the message, and the campaign keeps running until you turn it off, so you stay top of mind and your calendar stays full.
Before sending out a text campaign, keep the following in mind:
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Each message you send costs credits. Messages you send to customers are divided into parts, also known as "segments." The number of segments per message determines the number of credits used. Check out this article to learn more about how credits are calculated.
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Campaigns will only be sent to customers with mobile phone numbers in their Customer Profile. Vagaro won't use the day or night phone numbers on the profile.
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Campaigns will not be sent to customers you have blocked from online booking.
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Campaigns may be rejected if they break Vagaro's text guidelines or are flagged by phone carriers. Vagaro will not refund text messages used for flagged or rejected campaigns.
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Campaigns will not be sent to customers who have opted out of text marketing.
Prerequisites: This feature requires a text marketing plan with an approved phone number.
Start by going to Marketing and creating a new campaign. You'll set your delivery method to text and add a subject line that only you can see.
To start your campaign:
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Go to Marketing
, then select Create Campaign under Email & Text Marketing.
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On the campaign dashboard, select Create Campaign in the top-left corner. The Delivery Method pop-up appears.
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Select Text as the delivery method.
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Enter the Text Subject Line. This subject line is visible only to you, not to customers. You can customize the header with the following options:
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Select Enhance with Vera
to write your subject with AI.
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Select Name
to auto-populate the customer's First Name and First & Last Name in the subject.
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Select Save.
You'll return to the main campaign setup screen.
In this step, you'll choose your campaign type and set when the message goes out. The campaign type is the trigger that sends the message, such as a customer's birthday, a lost customer, or an upcoming visit. You can also build a custom campaign that fires on a trigger you choose. Because these campaigns are automated, you set one up once, and Vagaro keeps sending it until you turn it off.
To set your campaign type:
Tip
By default, all preset automations will send at 8 AM. To send at a different time, you will need to create a custom automation.
The Birthday campaign type automatically sends around each customer's birthday. Use it to send a warm birthday wish, a promo code, a form, or a link to your service page. Send the campaign right on the customer's birthday, or up to 30 days before.
To set up a Birthday Automation:
The Customer Anniversary campaign type automatically sends on the anniversary of a customer's first appointment with your business. Use it to thank customers for their loyalty with a kind message, a promo code, or a special offer. Send the campaign right on the anniversary, or up to 30 days before.
To set up a Customer Anniversary automation:
The New Customer campaign type automatically sends to customers who were recently added to your business. Use it to welcome them and encourage a return visit with a promo code, a form, or a friendly introduction. Send the campaign immediately after the customer's profile is created, or up to 30 days after.
To set up a New Customer automation:
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Select the New Customer campaign type, then select Next.
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Configure the automation settings:
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Move the slider to the left to send this campaign immediately after the customer is created.
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Move the slider to the right to send this campaign up to 30 days after the profile is created.
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Select Next or Save.
The Lost Customer campaign type automatically sends to customers who haven't visited in a while and don't have a future appointment booked. Use it to win them back with a reason to rebook, a promo code, or a feedback survey. Send the campaign anywhere from 1 to 52 weeks after a customer's last visit. This campaign only applies going forward, so it won't reach customers who were already lost before you created it.
Note
The customer's last visit is their last checked-out or completed appointment.
To set up a Lost Customer automation:
The Before Visit campaign type automatically sends before a customer's upcoming appointment or class. Use it to share what to expect, such as a pre-visit form, parking and directions, or products they can buy in-store. Send the campaign from 1 to 30 days before the visit. You can apply it to specific services and classes or your entire menu, and customers receive it only if they're booked for one you selected.
Note
This campaign won't reach customers who book outside the time frame you set. For example, if it's set to send 7 days before the appointment but a customer books only 5 days ahead, they won't receive the message.
To set up a Before Visit automation:
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Select the Before Visit campaign type, then select Next.
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After selecting the Before Visit campaign type, use the Services/Classes list to choose the services you want this campaign to apply to.
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Set when the campaign will be sent to customers.
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Leave the slider to send the campaign one day before their appointment.
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Move the slider to the right to send this campaign up to 30 days before their appointment.
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Select Next or Save.
The After Visit campaign type automatically sends after you check a customer out for a service or class. Use it to stay connected with a rebooking link, post-visit care tips, or a feedback survey. Send the campaign immediately after checkout, or up to 30 days after. You can apply it to specific services and classes or your entire menu, and the countdown starts only once you check the customer out in Vagaro.
Note
Check out your customers promptly when you use this campaign. The countdown starts from the appointment time, not when it's checked out. If the checkout isn't completed within the time frame you set, the message won't be sent.
To set up an After Visit automation:
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Select the After Visit campaign type, then select Next.
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Use the Services/Classes list to choose the services you want this campaign to apply to.
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Set when the campaign will be sent to customers.
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Leave the slider to send the campaign immediately after their appointment.
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Move the slider to the right to send this campaign up to 30 days after their appointment.
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Select Next or Save.
The Purchase campaign type automatically sends to customers after they buy an item you've selected. Use it to follow up on what they bought with a post-purchase survey, care instructions, or a related offer. Choose which purchases trigger it from any category, including memberships, packages, and products, then send the campaign immediately after the purchase, or up to 30 days after.
Note
If you're looking to send a campaign for service and class purchases, we recommend using the Before Visit or After Visit campaign instead.
To set up a Purchase automation:
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Select the Purchase campaign type, then select Next.
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Use the Items list to choose the items you want this campaign to apply to.
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Set when the campaign will send to customers.
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Leave the slider to send the campaign immediately after their purchase.
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Move the slider to the right to send this campaign up to 30 days after their purchase.
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Select Next or Save.
The Custom Automation campaign type lets you build your own campaign when none of the preset types fit. Use it to set a custom trigger and decide who receives the message and when.
To set up a custom automation:
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Select the Custom Automation campaign type, then select Next.
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Enter the Automation Name.
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Set up your Trigger and other settings for the automation.
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Select Next or Save.
Saving a custom automation will save it for future use as well. You can find these in My Automations.
Now choose who receives your automated campaign. Use a quick filter to target a common group, such as new or high-spending customers, or build custom filters to reach an audience that meets the exact criteria you set.
A filter is a rule that picks out a group of customers, such as everyone who spent over $100 in the last year. Bundle several filters into a filter group to define exactly who receives your campaign, or add more groups to target several audiences at once.
To choose campaign recipients:
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From the campaign setup screen, select Recipients.
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Next to Quick Filters, select All Customers.
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Choose from the preset filters or create a custom one:
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All customers: Do not filter customers any further than the trigger you set for the Campaign Type.
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Specific customers: Not available for automated campaigns
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Customers who aren't currently booked: Filter this campaign to customers with no upcoming bookings.
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Customers who haven't visited in a while: Filter this campaign to customers who haven't visited in a set number of months. A customer's last visited is their last completed or checked-out appointment.
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New customers: Filter this campaign to customers who have no or very few bookings.
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High-spending customers: Filter this campaign to customers who've spent more than a certain amount.
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Custom: Create your own filters for this campaign.
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If you choose a filter other than All Customers, customize the campaign filters as needed.
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Configure Filter Group 1:
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Attribute: The customer data you're filtering for. It's the "what" you're checking, like Customer Info, Things We Sell, Activity, Employee/Customers and Custom Fields.
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Operator: The comparison or logic applied to that attribute. It's the "how" you're checking for and defines the relationship between the attribute and the value.
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Value: The specific input you're comparing against. It's the "what to match" and the target the operator measures the attribute against. This option may not appear if a value isn't required.
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Add Filter: Add an additional filter.
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AND/OR: Choose whether both of these filters should apply (AND) or whether they're separate (OR) and only one needs to apply to capture the cohort.
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Delete: Remove the additional filter you added.
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Optionally, select Add Filter Group to configure another group of filters.
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AND/OR: Choose whether both of these filter groups should apply (AND) or whether they're separate (OR) and only one needs to apply to capture the cohort.
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Delete
: Remove this filter group.
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Select Save.
You'll return to the main campaign setup screen.
To choose campaign recipients:
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From the campaign setup screen, select Recipients.
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Choose from the preset filters or create a custom one:
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All customers: Send this campaign to all customers in your Customer List.
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Specific customers: Not available for automated campaigns
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Customers who aren't currently booked: Filter this campaign to customers with no upcoming bookings.
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Customers who haven't visited in a while: Filter this campaign to customers who haven't visited in a set number of months. A customer's last visited is their last completed or checked-out appointment.
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New customers: Filter this campaign to customers who have no or very few bookings.
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High-spending customers: Filter this campaign to customers who've spent more than a certain amount.
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Custom: Create your own filters for this campaign.
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If you choose a filter other than All Customers, customize the campaign filters as needed.
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Configure Filter Group 1:
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Attribute: The customer data you're filtering for. It's the "what" you're checking, like Customer Info, Things We Sell, Activity, Employee/Customers and Custom Fields.
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Operator: The comparison or logic applied to that attribute. It's the "how" you're checking for and defines the relationship between the attribute and the value.
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Value: The specific input you're comparing against. It's the "what to match" and the target the operator measures the attribute against. This option may not appear if a value isn't required.
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Add Filter: Add an additional filter.
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AND/OR: Choose whether both of these filters should apply (AND) or whether they're separate (OR) and only one needs to apply to capture the cohort.
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Delete: Remove the additional filter you added.
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Optionally, select Add Filter Group to configure another group of filters.
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AND/OR: Choose whether both of these filter groups should apply (AND) or whether they're separate (OR) and only one needs to apply to capture the cohort.
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Delete
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Select Save.
You'll return to the main campaign setup screen.
This is where you compose the message your customers will receive. Along with your text, you can add links, images, GIFs, emojis, and personalized names, then send yourself a preview to see how it looks before it goes out.
When you send a text campaign, the cost for each message is measured in credits from your Text Messaging plan. The number of credits required for each message depends on how many segments it contains. To learn more about how segments work and how much you'll be charged for messages, see How Vagaro Calculates Credit Usage for Text Messages.
These steps are the same on all devices. Your screen may look slightly different from the screenshots shown here.
To draft your message:
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From the campaign setup screen, select Text Message.
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In the Compose Text field, enter your text message. A preview of your message appears.
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In addition to drafting your message, you have the following options in the text box:
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Emoji
: Add an emoji to your message
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Insert Link
: Add a link to your booking page, service menu, products, forms, Daily Deals, and so on.
Note
Adding links to your campaigns allows for tracking how many customers book through the link. Links to websites outside of Vagaro won't be tracked.
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Insert Name
: Dynamically add your customers' First Name or First & Last Name. The system will automatically replace the filler text "{first_name}" and "{last_name}" when sending the message.
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Add Image
: Upload an image from your computer or choose one from your Image Gallery to add to your message. You can only add one image or GIF at a time, and images will always be shown at the top of any plain text you add.
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Add GIF
: Choose from thousands of GIFs with Giphy and add one to your message.
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Vera
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Optionally, select Send Text Preview to send a preview text to your phone.
Warning
Sending a text preview will pull from your Text Messaging plan.
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Enter the phone numbers you want to send the preview to. Select Add Number to add another phone number.
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Select Send Preview Text.
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Select Save.
You'll return to the main campaign setup screen.
Finally, review your campaign one last time and start your automated campaign. You can also save it as a draft to finish later
To confirm and send the campaign:
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