Communications Overview

Event Caddy's communication tools help tournament organizers stay in touch with prospective players, registered players, sponsors, volunteers, donors, and other tournament contacts.

Depending on what you need to communicate, you can manage email contacts, send general-purpose emails, promote player registration, or send text messages for shorter and more time-sensitive updates.

The most important first step is choosing the right communication tool for the job.

Choose the Right Communication Tool

One Time Emails and Player Registration Emails are both created through Communication Tools > Email.

Text messages are managed separately under Communication Tools > Text Message.

Important: A Player Registration Email is not the email a player automatically receives after registering. That automatic message is the Registration Confirmation Email and is owned by Player Registration.

One Time Emails

Use a One Time Email when you need to send a general message to selected contacts.

Common examples include:

• save-the-date announcements;
• tournament updates;
• sponsor or volunteer information;
• reminders before tournament day;
• schedule or event information;
• post-tournament results or highlights; and
• thank-you messages after the tournament.

When creating the email, you choose the recipients you want to include.

For complete instructions, see Sending Emails with Communication Tools.

Player Registration Emails

A Player Registration Email is a promotional email designed specifically to encourage contacts to register for your tournament.

Use this email type when you have prospective players in your contact list and want to direct them to registration.

Player Registration Emails can include an optional reminder date. Event Caddy checks player registrations so contacts who have already registered are not sent an unnecessary registration reminder.

This is different from the Registration Confirmation Email configured under:

Player Management > Registration Options > Registration Email

The Registration Confirmation Email is automatically sent after an eligible player registers. The Player Registration Email under Communication Tools is promotional and is used before registration.

For the automatic after-registration message, see Customizing the Registration Confirmation Email in Player Registration.

Managing Email Contacts

Before sending emails, make sure the people you want to reach are available in your email contacts.

Go to:

Communication Tools > Email

From the Email Marketing Wizard, you can manage your contact list.

Email contacts can be:

• added manually;
• edited or removed;
• imported from your tournament's Player List;
• imported from an external file; or
• organized into contact categories.

Contact categories are useful when you regularly communicate with particular audiences such as:

• prospective players;
• registered players;
• sponsors;
• volunteers;
• donors; or
• committee members.

You can also export contacts from previous Event Caddy tournaments and import them into a new tournament instead of rebuilding your contact list each year.

For the complete contact workflow, see Managing Email Contacts and Categories.

Sending Emails

One Time Emails and Player Registration Emails use the Email Blast workflow under Communication Tools > Email.

In general, the process is:

1. Choose the email type and recipients.
2. Add the subject and message.
3. Select the appropriate send date and any email-specific options.
4. Preview the email.
5. Send yourself a test email if needed.
6. Verify the recipients and proposed send date.
7. Submit the email for approval.

The detailed workflow, including test emails, attachments and file links, editing, recipient selection, and email-specific settings, is covered in Sending Emails with Communication Tools.

Text Messaging

Text messaging is useful when the information is short or time-sensitive.

Common examples include:

• weather updates;
• tee-time or schedule changes;
• registration deadline reminders;
• tournament-day instructions;
• meal or reception reminders; and
• other urgent updates.

Event Caddy PRO includes text messaging functionality.

Within Communication Tools > Text Message, you can create Contact Groups, choose recipients, compose a message, and send the text through the messaging wizard.

Text messaging uses credits to track the number of recipients you can message. Additional credits can be purchased when needed.

For complete instructions, see Sending Text Messages.

Emails Managed Outside Communications

Not every email sent by Event Caddy belongs to Communication Tools.

Keeping these email types with the feature that triggers them prevents unrelated email settings from being mixed together.

Use Communications when you are choosing contacts and deliberately sending a promotional, informational, or reminder message.

Use the owning feature's documentation when Event Caddy sends an email automatically because a registration, purchase, donation, or other feature-specific action occurred.

A Simple Communication Workflow

A typical tournament communication plan might look like this:

1. Build or import your email contact list.
2. Organize contacts into useful categories.
3. Send a Player Registration Email when you are ready to promote registration.
4. Use One Time Emails for tournament news, sponsor information, reminders, and other updates.
5. Use Text Messaging when an update is short, urgent, or especially useful close to tournament day.
6. Use the automatic emails configured in Player Registration or the Online Store for registration and purchase-specific follow-up.

This keeps promotional communication separate from transactional and feature-generated emails.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between a One Time Email and a Player Registration Email?

A One Time Email is a general-purpose email that can be sent to the contacts you select.
A Player Registration Email is specifically designed to encourage contacts to register as players. It can include a reminder and uses player registration information to avoid continuing to promote registration to contacts who have already registered.

What's the difference between a Player Registration Email and a Registration Confirmation Email?

A Player Registration Email is a promotional message sent through Communication Tools to encourage contacts to register.
A Registration Confirmation Email is automatically sent after an eligible player registers and is configured under Player Management > Registration Options > Registration Email.
Registration Confirmation Emails belong to Player Registration, not Communications.

Can I reuse contacts from a previous tournament?

Yes.
Event Caddy allows you to export contacts from previous tournaments. You can then import those contacts into the email contacts for your new tournament.
See Managing Email Contacts and Categories for the complete workflow.

Are Product Email Templates or Donation Email Templates part of Communications?

No.
Product Email Templates and Donation Email Templates are Online Store features because they are triggered by purchases or donations.
Use Creating Product Email Templates or Creating Donation Email Templates for those workflows.

Related Articles

• Managing Email Contacts and Categories
• Sending Emails with Communication Tools
• Sending Text Messages
• Marketing Your Tournament to Players and Sponsors
• Customizing the Registration Confirmation Email
• Creating Product Email Templates
• Creating Donation Email Templates