Use Mailchimp Appointment Scheduling

If your business offers professional services, you can use Mailchimp Appointments to add scheduling tools to your website. Your visitors can choose to book a meeting in person, online, or over the phone, depending on the type of service you offer.

In this article, you'll learn how to use Mailchimp Appointment Scheduling.

Before you start

Here are some things to know before you begin this process.

• Before you use Appointment Scheduling, make sure you're familiar with how Appointment Scheduling works in Mailchimp. To learn more, check out About Mailchimp Appointment Scheduling.
• When you create your first service, we'll make a homepage for your website if you don't already have one in Mailchimp.
• Creating multiple services, or group services requires that you purchase Mailchimp’s Advanced Scheduling Add-On.
• You can set up an optional SMS confirmation text to send to your contacts when they book an appointment for your service.

Create a one-on-one service

With a one-on-one service, one person per time slot can book an appointment with you.

To create a one-on-one service in Mailchimp, follow these steps.

1. Click Website.
   
2. Click Appointments.
   

3. Click Add A Service.

   

   If you don’t have a website, we’ll ask you to enter a website name and select an audience so that we can create one for you.

4. On the Service Information step, select One-on-One as the Service Type.

   

   Once you save your service type, it can’t be changed.

5. Enter your service details, including Service Name, Description, Duration, and Price.

   

6. Enter the path name for your custom URL in the Service URL field.

   

   This will create a custom URL that you can share with customers to let them know your service is online.

7. If you want to provide your customers with the option of receiving a confirmation text message after booking an appointment, you can click the SMS appointment-related messages for your contacts box.

   

   Clicking this box means your customers will have the option to opt in for SMS when setting up an appointment on your website.

   If you don’t want to provide an SMS option for your contacts you can leave the SMS appointment-related messages for your contacts box unchecked.

8. Click Continue.

   

9. On the Location step, select your consultation type and enter any additional information that’s needed.

   

   • In-person
     Location information is required for meetings that take place in your office or another meeting place.

   • Virtual
     A link to a virtual meeting service, like Zoom or Skype, is required for meetings that take place online.

   • Phone call
     To call your customer, we’ll require them to enter their phone number on the listing page. For your customer to call you, enter your phone number when setting up your service.

10. After you have entered the required location information, click Continue.

    

11. On the Availability step, toggle the sliders on or off to choose the days you plan to accept bookings from clients.

    

12. Click the Edit icon, then use the Appointment Hours drop-downs to set your availability.

    

13. Click + Add Timeslot to customize the time you are available to meet, or click the Trash icon to delete a timeslot.

14. In the Additional availability options section, click Edit, then click the Show start times in increments of drop-down to select the frequency of your appointment start times.

    

15. Click Save.

16. When you’re ready, click Continue.

    

17. On the Review step, make sure all of your information is correct, then click Publish Service On Website.

    

That's it! When you’re ready, share your service listing page with customers and start accepting appointments.

Create a group service

When you create a group service, multiple people can attend your service or event. To create a group service, you will need to purchase Mailchimp’s Advanced Scheduling Add-On.

To create a group service, follow these steps.

1. Click Website.
   
2. Click Appointments.
   

3. Click Add A Service.

   

   If you don’t have a website, we’ll ask you to enter a website name and select an audience so that we can create one for you.

4. On the Service Information step, select Group as the Service Type.

   

   Once you save your service type, it can’t be changed.

5. Enter your service details, including Service Name, Description, Duration, Maximum Participants, and Price.

   

6. Enter the path name for your custom URL in the Service URL field.

   

   This will create a custom URL that you can share with customers to let them know your service is online.

7. If you want to provide your clients with the option of receiving a confirmation text message after booking an appointment, you can click the SMS appointment-related messages for your contacts box.

   

   Clicking this box means your clients will have the option to opt in for SMS when setting up an appointment on your website.

   If you don’t want to provide an SMS option for your contacts you can leave the SMS appointment-related messages for your contacts box unchecked.

8. Click Continue.

   

9. On the Location step, select your consultation type and enter any additional information that’s needed.

   

   • In-person
     Location information is required for meetings that take place in your office or another meeting place.

   • Virtual
     A link to a virtual meeting service, like Zoom or Skype, is required for meetings that take place online.

10. After you have entered the required location information, click Continue.

    

11. On the Availability step, toggle the sliders on or off to choose the days you plan to accept bookings from clients.
    

12. Click the Edit icon, then use the Appointment Hours drop-downs to set your availability.

    

13. Click + Add Timeslot to customize the time you are available to meet, or click the Trash icon to delete a timeslot. When editing group appointments, new and existing services may be affected.

14. In the Additional availability options section, click Edit, then click the Show start times in increments of drop-down to select the frequency of your appointment start times.
    

15. Click Save.

16. When you’re ready, click Continue.

    

17. On the Review step, you can save your edits or click Purchase Add-On.

    

    You’ll need to purchase the Advanced Scheduling Add-On before publishing your group service to your site. If you've already purchased the add-on, skip to step 20.

18. On the Plan Details page, click Upgrade.

    

19. On the Payment page, add your payment details and click Pay Now.

    

20. After you complete your payment flow, you’ll return to the Review page where you can publish your service. Click Publish Service On Website.

    

    That's it! When you’re ready, share your service listing page with customers and start accepting appointments.

Manage SMS settings

If you enable SMS for your service, the opt-in box will appear at the bottom of the Customer information section of your website. If a customer checks the box when setting up an appointment, they’ll be required to enter a mobile phone number in the Customer information section. After checking the opt-in box and completing the booking, the customer will receive a confirmation text message with the appointment details.

If you disable SMS for your service, customers will receive only an email confirmation after booking. The SMS opt-in box won’t appear on your website when the setting is disabled.

To manage the SMS settings for a service, follow these steps.

1. Navigate to the Appointments page of your account.

2. In the Services section, click the more options icon next to the service you want to manage.

   

3. Click Edit.

4. Check or uncheck the SMS appointment-related messages for your contacts box as needed.

   

Create additional services

To create more than one service at a time, you will need to purchase Mailchimp’s Advanced Scheduling Add-On.

1. Click Website.
   
2. Click Appointments.
   
3. Click Add New Service.
   
4. On the Service Information step, select your Service Type, then continue with the steps to create a one-on-one or group service as needed.

That's it! When you’re ready, share your service listing page with customers and start accepting appointments.

Customize your service pages

When you publish your service, your listing and confirmation pages are immediately available for customers to book appointments with you. We’ll apply any default styles you’ve set for your website, and you can customize them as needed.

To make changes to the Service Listing Page or Appointment Confirmation Page on your website, follow these steps.

1. Click the Website icon.

   

2. Click Edit Site.

   

3. Hover over your Service Listing Page or Appointment Confirmation Page and click Edit Page on the page you’d like to change.

   

4. Click the sections or page elements you want to change, or add new sections. If you’re working with your Service Listing Page, you can hover over the Services section and choose Manage Services to edit the service itself.

   

To learn more about how to design pages on your website, check out Design Your Website in Mailchimp.

Edit or delete your service

Sometimes, you may need to make changes to your service, or delete it entirely.

To manage your service, follow these steps.

1. Navigate to the Appointments dashboard.

2. In the Services section, click the more options icon next to the service you want to manage.

3. Choose Edit, Delete, or Copy Link from the menu.

• If you choose Edit, click through the steps to make any necessary updates.

• If you choose Delete, we’ll ask you to confirm. The service will be deleted from your site and new appointments can’t be scheduled.

• If you choose to Copy Link, you can copy your service listing page’s unique URL to share with customers.

View or cancel appointments

To view or cancel appointments, follow these steps.

1. Navigate to the Appointments page of your account.

2. Scroll to Appointments and click View All Appointments.

   

3. Click the Details drop-down menu next to the appointment you want to work with.

   

   • Choose View Details to see all the information about an appointment, including the customer’s contact information.

   • Choose Cancel Appointment to cancel. We'll ask you to confirm, and if you wish to proceed, a cancellation email will be sent to your customer.

Next steps

To learn about other ways you can grow your business online with Mailchimp, checkout Create Your Mailchimp Store, and Sell More Stuff with Mailchimp.