Table of contents
Email Is Not Enough
The club email is the fifth inbox your members check - after personal, work, secondary personal, and marketing. Open rates of 20-30% mean that 70-80% of your members did not see your last newsletter.
SMS open rates are above 95%. Most texts are read within 3 minutes.
How It Works
In TidyHQ, compose an SMS just like you would an email. Select your recipients - all members, a specific group, or individual contacts. Write your message. Send.
Messages are delivered via Australian SMS gateways with domestic rates. Pay-as-you-go pricing means you only pay for what you send. No monthly minimum. No contract.
When to Use SMS
Event reminders. "Quiz night tonight at 7pm. See you there!"
Urgent notices. "Training cancelled tonight due to weather. Stay safe."
Renewal nudges. "Your membership expires this Friday. Renew here: link]"
Personal outreach. "Hi Sarah, we noticed you have not been to the club lately. Everything OK?"
SMS is for short, time-sensitive messages. Not for newsletters. Not for long-form updates. Those belong in email.
The Right Channel for the Right Message
Email for newsletters, detailed updates, and formal correspondence. SMS for reminders, urgent notices, and personal outreach. Use both. Let each channel do what it does best.
Available Now
SMS messaging is available on all TidyHQ plans. Purchase SMS credits in your TidyHQ settings and start reaching members where they actually look - their phone.
References
- TidyHQ - Club management platform with integrated SMS and email communication tools
- Australian Sports Commission - Community sport communication and member engagement resources
- Volunteering Australia - Volunteer communication best practice and engagement strategies
- Geoff Wilson - Multi-channel communication frameworks for grassroots sports clubs
Header image: In the Style of Kairouan by Paul Klee, via WikiArt
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