Check-in DOG Check-in DOG
Features Pricing Docs Blog Contact
fr Log in
Try free
Getting Started Managing Customers Managing Animals Appointments & Calendar Invoicing & Quotes Product & Service Catalog Suppliers & Orders Newsletters & SMS Contacts & Lead Management Shop Settings Plans & Billing Customer Portal

Newsletters & SMS

Stay in touch with your customers through email and text

Overview

Staying connected with your customers is essential for building loyalty and driving repeat visits. CheckinDog provides two communication channels — email newsletters and SMS messages — so you can reach your customers however they prefer. Create targeted mailing lists, compose rich newsletters, and monitor your SMS activity all from within the application.

Mailing Lists

Mailing lists are the foundation of your email communication strategy. They let you organize your customers into groups so you can send targeted messages to the right audience.

Creating a Mailing List

Navigate to Mailing Lists in the sidebar under the Communication navigation group and click New mailing list.

Each mailing list has the following fields:

  • Name — A descriptive name for the list (e.g., "Monthly newsletter," "VIP customers," "Dog owners," "Holiday promotions").
  • Description — An optional note explaining the purpose of this list. Useful when you have many lists and need to remember why each one exists.
  • Archived — A toggle that lets you hide old or inactive lists without deleting them. Archived lists do not appear in the default list view but can be restored at any time.

Recipient Count

Each mailing list displays a recipient count showing how many customers are currently subscribed. This count updates automatically as customers are added to or removed from the list.

Linking Customers to Mailing Lists

Customers are linked to mailing lists from the customer record. When editing a customer, you will find a mailing lists section where you can select which lists that customer should belong to.

This approach means:

  • A single customer can belong to multiple mailing lists.
  • You can manage all of a customer's list memberships from one place.
  • When you remove a customer from your salon, their mailing list memberships are cleaned up automatically.

Tips for Effective Mailing Lists

  • Create lists based on customer segments that matter to your business: breed type, service frequency, geographic area, or customer loyalty tier.
  • Use the description field to document any rules about who belongs on each list. This helps if multiple staff members manage communications.
  • Archive seasonal lists (e.g., "Summer grooming tips") instead of deleting them. You can reactivate them next year with all the subscribers still intact.

Creating Newsletters

Newsletters let you compose professional emails and send them to your mailing list subscribers.

Composing a Newsletter

Navigate to Newsletters in the sidebar under the Communication navigation group and click New newsletter.

The newsletter form includes:

  • Subject — The email subject line your recipients will see in their inbox. Keep it clear and compelling — this determines whether your email gets opened.
  • Body — A rich text editor where you compose the content of your newsletter. The editor supports:
    • Text formatting (bold, italic, underline)
    • Headings and subheadings
    • Bulleted and numbered lists
    • Links
    • Images
    • Text alignment

Writing Effective Newsletter Content

  • Keep it concise. Most customers will skim your email. Lead with the most important information.
  • Use headings to break up content into scannable sections.
  • Include a call to action. Whether it is booking an appointment, trying a new service, or visiting your shop, tell your readers what you would like them to do.
  • Personalize when possible. Mention seasonal grooming tips relevant to your local climate or upcoming holidays.

Test Sending

Before sending a newsletter to your entire mailing list, always send a test first.

How Test Send Works

  1. Open the newsletter you want to test.
  2. Click the Test send action.
  3. The newsletter is sent to your shop's email address (configured in your shop settings).

This lets you:

  • Preview exactly how the email will appear in a real inbox.
  • Check for formatting issues, broken links, or typos.
  • Verify that the subject line displays correctly.
  • Confirm that images load properly.

Best Practice

Make it a habit to test every newsletter before bulk sending. Even a quick glance at the test email can catch mistakes that are easy to miss in the editor.

Bulk Sending

Once you are satisfied with your newsletter content, you can send it to an entire mailing list.

How Bulk Send Works

  1. Open the newsletter you want to send.
  2. Click the Send action.
  3. Select the mailing list you want to send to.
  4. Confirm the send.

Behind the Scenes

When you trigger a bulk send, CheckinDog:

  1. Creates a NewsletterSending record that tracks this specific send operation (which newsletter, which mailing list, when it was initiated).
  2. For each recipient on the mailing list, creates a NewsletterRecord that tracks the individual delivery.
  3. Dispatches the emails to all recipients.
  4. Updates delivery status as emails are processed.

This architecture means you have a complete audit trail of every newsletter send: who received it, when it was sent, and whether delivery succeeded.

Important Notes on Bulk Sending

  • Bulk sends are processed in the background, so you do not need to keep the browser open.
  • Large mailing lists may take several minutes to fully process.
  • Each recipient receives their own individual copy of the email.

Duplicating Newsletters

If you send regular newsletters with a similar format, you can save time by duplicating an existing one.

How to Duplicate

  1. Find the newsletter you want to copy in the newsletters list.
  2. Click the Duplicate action.
  3. A new newsletter is created with the same subject and body content.
  4. Edit the duplicated newsletter to update the content for your new message.

This is especially useful for:

  • Monthly newsletters that follow a consistent template.
  • Seasonal promotions that you run each year with minor updates.
  • A/B testing different subject lines with the same body content.

Delete Safeguards

CheckinDog protects your communication history by preventing you from deleting newsletters that have already been sent.

Why This Matters

Once a newsletter has been sent to recipients, the sending records and delivery tracking data reference that newsletter. Deleting it would break these records and lose your communication history.

  • Unsent newsletters can be freely deleted.
  • Sent newsletters cannot be deleted. The delete action will be blocked with an explanatory message.

If you no longer need a sent newsletter, it remains in your list as a historical record. You can use the search and filter features to find specific newsletters when needed.

SMS Messages

SMS messaging provides an immediate, high-visibility channel for reaching your customers. CheckinDog tracks all SMS activity so you always know what was sent and to whom.

SMS Message Log

Navigate to SMS in the sidebar under the Communication navigation group to view your SMS message log.

The log is a read-only record of all SMS messages sent from your salon. For each message, you can see:

  • Phone number — The recipient's mobile phone number.
  • Message body — The full text content of the SMS.
  • Status — Displayed as a color-coded badge:
    • Sent — The message was successfully delivered to the carrier.
    • Failed — The message could not be delivered (invalid number, carrier rejection, etc.).
  • Timestamp — The exact date and time the message was sent.

SMS Opt-In

Respecting your customers' communication preferences is both good practice and a legal requirement in many jurisdictions.

Each customer record includes an SMS opt-in toggle. This toggle controls whether the customer has consented to receive SMS messages from your salon.

  • Opted in — The customer has agreed to receive SMS messages. Their phone number is eligible for SMS communication.
  • Opted out — The customer has not consented or has withdrawn consent. They will not receive SMS messages.

Managing SMS Opt-In

  • When adding a new customer, the SMS opt-in toggle defaults to off. You must explicitly enable it after obtaining the customer's consent.
  • Customers can request to opt out at any time. Update their record immediately when they do.
  • The opt-in status is visible on the customer's profile so you can quickly verify before discussing SMS communication.

SMS Credits

Sending SMS messages requires credits, which are purchased through the subscription page. See the Plans & Billing documentation for details on purchasing SMS credit packs.

Practical Communication Strategy

Building Your Lists

Start with two or three broad mailing lists and refine over time:

  1. All customers — For important announcements that affect everyone.
  2. Regular customers — For loyalty rewards and special offers.
  3. Service-specific — For tips and promotions related to specific services (e.g., dog grooming, cat grooming).

Frequency and Timing

  • Newsletters: Once or twice a month is ideal for most grooming salons. More frequent emails risk annoying your customers; less frequent ones may be forgotten.
  • SMS: Reserve for time-sensitive communications like appointment reminders, last-minute availability, or urgent schedule changes. SMS has a much higher open rate than email, so use it strategically.

Content Ideas

  • Seasonal grooming tips (summer coat care, winter skin protection).
  • New service announcements.
  • Holiday schedule changes.
  • Customer appreciation events.
  • Before-and-after grooming photos (with customer permission).
  • Product recommendations for at-home care.

Troubleshooting

Newsletter Not Sending

  • Verify that the mailing list you selected has recipients. Check the recipient count on the mailing list.
  • Ensure your shop email is correctly configured in shop settings.
  • Check that the newsletter has both a subject and body content.

SMS Showing as Failed

  • Verify the customer's phone number is correctly formatted with the country code.
  • Ensure you have sufficient SMS credits remaining.
  • Check that the message body is not empty.
  • Some carriers may reject messages to landline numbers — ensure you are sending to mobile numbers.

Summary

CheckinDog's communication tools give you everything you need to maintain strong relationships with your customers. Mailing lists let you organize your audience, newsletters provide a professional email channel with full delivery tracking, and SMS logging keeps you informed about text message activity. Combined with thoughtful content and respectful opt-in practices, these tools help you build a loyal customer base that keeps coming back.

Suppliers & Orders Contacts & Lead Management