Appointment reminder text templates
A good reminder text names the business, the service and the time, and gives the client a link to reschedule. Pick your business, timing and tone, then edit the text you send from your phone and watch the SMS count.
Your reminders
211 / 3062 segmentsGSM-7
199 / 3062 segmentsGSM-7
How SMS length is counted
A single text holds 160 GSM-7 characters. Longer messages are split into segments of 153 characters each.
One character outside GSM-7, such as an emoji or a curly quote, switches the whole message to UCS-2: 70 characters in one text, 67 per segment when split.
Some GSM-7 characters, such as € [ ] { } ~ ^ | and the backslash, take two spaces.
Carriers and providers such as Twilio bill each segment, so a two-segment reminder costs about twice as much as a one-segment reminder.
Placeholders in Calendefy reminder emails
{{client_name}}: the client's name.
{{business_name}}: your business name.
{{service_title}}: the booked service.
{{start_time}}: day, date, time and time zone, for example Tue, Nov 3, 2:30 PM EST.
{{provider_name}}: the staff member.
{{manage_url}}: the client's private link to reschedule or cancel.
Opt-out wording
CTIA's Messaging Principles and Best Practices say message senders should state in the message how to opt out, using standard STOP wording.
Twilio handles replies such as STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE and CANCEL by default on long code and toll-free numbers and stops further messages to that number.
Questions
A common pattern is one reminder the day before and a short one a few hours before. A 48-hour reminder helps when the service needs prep or when your cancellation window is longer than a day. Calendefy's starter reminder schedules are 24 hours and 2 hours before.
One SMS holds 160 GSM-7 characters. Longer texts are split into 153-character segments. If the text has any character outside GSM-7, such as an emoji, the limit drops to 70 characters, or 67 per segment. Each segment is billed.
CTIA's Messaging Principles and Best Practices say senders should state in the message how to opt out, using standard STOP wording, and should include opt-out instructions in the opt-in confirmation. Twilio handles STOP replies by default on long code and toll-free numbers. Rules vary; this is not legal advice.
Usually because of the link or a special character. A reschedule link can be 60 or more characters, and one emoji or curly apostrophe switches the message to UCS-2, which cuts the limit from 160 to 70 characters.
Calendefy sends automatic reminders by email, not text, once email delivery is configured. Its reminder emails use the same placeholders and include the client's manage link. These text templates are for messages you send from your own phone.