Dynamic SMS Text Messages allow you to send personalized and timely messages to attendees based on important moments in their event journey. You can automatically send a text message after someone purchases tickets, trigger a message when their ticket is scanned at check-in, or send a text message when a visitor subscribes. Messages can be scheduled to go out minutes or hours after either action, helping you stay connected before and during your event.

This article will guide you through how to set up and use Dynamic SMS Text Messages for your event.

Text Message Dynamic Pricing

To use the SMS Text Dynamic message feature, you must have an SMS plan set up for your TicketSpice account. The text messaging feature comes at an additional cost. Click here to learn how to sign up for a text messaging plan.

Sample Use Cases

Dynamic Text Messages are flexible and powerful, making them useful for a wide variety of scenarios. Below are several ways you can put Dynamic Text Messages to work for your event.

Order Confirmation (Purchase Trigger): Confirm your attendee's order after purchase with a text message
Event Welcome (Scan Trigger): Welcome your attendee to your event
Post Event Text (Scan Trigger): Send a link to purchase tickets for next year's event 12 hours after they were scanned in
Subscriber Discount (Subscribe Trigger): Automatically send a text message with a discount code to visitors who subscribe to your event

Create a Dynamic Text Message

Hover over the Text Messaging tab in the top menu bar
Select the Dynamic Messages tab from the dropdown menu
Click Create Campaign

Add a Campaign Name for your dynamic message. This is for internal and reporting purposes only
Select the TicketSpice Page(s) you want to send the dynamic message to
If your Dynamic Text Message is for a single page and uses the After Purchase or After Scan triggers, add a Filter(s) to only send it to specific people
- Ticket Level: Send your text only to attendees who purchased tickets for specific ticket level(s)
- Event Date / Selection: Send your text only to attendees who purchased tickets for a specific event date or selected event. If your event includes multiple dates, you can filter by Date Range or target attendees based on whether their selected event takes place before or after a certain date. NOTE: The event date filter refers to the date the attendee plans to attend the event, not the date they purchased their ticket
- Event Time Slot: Send your text only to attendees signed up for a specific event time slot. If your event offers multiple time slots, you can filter by Time Slot Range or target attendees based on whether their selected time slot occurs before or after a specific time.
- Order Date: Send your text only to attendees who purchased tickets within a specific date range. You can filter by Date Range or target attendees based on whether they purchased tickets before or after a specific time. Note: This filter is based on the date the order was placed, not the date the attendee plans to attend the event

Pro Tip: The filtering option goes away when you send a text message to multiple pages. Filters are only available when you select one page per text message.

The filtering option is only available when using the After Purchase or After Scan triggers. This option is not available when using the After Subscribe trigger.

Select the trigger event that determines when your text message is sent
- After Scan: Automatically send a text after a ticket is scanned
- After Purchase: Automatically send a text after a ticket is purchased
- After Subscribe: Automatically send a text after a visitor subscribes to your event through the Subscriber Popup
Set the timing: Decide how long after the trigger the text should be sent (for example, a specific number of minutes or hours)
Enter the Message you'd like to send. As you type, a sample text message on the right will update in real time to show you a preview

Pro Tip: To use the After Subscribe trigger, your Subscriber Popup must be set up to collect phone numbers. When this feature is enabled, subscribers who enter a phone number will receive your Dynamic Text Message. Visitors who skip the phone number step will not receive your text message.

Click here to learn how to collect phone numbers with your Subscriber Popup.

Note: Dynamic Texts can be sent after the ticket is purchased, the ticket is scanned at the event, or a visitor subscribes on one of your ticketing pages.

When using the Ticket Scan trigger, the behavior varies depending on whether a phone number is collected for each ticket holder
- If you collect a phone number for each ticket holder, the text is sent to the individual ticket holder's phone number after their ticket is scanned and after the delay you set. The text is only sent to the ticket holder, and is not sent to the billing phone number
- If you do not collect a phone number for each ticket holder, the text is sent to the billing phone number when the first ticket is scanned. If multiple tickets share the same billing phone number, the message is only sent after the first ticket is scanned and is not resent when additional tickets are scanned.

When using the Ticket Purchase trigger, the text is sent after the order is submitted and once the delay time you set has passed. This text will be sent to the billing phone number and to each individual ticket holder, if you are collecting a phone number for each ticket.

When using the Subscribe trigger, the text is sent to the subscriber's phone number after they subscribe and the delay time you set has passed. It is sent only to that subscriber

Click Add Variable to add the recipient's first name, last name, or full name to the text message. Click here to learn more about adding variables to your text message
Click Send a Test Message if you would like to send a test message to a phone number of your choice
Click Schedule Campaign

Note: Carriers may block messages sent to certain recipients if the message contains a bit.ly (shortened) URL. To improve deliverability, we recommend using a full, non-shortened URL instead.

Pro Tip: The text message editor has a 320-character limit. This total includes the account name, opt-out language, and any content you enter. Messages longer than 160 characters are billed as two messages.

Add a Recipient's First Name, Last Name, or Full Name to the Text Message

You can personalize your text messages by dynamically inserting a recipient’s first name, last name, or full name using text message variables. This allows each message to feel more direct and engaging. TicketSpice also gives you the option to add custom fallback text in case a contact does not have a name associated with their phone number. This ensures your message reads naturally for all recipients.

Pro Tip: Variables are not compatible with the After Subscribe trigger in Dynamic Text Messages. First and last names are not collected during subscription, so subscribers will always see the fallback (default) text instead of their name.

When creating your text message, click Add Variable above the message field
Select the variable you want to add to your text message. You can add the first name, last name, or full name to the text
Add fallback (default) text that will appear if the recipient does not have a name associated with their phone number. To do this, enter the text you want to appear inside the quotation marks in the default: "there" field. If left unmodified, the text "there" will be inserted when a recipient does not have a name on file

Pro Tip: You can use the Variable Preview options above the sample message to see how your message will appear. This feature can be used to preview how your text will look when a name variable is added.

Click Sample to preview how the text message appears when a contact has a name. If your message includes a variable, this option inserts a sample name into the text
Click Fallback to preview how the text message appears when no name is available. This uses the default text you added for the variable

Note: The text message editor has a 320-character limit. This limit includes the account name, opt-out language, and any content you manually enter including variable placeholders (such as {{ first_name | default: "" }}). This character count is based on the variable text itself, not the recipient's actual name.

When the message is sent, variables are replaced with real data. Because actual values may be longer or shorter than the placeholder text, the final delivered character count of each message may vary.

Manage Your Dynamic Text Message

Note: After saving a Dynamic Text Message, you can copy, edit, view, or delete your text, but you cannot edit the message settings of the text.

If you set a Dynamic Message to Inactive and there are messages in the queue, those texts will be sent. After the texts in the queue are sent, TicketSpice will stop sending texts for the inactive campaign. If you want to halt all future messages from sending, including those in the queue, we recommend deleting the dynamic message.

Warning: Deleting a text message cannot be undone. So proceed with caution.

Hover over the Text Messaging tab in the top menu bar
Select the Dynamic Messages tab from the dropdown menu
Find the text message you want to manage, and click any of the following icons:
- The Status toggle allows you to turn on or turn off the Dynamic Text Message
- The duplicate icon allows you to copy a previous message to send again
- The pencil icon allows you to edit the text
- The eye icon allows you to view the text
- The trash can icon allows you to delete the text

FAQs

What is the pricing to send Dynamic SMS Messages?

Dynamic SMS Messages are included in your Text Messaging plan and follow the same pricing structure. With Text Messaging, you can choose from several plan options. Each plan allows you to select your own phone number. Below are the available text messaging plans.

Basic Plan

$19/month flat fee
$0.04/text
A one-time $49 brand verification fee charged by the carriers

Super Sender Plan

$99/month flat fee
$0.02/text
A one-time $49 brand verification fee charged by the carriers

Note: Text messages are billed based on character count. A single message includes up to 160 characters. Messages between 161 and 320 characters are billed as two messages.

How far out can I send a Dynamic SMS Message to my attendees?

You can send the message 0-59 minutes or 0-59 hours after the ticket purchase, ticket scan, or visitor subscribe.

Why can't I select which ticket level I'd like to send the Dynamic SMS Message to?

Dynamic SMS Messages can only be targeted to specific ticket levels if you select a single page. If you’ve chosen multiple pages in one setup, filtering by ticket level won’t be available. To send messages to certain ticket levels, we recommend creating a dynamic message to one TicketSpice page.

How does my text message's character count affect billing?

Text messages are billed based on character count. A single message includes up to 160 characters. Messages between 161 and 320 characters are billed as two messages. The total character count includes your message content, organization (account) name, and required opt-out language.

Note: The organization name and opt-out language are only included in the first text message sent to each recipient. Because this text is not included in follow-up messages, they do not count toward the character total for subsequent texts to that same recipient.

How do my attendees know the messages are from me?

On the first text message you send, our system includes the name of your account at the top of the message as it’s listed in your Organization Details. Here is how to view and update this account name if desired:

From the top menu bar, hover over the Gear icon in the top right corner
Select Organization Details from the dropdown
Click Edit Settings
View or adjust the Company Name as desired
Click Save

Can I send emojis in my text message?

No, emojis are not supported right now in the text messaging feature.

What user permissions do I need to send Text Messages?

A user must be an Admin to send out text messages. Any account owner and Admin can send Text Messages.

If I set up a Dynamic SMS campaign, will this campaign send to customers who have already purchased tickets, checked in, or subscribed?

No, dynamic text message campaigns are not retroactive. Dynamic text messages will only send to recipients who purchase tickets, check in, or subscribe after the campaign is created. Anyone who completed those actions before the campaign was set up will not receive the message.

Send a Dynamic SMS Text Message After a Ticket is Purchased, Scanned, or a Visitor Subscribes