Our step-by-step SMS builder makes it so easy. You'll be guided through the process and there are handy explanations at the bottom of each screen to answer any questions you might have.
To get started, head to the Send SMS tab.
Step by step guide:
Click the plus button to enter the guided SMS builder:
Step One: Name & Kind
Give your SMS a descriptive name and select Automated Recurring:
Step Two: Marketing or non-marketing
Now select whether your SMS is marketing or non-marketing:
Step Three: When should it send?
Now you can select which triggering event sets the wheels in motion:
Your guide to triggering events:
Each event corresponds to something that is happening in Cliniko. Use this table for a guide as to when you might use each:
Trigger name | Description | Good for |
Before appointment | Sends before an appointment commences. |
|
After appointment (incl. recalls) | Sends after an appointment ends. |
|
Appointment created | Sends after an appointment is created. |
|
Appointment cancelled (incl. recalls) | Sends after an appointment is marked cancelled. |
|
Appointment marked DNA (incl. recalls) | Sends after an appointment is marked DNA. |
|
Invoice created | Sends after an invoice is created. |
|
Invoice paid | Sends after an invoice is marked paid. |
|
Medical alert added to a patient | Sends after a medical alert is added to the patient file. |
|
After a certain number of appointments | Sends 1 hour after a patient reaches a certain total number of appointments. |
|
Step Four: Filters to apply
Use filters to narrow down exactly who should receive this message. You can include or exclude your selections. Just click the include button to change it to an exclude filter.
Choose from:
Businesses to target (if you have multiple businesses in your Cliniko account)
Cancellation reason (*only available for cancellation triggers)
Products (*only available for invoice triggers)
Billable items (*only available for invoice triggers)
Appointment categories
Appointment types
Practitioner seen/scheduled to see
Appointment count
Gender
How applying multiple filters works
Each filter selection you make within a category is treated with an 'OR' rule whereas the selections you make across filter categories is treated with an 'AND' rule. Learn more about this here:
Step Five: Frequency
Select whether a patient should receive a fresh copy of this SMS if the triggering event occurs again.
Step Six: Write your message
Write your SMS and use the personalisation dropdown to insert data specific to the recipient or your business.
Stuck for ideas?
We've got an article for that with copy-paste text ideas to get you going sooner (and yes, these ideas really work. We've got 5 years of experience sending hundreds of thousands of SMS (probably millions by the time you are reading this) and we know what works 😊
Step Seven: Summary
Review your settings. If everything looks good, hit the finish button to save your trigger. You can then choose to turn it on if you’re ready, or come back later to make more edits.
🎉 Guess what? You did it! Go ahead and send yourself a test then turn it on (once you have topped up with some SMS credits).
✅ Tutorials for days
Did you know we have tutorials for just about every popular type of SMS? Check 'em out here - just scroll down to 'Step 2' to skip the email part - as these tutorials are for both email and SMS.