Customer SMS lists & notification guide
Last updated January 29, 2025
By far our most loved feature is the automatic text marketing that Hotplate sends to your customers. No more manually texting individual customers or managing DMs: we handle all notifications to customers from the moment you drop a new Event to the moment they pick up their order.
The following texts are automatically sent by default:
To turn any of these off or edit the message templates, just go to Settings > Notifications.
- Drop Notifications - if customers subscribe to your storefront, we send an automated text to let them know your sale is live. This text includes a link to your new Event.
- Customer Order Confirmations - these are sent immediately after a customer places their order and include a link to their receipt
- Customer Order Reminders - these remind your customers when their pickup is, so they don't forget! By default, these happen:
- 24 hours before pickup
- 2 hours before pickup
- 15 minutes before pickup
- When their order is marked complete
- Order Notifications (for chefs) - we also send you a text whenever an order is placed! These are sent to the main admin phone number associated with your Hotplate account.
Here’s an example of what a Drop Notification text looks like to your customers:
Looking for how to send a manual text blast to your customers? That’s covered in this article here .
Getting customers to subscribe to your SMS list
The bigger your customer SMS list, the more likely you’ll see immediate sales when you publish a new Event. Customers can easily subscribe to your SMS list at the top of your Hotplate storefront by clicking Never miss a sale and entering their phone number.
Share your SMS signup link directly
You can also share a link that directly prompts customers to enter their phone number. Many chefs add this SMS signup link to their social media bios, or link it using a QR code on things like business cards or product labels. The most successful Hotplate businesses regularly re-share their SMS sign up link ahead of upcoming drops.
To find your SMS sign up link:
- To go Settings
- Under Links, copy the link under SMS Sign Up
Need some inspo? Check out how baker Sam Bakes Now incorporates her SMS sign up QR code on her cookie labels:
